Other outgoings

cmbrookes

One thing I'm finding when doing an affordability assessment is that when the lender asks for other outgoings,  they are not very clear on what they are asking for. Do they want to know every outgoing such as my union membership fee, home insurance etc or is it only outgoings which cannot be cancelled such as mobile phone bill. Do they also want to know council tax etc? 

kingstreet

No. Other outgoings is typically ground rent & service charge, maintenance, childcare, school fees etc.

"Normal" expenditure is accounted for already using ONS figures.

K_S

@cmbrookes It can differ across lenders.

Some lenders will need you to input the post-completion council tax, travel costs, insurance costs, etc. while others will make assumptions and use that. The affordability calculator should make that clear.

With regard to what commitments need to go in the affordability calculator, generally speaking they are referring to non-discretionary outgoings such as childcare, maintenance payments, loan repayments, BNPL payments, significant commuting costs, etc.

Depending on how close to affordability you are, the underwriter may pick up lines in your bank statement or payslip and query them to make sure there aren't any undisclosed commitments.