Before applying for a mortgage, it's important to stop and think about more than just whether you can afford the monthly repayments. Mortgage providers will look at your income and outgoings to see if you can keep up with repayments if interest rates rise or your circumstances change.
When calculating your affordability for a mortgage, your monthly income and expenditure are assessed. People interested in purchasing a home should be aware of their own needs, as well, regarding leisure expenses, emergency funds, and savings goals.
In the past, mortgage lenders based the amount you could borrow mainly on a multiple of your income. This is known as the loan-to-income ratio. For example, if your annual income was £30,000, you might have been able to borrow three to five times this amount, giving you a mortgage of up to £150,000.
The Financial Conduct Authority now requires Lenders to assess what level of monthly payments you can afford, after taking into account various personal and living expenses as well as your income. The lender must also look ahead and ‘stress test’ your ability to repay the mortgage.
Use our Mortgage affordability calculator to estimate how much you can borrow.
Use our Mortgage repayment calculator to estimate the interest and repayment amount.