The size of the mortgage that you will be able to afford will depend on different variables including income, monthly outgoings and the value of the property you want to purchase.
What Is a Mortgage?
A mortgage is a type of home loan and acts as an agreement between borrowers and lenders in which a property is used as a guarantee. Once the mortgage transaction is made, borrowers will receive money and agree to a repayment plan with interest paid back to the lender over a set time period.
What Size Mortgage Could I Afford?
The size mortgage you can afford will depend on your circumstances. Before taking out a mortgage, lenders will look at a borrower to see if they want to lend them the money. Through this process, they will take into account the following factors:
- Income
- Monthly outgoing payments including any debts
- The amount of savings available to put down as a deposit
Experts suggest that a good rule of thumb is for your total mortgage not to exceed 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.
How Do Mortgage Lenders Decide How Much You Can Borrow?
The amount of money that you can borrow will depend on your income (most likely your salary) as well as your monthly outgoings.
Mortgage providers, including banks and building societies, will most likely determine the size of the mortgage based on the total annual income of the borrower or the joint annual income if there are multiple borrowers.
The general rule of thumb is that the higher the annual income, the higher the amount that you can borrow although there is variation between lenders with some willing to offer up to as much as six times your salary.
How Does Salary Influence the Size of Mortgage I Can Get?
The amount that salary influences mortgages will depend on the lender with many operating on the basis that a mortgage should be around four and a half times your annual income.
Arguably more important than salary is the debt-to-income ratio that an individual has; this is the amount of monthly debt they have relative to the amount of income they receive. If a borrower has more outgoings than incomings, it shows that a mortgage may not be affordable for them.
Along with income, a lot of lenders will require a borrower to show proof of employment, factoring in the amount that they earn as well as how long they have been in that position. For that reason, those who are self-employed, between jobs or who are not in full-time employment may find it more difficult to secure a mortgage.
Will My Credit Score Impact How Big a Mortgage I Can Get?
Credit score is an important factor when trying to secure a mortgage; lenders will look at this in order to determine if the borrower is a good candidate for a loan. Credit scores are based on spending history including any borrowing behaviour and can see whether an individual makes repayments on time and their amount of debt. If an individual has a higher credit score, they will typically be a better candidate for a mortgage.
If you have a higher credit score, you may be more likely to be approved for a loan as it shows that you can reliably meet payments. This in turn may mean that you can qualify for better loan terms including better interest rates and fewer fees.
You could still secure a mortgage if you have no credit history or a poor credit score but it may be more difficult and also may be subject to less favourable rates.
How Does Deposit Affect Mortgage Affordability?
The standard deposit amount for a mortgage is 20% of the property’s value with 80% funded by the lender, but this varies between lenders and different mortgage products. Normally, if a borrower can put down a bigger down payment, it could save them money in the long term. It is also less of a risk for the lender meaning that they may be able to offer better loan conditions such as lower interest rates and shorter repayment period.