Passing lender affordability criteria

F37A

Hi 

So I have a mortgage offer to buy a flat in London but found a better flat outside of London that I like. I am considering switching flats. Only thing is that i'd have to get the very expensive train into london to get to work with the flat that is outside of London. Now my concern is if I change properties i'll only get rejected due to affordability thresholds of lender. My estimated costs (mortgage + train travel + Bills + Food) comes to 87.5% of monthly take home pay if I go for the flat outside of London. To me this looks bleak except i'd still have 10k cash left as spare if I bought the flat. Any ideas how lender would view this? I'd hate to switch properties only to run into a dead end (i.e lender says no you can't afford) 

I really like the flat outside of london that is what is frustrating at the moment.

LegallyLandlord

You might be able to negotiate a lower price for the flat. Would you be commuting in every day? What does your broker say?

F37A

LegallyLandlord said:

You might be able to negotiate a lower price for the flat. Would you be commuting in every day? What does your broker say?

I'm commuting in 2 days at the moment. But a season ticket on train is the killer. Some employers already demanding 4 days in office. I will check with the broker

kingstreet

Run the proposition in lender affordability calculators and see what results you get. Some lenders use ONS figures for travel and won't ask. Others may check if the commute appears above-average.

F37A

kingstreet said:

Run the proposition in lender affordability calculators and see what results you get. Some lenders use ONS figures for travel and won't ask. Others may check if the commute appears above-average.

I suppose in the era of hybrid working might be able to keep travel costs down. Ok will have a look at calcs if available online.