Nationwide's "regular travel costs"

Noctu

I'm currently doing an affordability calculation on Nationwide's website to borrow more (we're existing customers) for home improvements.

The calculator is asking for regular travel costs. Upon searching this forum there seems to be some conflicting answers and I wondered if anyone can shed any light on this?

DH and I commute to work via car. I have a 50 minute commute (and work from home 1 or 2 days a week), DH has a 25 min commute 5 days a week. No parking costs, rail fares, etc etc.

Should we be putting in fuel costs for the above? Or will Nationwide have included an 'average' commute cost in their calculations already? I have a fair commute but I think the cost is balanced out by the fact that I work from home regularly... so is this therefore 'average' and a cost of 0 should be entered?

Will Nationwide query it if we enter 0 for both our travel costs?!

Thanks for any advice :beer:

kingstreet

It uses ONS stats for typical travel for your sized household. Only enter over and above, such as rail fares etc.

We typically stick £50 each in at affordability stage and check payslips and bank statements for additionals or to make reductions later on.

They recently questioned us when I used £40 for one applicant as I entered her HQ address until I told them her work place is in the same postcode area SY1.

f2f

I got a decision in principle from Nationwide over the phone last week. She asked for fuel, monthly insurance and 'road tax' costs for both parties on a joint mortgage.

There seems to be a lot of variability in what different lenders want to know and how specific they are about what is and isn't included.

audigex

It's very open to interpretation, not least because commuting costs can vary hugely.

My own commuting costs recently changed from ~£250-300/month (1300-1500 miles/month) to something so negligible I'd barely bother calculating it (well under 100 miles/month, and less than tenner)

In what context are they asking for it? If it's as part of an affordability calculation and you're listing all your expenses, just put down the cost if you know it: the mileage itself doesn't really matter, as it can vary depending on whether you car share, where you live, the type of road etc.

Verix

Nationwide's decision in principle will ask for an explanation if the figures are lower than £50 per month so you do need to key in something. Whilst most lenders work off ONS for this at affordability stage I think it would be worth putting in what there actually is.

kingstreet

However, you should NOT enter all your travel costs.

As explained, they rely on ONS stats for everyday costs and only want to see non-standard commuting included.

If you over-count, you will see what you can borrow reduced due to an element of double-entry.

Noctu

Thanks all. I will stick £50 each in and hope for the best. That's pretty close to the mark in reality anyway.

Part of the issue is that it reduces what we can borrow by quite a bit, luckily not enough to cause a problem with what we can borrow according to the calculator but I'm very aware that this is all subject to underwriting and it's bringing us pretty close to the mark...