Is this do able? Buying a flat & Payment

HER

I earn a monthly income of £1600 and my partner will get statutory maternity pay of £138.18 a week for the next 8 months.

We have managed to get a mortgage in principle for £190k with nationwide for a 2 year fixed rate at 2.79% and payments on 190k will be £884. We received this just before we had our first child.

If I mention this to the broker are we likely to be disqualified in regards to the mortgage in principle? Will this change the valuation in terms of what we will be able to borrow?

We currently live in London but are looking on the outskirts of zone 5.

Our budget is £230k-£240k for a 2 bedroom flat (I know London is ridiculously expensive - even zone 5) with a deposit of £40k-£50k.
We have just viewed and seen something that we like but are still reluctant on all the payments. Are we stupid or should we take a gamble? Please advice us.

Flat Lease: 110 years
Annual ground rent: £250
Service charge:£1855
Council Tax:£1280
Monthly Travel:£127.60
Mobile Bill:£40
Sky Broadband: £30
Food: ~£200
Bills: £150 I hope this is accurate as we are not sure about bills as strangely we have rented places which were included so we have never paid water, gas, electric etc

This comes out to be £1713 which is more then my monthly salary.

enthusiasticsaver

If your circumstances have changed which obviously they have then you should mention it to your broker and yes this may affect the amount you are able to borrow. On the figures you have given above though it looks very tight so I would wait until your partner has gone back to work. There is nothing in your budget for insurances, tv licence, childcare costs. I would not say it is not possible but you would need to use the maternity allowance just to cover basic living costs and as you probably know babies cost money! Think about whether you would really be able to manage on such a tight budget and how you will be affected if the service charge goes up or the bills end up higher than you think they should be.

HER

I didn't consider the TV license and building insurance. Thanks

Foxy-Stoat_3

Water and Waste can be £25-£40 a month depending on usage.

TV License £13 a month

You won't need buildings insurance but contents is always a good idea, may be £15 a month, depending on the area.

If you have never paid for electric then you may be in for a shock depending on the type of heating the flat has, summer £30-£40 a month, winter or really cold weather may be double than.

Rough estimates so depends on area and usage.

HER

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

Water and Waste can be £25-£40 a month depending on usage.

TV License £13 a month

You won't need buildings insurance but contents is always a good idea, may be £15 a month, depending on the area.

If you have never paid for electric then you may be in for a shock depending on the type of heating the flat has, summer £30-£40 a month, winter or really cold weather may be double than.

Rough estimates so depends on area and usage.

Thanks for the estimates. Very useful. The flats not so big , so hopefully want take to much to heat up. Let's hope the energy bills will drop.

amnblog

The cost of running a family cannot be underestimated.


Ask anyone on her who has tried to manage with one partner on maternity pay, or pay child care costs on return to work.


Your estimates of costs above seem very conservative.