What % of your household income is your minimum mortgage payment?
Posted by Codders94@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 135 comments
Me and my other half are looking to buy our first home together. I currently own the house we’re living in at the moment and my minimum payment is 17% of my salary (2.3% on current mortgage which is due to expire shortly). However the mortgages for the houses we’re currently looking at will total around 25% of our household income (combined salaries and a mortgage rate of about 4.5%).
So, what % of your household income is your minimum mortgage payment?
pooinyourear@reddit
Net income £5.3K, mortgage is £1,850 a month. So about 33% or so.
Feels fine, mortgage was higher than I wanted to commit to but it was to push the boat out a bit for the perfect house. Only two years in and gradually salary inflation should make the number a bit more comfortable in the long run.
Western-Edge-965@reddit
36 % but I over pay so 42 %. Annoyingly the tax man is taking £120 from my wages because i earned too much interest on my savings
sexycoldturtle@reddit
I don’t have a mortgage
YorkshirePug@reddit
14% of net
pixel-powder@reddit
78.26% It won't be long until the mortgage company begin repossession proceedings, and I'm heartbroken
TheNorthC@reddit
This is an awful situation to be in. I'm trying to think of a way out, but at the end of the day, the domestic situation does not get you out of the financial predicament.
But say the borrower allowed you to add the arrears onto the mortgage, how would that play out? I'm assuming your husband is not going to be living with you again - it would obviously put your life at risk - so who would pay off the mortgage?
pixel-powder@reddit
He's definitely not returning.
I owe £230,000 ish
I earn enough that I COULD afford the mortgage, if I wasn't stuck on a variable rate - which I can't do anything about as he is on the mortgage.
This is wishful thinking, but ideally he would sign the house over without me having to buy him out, as I used over £60k from the sale of my (solo) first house as the deposit for this one. But from his past behaviours I would say he does not have a better nature for me to appeal to.
Or I want to sell the house. But I can't do that without his permission. He has ignored a divorce application, and I don't imagine he'll be in a rush to help me and allow the sale of the house
But I would appreciate the mortgage company acknowledging that I am doing my best, at the very minimum
No-Medicine1230@reddit
Really sorry to hear that. I think we'll hear a lot more of that towards the end of the year. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get into that position?
pixel-powder@reddit
POS husband is in prison for strangling me. Can't sell without his permission, can't remortgage without his permission. Mortgage company doing the least to help
KT180x@reddit
Who is your lender? I work for a bank and it's insane that they haven't done anything at all and are just repossession. Have you spoken to their financial support team and registered a life event?
pixel-powder@reddit
Bluestone. I have been in contact with them every month since he was first arrested in January 2025, to keep them updated with the situation
They've offered me nothing by way of support; there's never any continuity with who I speak to when I call them, even though I've apparently got a 'dedicated case manager'.
I made a complaint to them about their lack of support, which they upheld and offered me £300 compensation - which I declined as I am in £17k of arrears at the moment, and £300 is not going to help me or my children move forward
Chilled-Fridge@reddit
Have you raised this with the financial ombudsman? Absolutely disgusting treatment and you should’ve been offered some level of support at a minimum.
pixel-powder@reddit
Yes, now with the ombudsman
No-Struggle-8971@reddit
Citizens Advice Bureau may also be worth considering.
pixel-powder@reddit
I have spoken with them, they put me in touch with PayPlan, but on the whole, not very much they could do except point me in the direction of solicitors who give an hour's free advice
No-Medicine1230@reddit
Damn, that really sucks. Praying something comes along to help you out
DiamondL0st@reddit
Are you making payments?
Because lenders generally hate repossessing as it's costly and time consuming for them. It's usually a very last resort for them.
pixel-powder@reddit
They won't allow me to make anything other than the minimum payment, which I can't afford (for context, my POS husband is in prison for strangling me - hence the high income/mortgage payment percentage). I asked them if I could switch to interest only, but that would only save me £50/month
DiamondL0st@reddit
Damn, really sorry to hear about your situation.
I can see in another comment you've gone to the ombudsman, definitely the right move in this situation. I hope this somehow improves for you!!
