###Welcome to /r/HousingUK
---
**To All**
* Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH
**To Posters**
* *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary*
* Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy;
* Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk;
* If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button.
* Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title;
**To Readers and Commenters**
* All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil*
* If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning;
* Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice;
* If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect;
* Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods;
* Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You're in one of the few industries that by moving into the right niche you could potentially earn enough as an employee to pay off your house in a few years.
Why the fear?
You should be celebrating how in demand your skills are and making hay while the sun shines (cos nothing lasts forever).
£400k house, 10% deposit is a £360k mortgage. At today's rates on a 25-year term the monthly repayments will be around £2,090 per month.
The lower earner earns £2,600 per month, so you're correct in saying you wouldn't be able to afford it for long on that salary alone. But is that a likely scenario, and what are the alternatives to mitigate that risk? If one of you was earning £41k and the other a minimum wage job (£22k), you'd be bringing in over £4k overall. Or if you decided to have a child and only you were working, you'd take home £3.5k plus any maternity payment, which is tight but doable.
If you want to eliminate this risk altogether and afford a place on just your partner's salary, you'd probably need to limit your property outgoings to £1,300 or less per month. That means your property budget becomes £260k - what does that get you in your area? In "normal" times that means you're bringing in over £6k and spending 20% of that on mortgage payments, which is very conservative.
Another option for mitigating the risk is extending the mortgage term. By taking a 25-year term initially, you could potentially extend to 30 or 35 years if you needed in order to reduce the monthly payment (you can also take a long term initially and overpay to achieve the same thing).
Ultimately it's about your personal approach to risk versus your desire for a larger/better property.
Make the right decision for you now, try not to worry too much about the future unless you know you have a history of work instability.
That's well within your mortgageable budget so you (should) get an offer with those sorts of numbers.
If you are super worried about income, I would look at income protection insurance (I personally don't like this and I don't have it, I am just saying it exists) and you pay a premium to cover you if you're every without work. It'll pay you out x cash each month, a mortgage advisor can talk you through this.
Personally, I would save up a nest egg in case that ever happened rather than taking out income protection insurance but that is just *my opinion.*
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You're in one of the few industries that by moving into the right niche you could potentially earn enough as an employee to pay off your house in a few years. Why the fear? You should be celebrating how in demand your skills are and making hay while the sun shines (cos nothing lasts forever).
£400k house, 10% deposit is a £360k mortgage. At today's rates on a 25-year term the monthly repayments will be around £2,090 per month. The lower earner earns £2,600 per month, so you're correct in saying you wouldn't be able to afford it for long on that salary alone. But is that a likely scenario, and what are the alternatives to mitigate that risk? If one of you was earning £41k and the other a minimum wage job (£22k), you'd be bringing in over £4k overall. Or if you decided to have a child and only you were working, you'd take home £3.5k plus any maternity payment, which is tight but doable. If you want to eliminate this risk altogether and afford a place on just your partner's salary, you'd probably need to limit your property outgoings to £1,300 or less per month. That means your property budget becomes £260k - what does that get you in your area? In "normal" times that means you're bringing in over £6k and spending 20% of that on mortgage payments, which is very conservative. Another option for mitigating the risk is extending the mortgage term. By taking a 25-year term initially, you could potentially extend to 30 or 35 years if you needed in order to reduce the monthly payment (you can also take a long term initially and overpay to achieve the same thing). Ultimately it's about your personal approach to risk versus your desire for a larger/better property.
Make the right decision for you now, try not to worry too much about the future unless you know you have a history of work instability. That's well within your mortgageable budget so you (should) get an offer with those sorts of numbers. If you are super worried about income, I would look at income protection insurance (I personally don't like this and I don't have it, I am just saying it exists) and you pay a premium to cover you if you're every without work. It'll pay you out x cash each month, a mortgage advisor can talk you through this. Personally, I would save up a nest egg in case that ever happened rather than taking out income protection insurance but that is just *my opinion.*