want to buy a house

TBagpuss

I don't think you're bonkers to consider it but you may have to work quite hard to get to where you want to be.

You might find it helpful to look at some of the mortgage calculators on the banks websites to start to get a feel for what may be available - you don't have to give any personal information so you can try them out with fdifferent figures and see what the results are - work out what you think your income and savigns will be once you are back at work, and see what the result is.

As tlc says, affordability asessments take into account the fact you have a child, and any child care costs, as well as your incomes.

Also think about the costs of owning a home. Some will be simialr to what you have now, but you will need to budget for things such as buildings isurance, and home maintenance, which you don't have at present.

wantahouse

Thanks again - I've use the money advice service availability calculator and the mortgage calculator and based on a 5% interest rate over 35 years, with the intention of over paying. We would be looking at about £700 which is fine.
The availability calculator seems to think that we would be paying 51% in essentials and the mortgage repayment, which again is manageable. And should the interest rate increase by 3% we should also be able to manage this.
Unfortunately grandparents are unable to help with childcare, but we are able to claim vouchers which should help somewhat.

inacrisis

On the Barclays website you can fill in an agreement in principle (no obligation) which will tell you if they will lend you a certain amount based on your circumstances including a soft credit check that wont leave a footprint on your credit file