Borrowing more to move house - decision in principle?

ruperts

Hi

We're considering moving home, which will involve borrowing more. We've got nearly two years left of our current fix so will probably be with the same lender.

This will be our first house move so I'm just trying to understand the process. Particularly, how do I go about finding out how much more we could borrow? There doesn't seem to be a decision in principle process, which is what I expected.

My current lender suggests calling them with earnings/outgoings details and also details of the house i'm planning on buying, which I don't have yet and wouldn't expect to have until we've sold our current house.

Surely I don't need to wait until I've sold my current house before finding out how much more I could borrow? 

How does it work with estate agents if you haven't got a formal decision in principle?

Is the affordability criteria for borrowing more similar to that for new mortgages, eg 4.5x salary?

Thanks

dimbo61

You need to speak to the mortgage broker /adviser at your current lender or look online at the website

ruperts

Thanks dimbo, that's what I thought but having looked at the website I was a bit thrown by them saying I should have details of the house I'm planning to buy ready to discuss, when at the moment I'm just trying to gather information. There's no point even thinking about moving if we're not going to be able to borrow enough to buy the sort of house we want.

getmore4less

How much do you think you can afford?
Start with a per month number then work that through rates and terms to get a rough idea of the range of borrowing you would be comfortable with.
if it fits withing the general guidelines of lenders chances are you would be ok.

or 

Look at how much you need to borrow to get the sort of place you want then work that back to a per month to see if you are comfortable with that number.

Actual affordability is dependant in not just income but outgoings and stress testing uses higher rates than currently available.

Thrugelmir

Majority of lenders online have mortgage calculators which will provide a guide. 

jamielutz1987

@ruperts Which lender is it? Most lenders will have an online affordability calculator on their intermediary website which should give you a good idea. 
For the house price and mortgage required just put in numbers above the max that you will need.