How to work out what houses to view based on mortgage?

milliebear00001

Hi there
In my area, houses are much bigger and better once you hit the £130000 mark - the maximum mortgage I am 'likely' to get according to broker is 'somewhere between ££90000 and £110000! This seems a wide band, and it would make a big difference if I was able to look for houses with a mortgage at the upper end of this scale. I don't though, want to make a offer, and inconvenience myself, and the vendor, if I can't get that level of mortgage. Any way of getting a more accurate estimate? At the moment, I just don't know which houses to even view.
Thanks

Thrugelmir

Work on what you can afford to pay for the mortgage. This is far more important than over stretching to get the maximum borrowing.

milliebear00001

I can afford to pay a mortgage based on the top level of borrowing quoted (fixed rate for five years is considerably less than I pay now in rent and my income, in a very safe job, is due to increase over that period also) but still no good if I can't actually get that when I apply.

Thrugelmir

milliebear00001 wrote: »

I can afford to pay a mortgage based on the top level of borrowing quoted (fixed rate for five years is considerably less than I pay now in rent and my income, in a very safe job, is due to increase over that period also) but still no good if I can't actually get that when I apply.

Then look at at prices at £110k. With the view of offering less than this.

A lot may change over the next 5 years. So rates may not be as cheap in the future.

Moving up the property ladder is best done in steps. As borrowing less means more capital can be repaid. After 5 years you may be disappointed in how much you've repaid.

marlasinger

Look at houses below your maximum capacity, is my suggestion. We looked at a few houses just above our maximum (in the hopes of haggling down), but like you, the thought of going a certain distance down the 'house buying' path only to be rejected, put us off, and we ended up buying at the lower end of what we could afford.

xyellowx

if you can afford the 110k mortgage and can get one then i would look at 120k houses
with the veiw of knocking them down, some might me offended but the way the the market is i bet you 2/3 out of 10 would except the offer

CLAPTON

just go and see a lender and ask them what they will lend you based on your income and deposit etc ... it's as simple as that.

meds12_2

When we were buying last year our total budget was £150k, and we looked at houses up to £180k. We eventually decided on a house on the market at £170k, and haggled them down to £153k - slightly over budget but a much better house with less needed to "do" to it than the others we could have bought if we had paid attention to the price tag.

Remember, estate agents tend to add on a little bit as they expect you to haggle (I think I read about 5%). They will try every tactic in the book to haggle you up (don't tell them how much you have to spend!). Make it clear you believe house prices will slump and you need to factor in a bit of "protection" for yourself. In our situation (after a few weeks of haggling), I ended up saying to the EA that either he had commission on the £153k or nothing at all - the offer was accepted later that day!

All house sellers are different and some may be more desperate than others to sell and will be more likely to accept a reduced offer. Plus - if you are a first time buyer you will be seen as a more attractive choice than if you are trading up / down and may get stuck in a chain - use that to your advantage!

Soot2006

We had a budget up to £180k. We looked at houses under £195k ... ended up getting one for £175k which did make us happy !

milliebear00001

CLAPTON wrote: »

just go and see a lender and ask them what they will lend you based on your income and deposit etc ... it's as simple as that.

Thanks for the advice, but what I want to avoid, is searching for a mortgage myself. That's why I went to a broker. The £90000-£110000 figure he quoted is based upon the fact that different lenders have different criteria and so while some might lend us the top end, others will not.

dimbo61

Things to take into account !
How much deposit do you have ?
LTV with your deposit 85% or better still 75% LTV
Dont forget fees and Stamp duty if not first time buyers.