How to Buy a House

How Much can I Borrow?

The first thing you need to consider when you are looking into how to buy a house, is how much you can borrow to pay for it. Using traditional income multiples, this can amount to around 2.5 x a single salary (or can be less), or – if you are buying a property with someone else – up to 3.5 x joint salaries.

However, as properties have become more expensive, mortgages lenders will generally allow you to borrow more than this. An increasing number of lenders are now also ditching income multiples in favour of 'affordability criteria'. This takes into account all your usual monthly expenses and assesses whether what remains is enough to support your mortgage repayments.

Although FirstRungNow remains strictly independent, we have teamed up with a network of independent mortgage advisors offering mortgage advice who can find the best first time buyer mortgage for you. They will let you know how much you can borrow, which is the best mortgage and how much it will cost.

You can see the variety of mortgages that have been designed to help you buy your first home in our best first time buyers mortgages  comparison table.

If you are buying alone but want to rent out a room in your property to help with the cost of the mortgage, the first £4,250 you receive in rental payments is exempt from tax. Visit HM Revenue and Customs (formerly the Inland Revenue) for full details. This income can even be factored into your affordability when considering how much you can borrow.

If when you add up your savings, gifts and how much you can afford to borrow you don't have enough, you might want to extend your search area or stretch your finances by combining financial muscle with someone else.


Find out more about the How to Buy a House :

Find a First Property  First Time Buyer Mortgages  Conveyancing Solicitors and Legal costs  Stamp Duty  Property Insurance  Home Information Packs contents  How to Budget  Surveys and Surveyors  Solicitors  Removal Companies  Utilities Companies  Buying a House at Auction  Buying a Repossessed Property

• Contact a mortgage advisor to find out how much you can borrow
• Best first mortgages table
• Buying with a friend/joint ownership
• Search for a first property in your area

Most useful and most popular pages on this site:

Look for your First Property l Seek First Time Buyer Mortgage Advice l See our Best First Mortgages Comparison Table l Find out about First Time Buyer Mortgages l Find out How to Buy a House l Learn all about The First Time Buyer Mortgage l Shared Ownership

Useful Links:

• www.cml.org.uk