How much can I borrow

beecher2

Life's very unpredictable so it would be foolish to avoid paying your debt off now by making the assumption you will be able to in the future. Pay it off while you're in the position to do so and then save your deposit.

Thrugelmir

adam--j wrote: »

I know the debt II have is excessive but I know that within a few years my salary will be significantly higher and so why struggle now when it will be easier then?

Obtaining debt is the easy part. Repaying it isn't for many people. As more often or not the unexpected occurs to disrupt the best laid of plans.

Perhaps rather than overextending yourselves again with an even larger mortgage. You should stay put and tackle your debts for a while.

Your next mortgage could be on higher rate of interest than your existing credit card debt rate of 3.9%.

What rate of interest do you pay on your mortgage currently? As overpaying this may be beneficial.

geoffky

Here is a typical debt junkie who still thinks things have not changed....you sir are going to be in for a shock.. losing your job should of been the kick up the backside you need but alas you want to go in very deep...i pity your thought process..

adam--j_2

geoffky,

With the greatest respect, losing my job gave me the confidence to push myself further. When I found out I was losing it - yes, that was a little bit scary, but my basic salary has increased by about £10k with my new job and at the firm I am in, it is likely to increase significantly over the next few years. Yes, it is possible that I could be a victim of redundancy again, but with the relative ease with which I got this job, I am not concerned about doing it again as the market picks up further. People complain about a lack of jobs but if you are well educated, have good experience and interview well, there is still a good choice out there.

And I'm not a debt junkie. I admit that at one time, I probably was. However, the debts are now much lower than they were (they hit nearly £30k not too long ago). Looking back, it was my own stupidity with a sprinkling of banks jumping over themselves to lend me more than I could afford to pay back that got me into this mess. I pay more than the minimum and they are going down (I don't remember the last time I used a credit card) so no need to lecture me on debt.

Anyway, a bit of a digression. I should have explained one of the reasons we want to move is to get our daughter into a school that we want to be in a house by September in order to achieve that. Having done a lot of thinking, I think what we're going to do is rent something relatively cheap from September as close to a school we like as we can after I've paid off some more debt and / or saved some more. We'd have paid a further £1500 of capital off the mortgage by then as well, which will also help. We'll keep our flat rented out in the meantime and then see what happens from there.

With a bit of luck, house prices aren't going to do anything silly (i.e. put us into negative equity or rocket out of control) and will start to rise, slowly, giving us a little more equity to put towards our next place.

Thanks for all the advice.

taerand

These things looked pretty good, and some that I can learn, and I hope to learn more on it!

leveller2911

adam--j wrote: »

Current salary: £54,500
Wife's income: Child benefit for 2 children (£33.50/week, I think)


Any help / feedback appreciated.

Thanks,

Adam.

I can never understand why people consider child benefit as income when looking into mortgages.Its sensless to include it, its a benefit to spend/help with paying for everyday costs of bringing up children.

It was never meant to be used to bump up earnings to get a higher mortgage offer.Working tax credits has also been used and its just plain wrong.......

I wish you well Adam but you really need to aim a bit lower and TBF your debts-earnings does look like you have issues with debts..

adam--j_2

leveller2911 wrote: »

I can never understand why people consider child benefit as income when looking into mortgages.Its sensless to include it, its a benefit to spend/help with paying for everyday costs of bringing up children.

It was never meant to be used to bump up earnings to get a higher mortgage offer.Working tax credits has also been used and its just plain wrong.......

I wish you well Adam but you really need to aim a bit lower and TBF your debts-earnings does look like you have issues with debts..

I agree with regard to child benefit and wouldn't have included it if our previous mortgage broker hadn't asked us about it (the only reason I included it here). However, technically, it is an income and if people shouldn't be using it, then mortgage providers really ought to look more seriously at outgoings as well as income.

My situation is also so dependant on what we can sell our flat for. Other flats on the road are on the market for between £229 and £239k. If we were able to sell for closer to the asking price, then obviously, things start to look a lot better, especially since Nat West have introduced a 5% mortgage, open to anyone.

We'll have to see what happens. Don't worry though - I'm not going to do anything (too) silly. :-)

ManicMum

Have those other flats sold though? and for what?

Isn't child benefit due to go if you are higher rate tax payer?

Re. the schools - it's the address you are at when you apply that counts not the one you are at the day before school starts.

House prices - I doubt they will slowly rise or rise at all but that's just my opinion so wouldn't bank on that.

Not trying to be obtuse here but how the heck do people incur debts on such salaries? I just don't get it. Our income is a fraction of yours yet we don't owe a bean other than small mortgage.

As others have said I would sit tight and do nothing other than save. And well done for being able to live with your parents!! That is an achievement and one I could not contemplate. :A

andypr1976

Call a mortgage advisor, they're free to use and can look into all this for you and you'll be under no obligation to use them. What have you got to lose, let them do the maths. If you don't want to use them ultimately, get them to tell you the deal and then go to the lender direct. Good luck

Thrugelmir

adam--j wrote: »

However, technically, it is an income and if people shouldn't be using it, then mortgage providers really ought to look more seriously at outgoings as well as income.

That's because dependent relatives are factored into affordability calculations as a cost, so only fair to include all household income. This does not mean you can obtain a larger mortgage though. As depends on each lenders critera on the product applied for.