What Is a Mortgage Affordability Calculator?
A mortgage affordability calculator helps you estimate how much you can afford to borrow to buy a house. The calculator asks simple questions to calculate mortgage affordability. For example, the calculator will ask you to provide your:
- Income
- Outgoings and debts
- Age
- Planned retirement age
- Property's location
- Property's value
- Purchaser type, whether a first-time buyer or home mover
- Length of initial fixed term
- Mortgage type, whether interest-only or full repayment
- Mortgage term.
With a mortgage affordability calculator, you can better understand the price range of homes you can realistically afford and avoid wasting your time and effort on properties outside your budget.
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READY TO FIND THE RIGHT MORTGAGE DEAL?
Simply fill out our mortgage affordability calculator to find mortgage deals that could be available to you.
To provide you with an accurate product suggestion that's based on your circumstances, our calculator will ask you about the property in question, the type of deal you want and your income.
It will then show you mortgage product results for you to discuss with your mortgage broker in a free call back.
Mortgage Affordability Calculator FAQs
How Much Can I Afford to Borrow for a Mortgage?
How much you can borrow for a mortgage will depend on your financial situation. Mortgage lenders will assess your income and outgoings among other factors to determine how much they will lend to you for a mortgage. Generally speaking, lenders offer a mortgage up to 4.5x your annual income. However, this can vary depending on the lender and your circumstances.
Lenders will also consider your credit score, other debts, employment status and deposit size. Our mortgage affordability calculator can only estimate what you could borrow and the amount you can afford may differ from the amount a lender approves. But, it’s a great starting point you can use when figuring out what kind of property you want to buy. You can also use your potential borrowing to work out other elements of your mortgage, such as how much deposit you’ll need and what your monthly payments will look like.
How Is My Mortgage Affordability Calculated?
Mortgage affordability calculations vary from lender to lender, but they share a lot of similarities and consider a lot of the same information - such as income, outgoings, loan-to-income ratio, loan-to-value, credit score and debt. Mortgage lenders will use these factors among others to determine your affordability and assess your ability to repay your mortgage - i.e how much you can borrow, your mortgage term and your monthly payments.
Lenders typically require proof of income - such as payslips or tax returns - and details of your outgoings - such as loan repayments, utility bills and living expenses.
Our house affordability calculator allows you to input a lot of information to get an accurate result of your potential borrowing amount. Nonetheless, bear in mind that this figure may vary slightly between lenders.
How Accurate Are Mortgage Affordability Calculators?
While mortgage affordability calculators are a useful way of estimating how you can afford to borrow, the accuracy of the calculations can vary depending on the data you input and the assumptions it makes. Each lender also has their own affordability calculations, which means you may be able to borrow more with one lender and less with another.
The quality of the information you enter into the calculator will also affect the accuracy of the calculation. Only complete or correct data will deliver accurate results. Mortgage affordability calculators are also unable to predict future changes in your financial circumstances and interest rates.
Mortgage affordability calculators are a helpful starting point for learning what mortgage you can afford, but they don't provide the full picture. Speaking directly with an independent mortgage broker like John Charcol who can consider circumstances, as well as your potential maximum borrowing, and look at the products available will give you a better idea of your mortgage.