Dangerous-Boot-3036@reddit
What about lengthening the term of the mortgage
pixel-powder@reddit
I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was already a 32 year loan
Sea-Still5427@reddit
I'm so sorry. Have you told them why it is or spoken to anyone like Step Change, Refuge or CAB? It sounds like this is a consequence of domestic violence so there should be support available to stop you becoming homeless.
Also, could you email Martin Lewis or another consumer champion? There's a fundamental injustice going on here.
pixel-powder@reddit
I've spoken with PayPlan - they have helped immensely with other debt that he left me with, which has given me a little more disposable income
Honestly I would've thought there would have been so much more help for someone in my position - the victim of what the CPS rule a serious crime, 2 children under 16, full time shift worker - but they are literally only interested in asking when I can pay them.
Makes me sick that the payments are £1754.98, and if I were to pay interest only the payments would be £1703.57 - the money they are chasing me for is literally going into the bank's profits and not actually off my mortgage anyway 😭
I hadn't considered Martin Lewis - but this sounds like a shout!
Sea-Still5427@reddit
Definitely worth fighting for! Also try DWP in case the DV context entities you to extra financial help. That's in turn the gateway to social tariffs for utilities, which would help reduce other bills.
Your GP surgery may have what they call a 'social prescriber', who helps connect people with non-medical services. The council might also agree to reduce your council tax.
Hope it helps. If you need emotional support or space to talk through your options, do call Samaritans on 116 123.
pixel-powder@reddit
Thank you 🩷
Known-Highway-8465@reddit
Oh gosh, I’m so sorry 😔
DrH1983@reddit
I'm spending about 45% of my income on rent
GlumAd9856@reddit
This is in the top 10 of most asked questions on here. Almost every day someone posts the question.
The tl:dr answer is that it's a largely pointless metric. If the bank will give you a mortgage then it is by definition affordable.
Lion-Resident@reddit
Just because the bank will give you a mortgage, doesn't mean you can afford to own a home. You need to consider all of the other bills and outgoings as well as upkeep of the home. The bank will tell you you can afford it, but in my experience, you should not take the full loan, due to the reasons I have mentioned above.
TheNorthC@reddit
The banks want to understand that you can afford all aspects of owning a house to minimise your probability of default.
headphones1@reddit
All three of my mortgage applications required me to do thorough affordability testing, which would look at bills, spending, debt, income, and more.
Lion-Resident@reddit
Yes but they don't include things like upkeep of the home, which can be on average about 1% of the cost of the home per year. They don't include incidental and unexpected outgoings like paying for the funeral of a loved one or paying for care or losing a job or being out of work for an extended period of time due to unexpected health issues. The bank don't give a shit if you fall on hard times. They are not there to help you. You need to be savvy.
Unique_Agency_4543@reddit
It depends what other spending the borrower has, you might not be able to afford the full amount the bank will lend but someone else might. Assess your own income and expenditure.
HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit
Unless everyone has the same income using a percentage is a pretty useless comparison.
ClockAccomplished381@reddit
It's still pretty useless even then because it takes no account of equity or remaining duration. Someone could have a mortgage payment that is more than 100% of their income and it could be a lot more affordable than someone with a much lower percentage and an identical income.
Even if you take two people buying houses on the same day costing exactly the same amount with identical incomes and LTV, the mortgage payment can still differ just base on different term lengths. That doesn't necessarily mean one is better or worse than the other.
jib_reddit@reddit
That is how a lot of people lost thier houses and caused the 2008 financial crash.
Spastic_Hands@reddit
I always find this question odd, surely percentages are useful here but nominal value. Someone on 2K take home having 30% on their mortgage will have less disposable income as somone with 4k take home having 50% on their mortgage
Codders94@reddit (OP)
Yes.. good point well made. I clearly didn’t think this through, oops!
Rubberfootman@reddit
You’re going to get widely different answers here. Some people are crushed under the weight of their mortgage, and some earn enough to pay it with one day’s wages.
knotatwist@reddit
I think OP might be asking to get a gauge on how "normal" or acceptable their mortgage payments are going to be, so they can feel more comfortable with the increased mortgage spend they are taking on.
Codders94@reddit (OP)
Yep, this is the case. I was just trying to sense check whether this is considered to be within a normal range or not.
I appreciate some people will earn a fortune and spend a fortune on a mortgage, although I’m assuming those people are probably the exception rather than the rule.
