FTB mortgage - low income

EllieCr

Hello everyone. Please, does what I am hoping to make work sound feasible?

I work part-time due to health issues (boo!) but am getting a pay rise which will take my annual gross earnings up to £12,650 and already have £19,000 saved (yay!) to cover fees and a deposit. I am hoping to buy a small, dated flat in need of cosmetic work I can do myself, which would cost c£65,000 in the commuter belt around the city where I work. I would (hopefully) be putting down a 25% deposit.

At the moment I walk to work but when/if I move I would also need to buy an annual ticket costing around £800. I cook everything from scratch, have never smoked and rarely drink these days, so have a fairly frugal life. (Sadly I can no longer drink ale for medical reasons:(.) I am also pretty much perma-single and childless,with no change likely on either front. (We also still have rates where I live in NI, which would be actually cost less for this flat than average English band A council tax.)

Obviously this is a very low income for someone seeking a mortgage so I was wondering if anyone had done anything similar or knew whether this would be feasible? Does anyone know of a good broker for people in my position or would any whole-of-market broker do, and how much would you expect to pay in broker's fees?

Thank you very much for your help!

glosoli

A number of lenders will factor "sustenance" expenditure into their affordability calculations. Basically, they will use averaged data from the Office of National Statistics, combined with key expenditures such as council tax, unsecured debt repayments, child care, along with a stressed interest rate of above 7%. The issue with low incomes is that the sustenance expenditure generally strips out any income which can be committed towards a mortgage repayment, and although you may live frugally, as they will likely assess it based on ONS data, it doesn't mean anything unfortunately. Whilst a mortgage may be possible, to me £48,750 may be a bit of a stretch. However, the usual caveats apply, speak to a broker and they should be able to advise relatively quickly whether it's something they can help with.