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FTB - advice needed

Afternoon all

Having read through many of the threads on this forum I can see that there are lots of knowledgeable people on here and I'm hoping someone can help.

My partner and I are first time buyers living with her parents. We are both employed full time on permanent contracts. Our combined gross salary is £30,540 pa and we also receive £2280 in working tax credits and £1000 in child benefit pa as we have a three year old daughter.

We have a deposit of about £16k.

We have about £3k in debt which we are looking to clear and should do so in around 3 months. Our outgoings include £190 pm for a HP car and £380 for child care.

Also, whilst this probably isn't relevant, I'm due to qualify as a Legal Exec in a year and my salary will double to about £30k. Incidentally, the child care costs will also disappear around that time.

Having looked at a number of the online calculators to gauge how much we might be able to borrow, I am a little confused as to where I am! The most promising results came from Halifax, Barclays and Virgin Money and indicate that we would be able to lend approximately £150k. However, I have today spoken with London & Country and they have indicated that realistically the most we could borrow is £112k!

I was hoping for a bit of guidance as to the most reliable source of information as there will be a big difference in the properties we might be looking at depending on which budget we choose to go with.

I would appreciate any input.

Thanks

Alex

Comments

  • bsms1147
    bsms1147 Posts: 2,277 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Welcome to the site.

    It depends on so many factors; your deposit, your credit-worthiness, your incomings and outgoings, your indebtedness etc.

    The bottom line is speak to an expert, like you already have. You won't get more accurate answers from a gaggle of forum users. Another broker may be able to find you somewhere between the two, but I wouldn't rely on online calculators.

    Personally I think 150k on your current combined salary would be too much (5x combined), especially after accounting for the outgoings you have listed, and 112k sounds more realistic.
  • Alexhow
    Alexhow Posts: 6 Forumite
    Thanks for your input. I have an appointment with a mortgage broker now!
  • amnblog
    amnblog Posts: 12,767 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    bsms1147 wrote: »
    a gaggle of forum users.

    Is that the correct collective noun?

    What about a

    'rumour' of forum users

    or

    a 'panic' of forum users
    I am a Mortgage Broker

    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Broker, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • kingstreet
    kingstreet Posts: 39,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    "A pixel of forumistas" is my favourite.
    I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.
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