Fattydog@reddit
Also you can be paying over 50% of your income in mortgage and be absolutely fine if you earn a lot.
Immediate_Fly830@reddit
Exactly this.
Paying £5000pm on a £10000pm net salary is totally doable if someone wanted to do it.
Paying 1000pm on a 2000pm net salary is disastrous
spaceshipcommander@reddit
It's also a pointless metric because the size of your mortgage doesn't necessarily correlate you the value of your house, nor is your mortgage usually the most expensive part of owning a house, depending on value of course.
Some things scale with property value either, some things don't. A £150k farm house in wales costs more to heat than a £1m flat in London, for example.
browneyone@reddit
4.7%
We pay an extra amount which makes it 8%
Commercial-Pear-543@reddit
24% of our take home pay after all payslip deductions.
It would be around 16% of our gross pay.
We both got payrises after buying the house so it’s been comfortable. Currently debating moving but for the houses we like we could be up to 40% of our take home pay currently, so debates to be had.
Prestigious_Care_771@reddit
54%
Heathenry2@reddit
Christ
SlopingMonkey@reddit
54% of £8k take home is very different to 54% of £2.5k take home
Heathenry2@reddit
True but Christ
lovemycat02@reddit
Are you ok
Prestigious_Care_771@reddit
🤣 all good. To be fair, as another user posted, this is after pension deductions, so maybe 47% without. Bought out ex & legal fees etc. 🤷
knotatwist@reddit
27% of take home pay
Anything under 1/3 is supposed to be pretty decent unless you're earning in the top like 5% when you could probably afford a higher % on a mortgage because your other costs won't necessarily be as high a % of your income (your water bill isn't costing more just because you earn more, for instance)
Portsmo@reddit
I agree 1/3 is the magic number. Move too close to 50% and you really start to feel it.
Edo1405@reddit
Can confirm, I got done by the interest rates a few years back and I’m at 55%
Portsmo@reddit
You and me both. My wife & I had children, her income dropped to (almost) nothing. I approached 50% of my salary and I *noticed* it.
There’s a meaningful difference between 30% and 50%. Both are manageable but one is much more enjoyable than the other. I’d be wary of going much higher personally.
Edo1405@reddit
We sound like the same person! 😂
Severus_1987@reddit
This is the important point. 30% at £30k a year salary is going to hurt. But at £100k salary your disposable is still way above most people
K1ng_Canary@reddit
We're currently at 20% but in August it'll be hitting 27% as our previous fixed rate we secured in COVID is expiring.
Still more than manageable but the extra £500 is still gonna sting.
WealthMain2987@reddit
We are around 25% and we have a 2.64% mortgage. Not going to that percentage when it comes to renewal next year
StuMcAwesome@reddit
21.8%, mortgage is my own and this is based purely on my own salary.
tortoiseshell_claws@reddit
33% of my take home. I live alone and it is manageable but I do have to budget.
dazabhoy67@reddit
21%
Probably more like 15% as I have a 2nd job on a 0 hour contract too.
Adorable_Orange_195@reddit
8.3% but I pay 14.5%
I’m lucky, I live in a 1 bed flat that only has £49.5k left on the mortgage and I locked in at roughly 2.05% for 10 years just before the rates started rising here.
Racing_Fox@reddit
About 4.5%
But we’re in a flat and will likely never be able to afford a house so it’s going to be cheaper
Domtaka@reddit
32% of mine but will go up to 38% in October when my current fix comes to an end.
Unique_Agency_4543@reddit
About 45% of take home, which is too much but we bought in our 20s are both due significant pay rises next year which will make it much easier.
Itchy_Scarcity_6253@reddit
%59
Severus_1987@reddit
35% of net (dual income of £190k gross)
ADPriceless@reddit
9%
Capable_Pack3656@reddit
It's my house but my partner lives here. 4.75% just me, 3.2% if we include her (though she doesn't pay the mortgage).
BrilliantClarity@reddit
24% of our combined income. It’s fine. Nursery is the killer
Not_Winter_badger@reddit
£190k HHI , 26% income post tax is mortgage.
D0wnb0at@reddit
20%, but I feel like asking this question you need context. Cause I live in Yorkshire so house prices are much lower, and I’ve had the house 9 years.
