Before you start the application process, it’s important to know you will be able to afford your mortgage long-term.
There are plenty of calculators on the web to help you work out what you can afford – try ours for starters, or test the new affordability calculator from Shareamortgage.com.
The company’s research shows the cost of living for the average Briton is £13,281 before any money can be spent on accommodation.
Many trying to get their first foot onto the property ladder can neither stretch to repaying a mortgage on top of this, nor save up enough money for a deposit.
The average yearly wage in the UK currently stands at £26,500. Net, this is £20,974 leaving just £7692 after living costs, meaning making mortgage repayments would simply not be viable.
With house prices and living costs both increasing, first time buyers on average incomes or lower are inevitably feeling the financial strain of keeping up their mortgage repayments.
The average food bill per person is just over £1,476 a year and with recent research by Shelter revealing 10 per cent of parents have skipped meals in the past year in a bid to keep up with mortgage repayments, households are facing a sustainability crisis.
A further 37 per cent of parents surveyed also admitted to cutting back on food budgets to cover the costs of keeping a roof over their child’s head.
“Wage growth has been less than one per cent in recent months,” comments the company’s cofounder Andrew Boast.
“With property prices rising far quicker than average earnings, people haven’t had the time to catch up with the rising cost of living, leaving many trapped by their own budgets.”
