moving home - how much can we borrow?

[caymanbill]

DonkeyApple said:

On a separate matter, I’m not sure there is any rush at all in the current market to upsize. The rush is firmly on for those wanting to downsize and that is only going to build. In a rising cost for debt market then your deposit on your current property will shrink much slower than on the larger properties and the percentage premium on values is going to shrink dramatically. Personally, if I was still moving up then I would be sitting right and accumulating cash.

Interesting point. Backed up by the price reduction's we've seen on properties and EAs chasing us up. It certainly seems like a buyers market in this price bracket.

[jakesmith]

If you have an excellent / perfect credit rating, First Direct seem to offer a large loan to income and also have amongst the lowest rates in the market
2 people on £39k can borrow £370k
Then add your deposit and you have £620
https://mortgages.firstdirect.com/mortgage-calcula...

[Harry Flashman]

Gad-Westy said:

BRISTOL86 said:

Speak to Sarnie on here - I will never use another mortgage broker again after comparing his service with that of the previous broker I used, and everyone else who has used him will vouch for him too I have no doubt!

I've not used Sarnie but would completely agree with the principal of involving a proper IFA or broker. We used a local guy recently and the product and market knowledge was absolutely superb. I thought I was reasonably savvy about this stuff, knew all the web sites to check for best rates, affordability calculators etc. I think I also naively had a notion in my head that IFA's were for wealthier people than myself and were more centered around investments and tax efficiency. But speaking to a decent IFA recently was a real revelation. They understand how each lender assesses risk, know who there's no point applying to, know who'll actually offer you the best rates, ignoring the headline figures and normally offer some sound advice on the rest of your finances. Saved us a fortune and I massively regret not doing it sooner with older mortgages or indeed just about anything financial.

Same here. We were buying a difficult property: Renovation that was uninhabitable, with Japanese Knotweed in the garden. Also, my wife is a US citizen who earns in Swiss Francs. Most will not lend on such complications. My broker (whom sounds a bit like Sarnie i.e. brilliant) used his knowledge to get us a mortgage. The level of detail involved included knowing exactly who would ask what in relation to the Knotweed, and what they required to make the property habitable for valuation survey purposes (chucking in a loo, sink and freestanding cooker was all we had to do - some lenders insist on a fitted kitchen and proper bathroom, and our seller would not have wanted to do this work).

His knowledge on how the valuation surveyor acting for his shortlist was next: would they do a full, in-depth survey and see the potential in the house that we did (and thus also maybe pick up something major that we had not if there was a problem), or would they use an algorithm/EA photos and drive-by survey? We wanted the former. Then, of the two he narrowed it down to, who would work the fastest and who had the best team/account manager - we were on a tight timescale with the seller (estate in probate) who wanted a deal done quickly. Our competitors were developers buying with cash, so this all had to fall in place.. From this one provider was dropped and ours selected, despite the deals available for a 5 year fixed being on paper. And as Mike (mortgage broker) said they would be, they were superb and efficient.

You hear plenty of horror stories. If you are a marginal or difficult case, a good broker with proper relationships with lenders is everything. Mike earned his commission (paid by the mortgage company, not us, and fully disclosed to us).

Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 30th March 23:43

[g3org3y]

DonkeyApple said:

My guess is that around 4x is probably the ballpark.

That seemed to be the approx figure when we were applying for our mortgage.

[Pete Franklin]

I'm in almost same situation as you re combined salaries. But with 2 kids. I've just remorgaged maxing it out to finish refurbing the house.

The max I could borrow was 335k with Barkleys on 28 years. May have been able to get slightly more on a longer term.

[scsracing]

You'd be best getting some pro help, people that deal with it day in day out. A lot don't charge until you've gone past the stage of nearly getting the money, ie the mortgage has been approved.

Another nudge for Sarnie,

I had another, slightly different to the norm set of circumstances. He knew exactly what data to use and what not to use, along with who to apply too.