If I was to buy the same house today, with the same term it would be 34%.
Divgirl2@reddit
Lol, I'm also in Yorkshire and mine would be 69% of my personal take-home.
To be fair it's probably under 30% of our combined take-home, but Yorkshire isn't a monolith of cheap housing.
D0wnb0at@reddit
All about location tho, there are loads of places in Yorkshire that I couldn’t afford on my own. Especially n North Yorkshire, Harrogate or York, even some places in Leeds.
kai_enby@reddit
15% or so. My goal was to keep our mortgage lower than our rent had been and we made it (Mortgage £785 vs Rent £925). If it was me alone here the payments would be about 34% which would be a lot tighter than I'd like but not unmanageable
RiceeeChrispies@reddit
the only people you find in these threads are people using it to brag about how much or how little income they have, like an olympic sport
diamonddduck@reddit
Around 23%
Sparko_Marco@reddit
It's about 20% of my income, I'm not sure how much my wife gets but it might take it down to around 15% of our total income.
rockdecasba@reddit
19.65%, could pay more but enjoying my life. Also have better returns on my stocks and shares isa than my mortgage rate
ChocolateSnowflake@reddit
10% of our combined take home.
Nursery fees are 20% 🤢
mosleyowl@reddit
22% after a recent job move
Valuable-Juice6495@reddit
It’s 19% for me rn but I’m going to be doubling my salary shortly as I’m moving to a better job. 1 bed flat in zone 3 east London
glasgowgeg@reddit
18.9% of my take home monthly pay.
ojdewar@reddit
About 32 percent as a solo first time buyer in London.
bouncy_shouts@reddit
8.7% of joint net but I appreciate that we are on a 0.99% fix that’s about to end and the mortgage is in my name alone (and I’m about to drop to SMP when baby arrives).
But it’s the running costs that get us. Our heating, water and council tax are ridiculous compared to the value of the house (these three combined are more than the mortgage monthly). The cost of food shopping seems to have doubled in the last 10 years. We live within our means but we dont live a fancy lifestyle considering that our income is high for our area.
FunProfessional2227@reddit
5.8%
Dd_8630@reddit
Of monthly net income? 17% (£1000 out of £6400/mo).
25pmate@reddit
5.7%. Live in a tiny house. Just finished my apprenticeship so my wage has increased massively. Just saving for a bigger one
MyelomaMama@reddit
40% of my take home pay. Sole owner.
95jo@reddit
15.4% of household income after tax and pension contributions. 18 year term at 3.96% at roughly 52-55% LTV.
We could definitely stretch further, but quite happy with our current home and our lifestyle and savings rates as a result.
95jo@reddit
I should add for further context, we live in a relatively new 4 bedroom detached in a small commuter town in the North West.
whygamoralad@reddit
5% but I worked it out on pre tax deductions
PigletAlert@reddit
20% but with service charge and ground rent it’s 30%
soulsteela@reddit
It’s about 20% but we are in the last 4 years of ours so the fixed rates we lucked out with for our mortgage are a lot harder to find now.
Sea-Still5427@reddit
0%. Work dried up since COVID and I have very little income, so no lifestyle at all, but I'm debt-free with a roof over my head and grateful I managed to buy while I still had work.
cdr268@reddit
35% of my take home. If including my wife's pay. Then it moves to around 25% of our monthly joint income. I believe the "rule of thumb" to be comfortable is anything under 28% is good. This is what my financial advisor told me when i bought my house anyway.
ConversationTop4743@reddit
Less than 3% of my take home, single so busy my income and only myself to support Its a cheap property and I've got a reasonable income
Isgortio@reddit
My income is variable due to working part time and being a student (I've just finished uni) but my mortgage is £312 a month. It's a small flat on my own in a cheap area, and I managed to buy it whilst I was a student lol. But in terms of the monthly allowance I gave myself for bills and food, it was 30%.
jahambo@reddit
At this moment in time 15% but we have recently bought a forever home which takes us to 30%. It is lower because I prefer the flexibility of taking out the maximum length and overpaying. I plan to overpay heavily the first few years, but if one of us lose our jobs or whatever we won’t be kicked to the curb
maceion@reddit
When we started our mortgage was about 40% on main earner's take home pay. We saved the other earner salary as reserve for when we had children. When we paid off mortgage the percentage had dropped to about 25% due to annual salary rises. It took a long time to be mortgage free. However a vast morale boost to know we 'owned' our own home.
govnyuuk@reddit
Approximately 0%
Bksudbjdua@reddit
14%
glitterstateofmind@reddit
Just over 18% of my net monthly pay.
meteoricboy@reddit
28% of net incl pension payments
Fudball1@reddit
10% currently, but my fixed rate ends in January and that will be going up sadly.
