Buyers: how far did you stretch your budget when buying home?

mysk_girl

We were offered £105k more than we actually spent. Am very pleased we didn't, as my job has become a bit unsecure, and we can manage on just OH salary right now... It won't be fun but we can do it...

We were offered £320k and borrowed £215k in the end.

GDVS

I can "afford" a 175k mortgage, I went for 88k. I made sure if interest rates get back to above 10% (has happened in my lifetime) I'll still be ok.

SG27

Kynthia wrote: »

It's ridiculous the amount the banks will lend us due to our two salaries and decent deposit. We couldn't afford the repayments which is silly. Therefore we are considering borrowing a lot less as we want a life. We are also taking into account not just what repayments we can comfortably afford now, but what we can afford short term if one of us loses our job, or if we have a child and go part time, or if interest rates increase. However it's hard because I want the best house we can get too.

That was the same for us. We saved a 50% deposit and the max our lender would lend would have literally meant we could not pay the bills/eat!! I can't believe how much they still lend. I thought changed after the credit crunch! We borrowed around 2/3rds of what they would lend.

freeman3030

As young first time buyers with our current earnings, we could borrow a max of £140,000. We couldn't afford the repayments and maintain our current lifestyle, so we'd been looking at property in the £100,000. Found what we wanted, negotiated a deal and ended up having our offer of £91,500 accepted. Now waiting to exchange contracts! Well within our affordability, plan to make mortgage overpayments to reduce the debt as quickly as we can, building ourselves a buffer for future unforeseen mishaps that can occur. There is no point in over stretching yourself, being asset rich and cash poor. Life is for living, everyone wants a holiday from time to time and enjoy the luxuries they've become accustomed to! You may make a small sacrifice in the property you want, but at least you will still have a life

moneyistooshorttomention

To the absolute max. and beyond back all those years back. The multiple of salary that was lent to people was 2.5 times then. Basically it simply wasn't possible to borrow those higher multiples of 3 times or more that became the norm some years later.

I found a way to borrow about 3.5 times my salary and I would have been up the swanee without a paddle if my plan to take in a lodger for a while to help cover this until my salary went up hadn't worked out. It was a relief when my salary had gone up enough that I knew the amount borrowed then equated to that standard 2.5 times salary and I could swap my mortgage to other mortgage providers if I chose to.

That was back in the day of "normal" interest rates - rather than the astonishingly low rates that there have been in recent years.

What I could afford was a one-bedroom flat in a cheap area...what I actually bought was a 2 bedroom/2 reception room house in the "2nd best terrace house area".

I was correct to do things that way as it transpired:) but I certainly had some "heart-stopper" moments wondering whether things were going to go according to plan.