How much can I borrow?

What affects your borrowing power? 

While each lender will have slightly different lending criteria, most will follow a fairly similar process to determine how much they’re willing to lend you.

1. Your household income and expenses

Before deciding on a loan application, banks are legally obliged to take “reasonable steps to verify the consumer’s financial situation”. Since the Hayne Royal Commission, this has typically been understood to mean verifying a borrower’s income and expenditure by physically checking their bank statements.

Your income and expenses will form the backbone of your bank’s assessment of your creditworthiness, though they’ll show an interest in your employment status, too, with freelancers and contractors often deemed higher risk.

2. Your credit history

This one’s a no-brainer, really. The purpose of the bank assessing your financial health is to determine whether you’ll be able to service the monthly repayments, and a credit check goes straight to the heart of that matter, by telling banks whether you’ve paid bills on time in the past.

3. The size of your deposit

Most lenders will offer loans to borrowers with deposits as low as 5% of the property’s lender-assessed value, but will charge extra fees for those with less than 20%. More on that later.

4. Your reason for buying the property

Banks treat owner-occupiers and investors differently, with the latter currently charged higher rates.

5. An analysis of the property

In addition to analysing your personal finances, banks will take a good look at the property to determine how much they’re willing to lend you.

Everything from the property’s condition and location to its floor plan and fit-out will affect their valuation of it – and their valuation will affect how much you’re able to borrow.

There’s often a difference between what banks are prepared to lend you and what you can comfortably afford.

How to calculate what you can afford 

When it comes to working out what you can afford to borrow, as opposed to what a bank will lend you, there are two key rules to remember.

1. Avoid borrowing more than 80% of the property’s value

First, you should think twice about borrowing more than 80% of the property’s lender-assessed value. This is because banks will consider you high risk if you have a loan to value ratio (LVR) of over 80%, and will require you to pay for lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) as a result.

Typically capitalised into your overall mortgage, this insurance enables banks to make a claim in the event that you default on your loan and the property sells for less than the value of the mortgage.

The exact amount of LMI you will need to pay depends on the size of your deposit, the size of the loan, and your reasons for buying, but it can often run into the tens of thousands.

As of writing, a homeowner hoping to buy a $500,000 property with a $80,000 deposit would likely need to pay $8,280 in LMI, according to our mortgage calculator, which based its calculations on a principal and interest loan with an interest rate of 3.69% and a loan term of 25 years.

And so, borrowing more than 80% of the property’s lender-assessed value could result in you paying much more for your home than taking the time to save a larger deposit.

If you borrow more than 80% of the property’s lender-assessed value, you will be required to pay lenders mortgage insurance. 

2. Keep your monthly repayments below 30% of household income

There’s no universal definition of mortgage stress, but most analysts believe it begins to creep in when your monthly repayments exceed 30% of your pre-tax income.

When you move past that point, keeping on top of your repayments typically comes at the expense of your quality of life. You might be forced into buying cheaper groceries, socialising less with your friends, and giving up luxuries that you once deemed essential.

And so, before you set your heart on buying a specific property, make sure you estimate your monthly repayments.

Remember there are hidden costs to buying a home

The price tag is only the beginning of the story when it comes to paying for a home.

In addition to the purchase price, buyers must shell out for conveyancing and legal fees; stamp duty; a building and pest inspection; mortgage registration, loan application and transfer fees; and council and utility rates.

Most states, however, offer first-home buyers significant grants and stamp duty concessions to help them get a foot on the property ladder.

The true cost of a home is more than the purchase price. 

What you should look out for  

The interest rate and loan principal are far from the only features worthy of your attention when you’re searching for a home loan. Each offering will come with its own set of fees and charges, so it’s important to read through all the terms and conditions before deciding which loan is right for you. Here are a few to look out for.

Establishment fees – most lenders will charge you a fee to set up your mortgage.

Service fees – each lender will charge you different ongoing fees to cover the cost of servicing your loan.

Special feature fees – loans with lots of features, such as offset and redraw facilities, typically attract more fees and come with variable interest rates. And so, borrowers must weigh up the greater flexibility these features offer against their additional expense.

Additional repayment fees – some lenders charge borrowers for making additional repayments, or place restrictions on the total amount of additional repayments a borrower can make.

Ask for help

Ultimately, how much you should borrow is dependent on your financial situation and personal goals. And while the information above will serve as a helpful guide, it’s no replacement for professional advice.

Seek help from a financial advisor or mortgage broker, and provide them with as accurate a picture of your current finances as possible. Doing so will set you well on your way to finding a suitable mortgage.

Source – re.com.au