Jastha@reddit
About 8%
Jingoldsby@reddit
Should really be considering total house hold out goings i.e. morgage, home insurance, utilities (gas electric water), Internet, service or maintenance charges, tv licence / subs and any large predefined commitments i.e. thing's outstanding debt/loans & pet insurances etc.
Morgage - 35% post tax Utilities etc in above - 53% Inc unsecured debt - 79% Adjusted for loger income (max under rent a room shceme) - 62%
Gary_BBGames@reddit
30% of my salary. I don’t even know what my wife earns. We keep separate finances and I just pay for everything. I earn much more than her, so it works well this way.
Puzzled-Barnacle-200@reddit
Currently 26%, but when we took the mortgage out it was 32%.
RandomUser5453@reddit
Mine is 15.96% of my take home pay.
I needed to remortgage last year and the mortgage rates were still high so my current rate is 4.91% ending next year in the second half of the year.
maersyl@reddit
For my wife and I it is 26%, which is manageable, but I earn over double what she does in a job I hate, so I’m a bit wage trapped as we’d be screwed if I quit!
fancycakelover@reddit
18%
PMW84@reddit
22% of take home.
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
Ours is relatively low compared to others, we bought a renovation project and funded the work out of our disposable income rather than adding to the mortgage. It was a deliberate decision for 2 reasons- here all the houses like ours are much of a muchness, built in a 20 year period and virtually all the same size, an extra bedroom is another 60-80k minimum. The other reason is my wife has various health conditions and could have to reduce her hours or give up work in the coming years, the plan is to be able to say that’s fine and not have to worry about bills (I’m the money one in the house)
No-Medicine1230@reddit
About 22% currently. Due to remortgage this year and I fear that will get much worse
sossighead@reddit
It’s 37% of my own take home (after investments as well).
If I include my wife she makes slightly less than me so it’s a fairly comfortable proportion of our household income.
spaceshipcommander@reddit
Before or after tax? 7.5% before tax and I live alone. But what does that tell you really? The Mortgage is often the cheapest part of owning a home.
CTLNBRN@reddit
29% of my guaranteed income. I have a second job which is more variable and was supposed to only be for 6 months (still working it 1.5 years later). Including the typical amount I get from that + my regular income it's about 19%
Skanedog@reddit
It's 11% for me.
mocha-macaron@reddit
Mine is 22% of my salary. But that’s cause I live in a little town that isn’t super close to a city but has trains for 35-50 mins
lovemycat02@reddit
Mine is roughly 26%. Single homeowner on apprentice wage.
Lion-Resident@reddit
30%
Wot-Died@reddit
17% of single net salary
jaju123@reddit
Kinda a pointless question tbh 😂 Some such as I have almost paid off our mortgage.
Rule of thumb is that it should be 30% of your net. But obviously this changes if you earn 40k versus if you earn 400k cos you have quite a bit left in the latter case for everything else
No-Actuator-6245@reddit
About 12.5% but we bought 18 years ago. When we first bought it was probably 30% IIRC.
Fair_Condition_1460@reddit
Live alone, single income. 17% after the interest rates went back to normal. I prefer it under 20% because you can't guarantee future income and health.
iamabigtree@reddit
Of our gross income it's 7%. Not sure on the net.
BelstaffBoy@reddit
pokeyminkymoo@reddit
Mine is 30%. I'm just about to be divorced and bought my ex out of the house. This is what I am comfortable with to allow me to still have some disposable income.
pokeyminkymoo@reddit
To add, this is my take home pay after pension deductions.
Lynvor@reddit
20%
anp1997@reddit
About 12% of take home
AutoModerator@reddit
Please help keep AskUK welcoming!
When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!
Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.