Is a second property feasible?

Worklifebalance_2

I have a permanent part-time position earning £27,000 per year (£45,000 pro rata). I have some self-employed income, though this varies. I have some scope to extend this next year. My other half earns £48,350, full-time, permanent. Both are stable jobs with no concerns about potential redundancies. Our house is worth £330K, with a mortgage of £218K, with 15 years left, we’re both 49. Mortgage is with Halifax, at 1.94%, fixed for another year. £7k of debt on 0% until late 2018, due to funding a training course that has enhanced my prospects tremendously. Debt is not being added to.

Going to work involves a 120 mile round trip for me, which I currently make 3 times a week. Obviously this is very time consuming and horribly expensive, especially because I also need to pay for parking in an inner city car park. Public transport, parking further away, moving main residence and changing jobs are not realistic options for various reasons.
We’re thinking of finding me somewhere to stay so that I can cut down on travel. A small portion of the cost of this can be offset against reduction in travel. Having looked at renting a room, this is expensive and dead money and I am wondering if it would be possible to buy a relatively cheap second property, ideally 2 bedrooms so I can take in a lodger. I am aware of the additional stamp duty, but unsure if there will be capital gains tax issues and whether I should be worried about those.

My questions:
- Would this be feasible?
- What would be the maximum amount we could achieve?
- Would we be able to borrow extra money for a longer period of time?

Looking forward to seeing your ideas.

dimbo61

I think you will struggle.
You have a large Mortgage on your main residence.
Could you check with people at work if they would have a lodger 2/3 nights a week