How much can I borrow?
Find out how much you could borrow for your mortgage with our calculator - just enter your income below.
What this means
The amount you could borrow is based on your income increased by a multiplier. Lenders traditionally offer an amount between four and five times your income, though in some cases they may offer more or less than this.
If you are borrowing with a partner there are a few ways a lender might combine your incomes. They may add both together and use a lower multiplier, or multiply the larger income and add the smaller on top.
Note that this calculator should be used as a guide and factors other than income will influence the amount you'll be offered, such as existing debts and your spending habits.
How does a mortgage work?
When you buy a home you'll typically put down a lump sum, called a 'deposit', towards the property's purchase price. The remaining cost of your home can be paid for with a mortgage. You'll own your home, but the mortgage will be secured against it and you'll have to make monthly repayments on the mortgage to prevent losing it.
Your regular mortgage payments will include interest, which is what the lender charges for allowing you to borrow money. The amount of interest you pay depends on the mortgage interest rate – this is a percentage of the total amount you still owe.
There are several different types of mortgages, including:
If you want to live in the property, you'll find that most of the mortgages available to you are repayment mortgages. This means you'll pay off a bit of the loan every month, on top of paying interest. However, if you're getting a buy-to-let mortgage, you'll find most of them are interest-only. This means you'll only pay interest each month, and you'll still owe the amount borrowed at the end of your mortgage term.
How much deposit do you need for a mortgage?
It depends on how much of a risk the lender sees you as.
When you apply for a mortgage, the company will decide how much of a risk you are by assessing your affordability and your credit history. They'll usually look at things like:
- Information from your credit report – this helps them see if you've repaid credit successfully in the past
- Your income and regular expenditure – this helps them see how much you can afford to repay each month
- Your other financial commitments, such as credit cards and loans – this helps them understand how much debt you already have
Generally, companies will see you as higher risk if you have a poor credit score. You can get an idea of how companies may see you by checking your free Experian Credit Score.
The size of your deposit can also affect your mortgage interest rate and how much you pay each month – a larger deposit usually means better rates and smaller monthly payments. It's possible to get mortgages with a 5% or 0% deposit, but they generally come with high interest rates, and you may need a guarantor to get one.
