How much can I borrow?
Before you start arranging property viewings, the big question is always “How much can I borrow?” In the past, the answer to this would have been a rule-of-thumb multiple based on your salary or your joint salaries if you were a couple.
Post credit crunch and the financial crisis, mortgage lenders were required by the Financial Conduct Authority (the regulator of the financial services industry), to adopt an affordability-based approach to lending. This means that banks and building societies are now required to scrutinise borrowers’ incomes, outgoings and credit history closely and apply strict affordability criteria, ensuring that borrowers can comfortably afford their repayments now and in the foreseeable future.