Salary and Income Multiples for mortgages
In basic terms, this is your annual income multiplied 3 times your income, 4 times your income, 5 times your income etc to see how much you can borrow. Different lenders will offer different amounts.
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What are the Salary and Income Multiples for Mortgages?
If you’re thinking about applying for a mortgage, you may already have come across lots of terms you’re going to become familiar with along the way. One such term involves mortgage income multiples (you might also see salary multiples). This is an important subject to learn about, as it will affect you – no matter how much you’d like to borrow or how much you earn.
The Clever Mortgages team is ready to assist with further details too, so if you’d like some no-obligation advice, get in touch today. We’ve already helped thousands of others find their ideal mortgage.
Quick mortgage calculator
Input your salary for a quick overview of what you could potentially borrow. Calculated based 3.5 – 4.5 times income. Please note: example only
How much can I borrow?
You might have never had a mortgage before, or your financial circumstances might have recently changed. In either case, you might be unsure how much you can borrow for a mortgage. Our tool can help work this out based on your salary, combining your partner’s salary if it’s a joint mortgage.
How much can I borrow for the mortgage?
Number of applicants
Income
| Applicant 1 | Applicant 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Income | ||
| Other Income |
Your Mortgage results
Based on your entered income and subject to lenders criteria and credit scoring,
you could be
eligible to lend between £{{ mortgageResult.min | currency }} to £{{ mortgageResult.max | currency
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A mortgage of £{{ mortgageResult.max | currency }} at 5.8% over 25 years would cost you approximately £{{ monthlyPayments | currency }} per month.
Please complete annual income for both applicants.
Representative Example:
Mortgage amount £160,000, 62 payments of £1,009.47 at a fixed interest rate of 5.78%, followed by 238 payments of £1,197.58 at a variable rate of 7.99% (the lenders current standard variable rate). Over a term of 25 years, giving a total amount payable of £347,641.18 at an APRC of 7.2%. The contract will be secured against your property.
How many times salary can I borrow for a mortgage in the UK?
Lenders may use various multipliers depending on their own preferences and whether someone is applying as an individual or part of a couple. Even in the latter scenario, you might find the lender takes the higher salary and multiplies that before adding the second income on top.
However, it is quite common to see multiples of between, three and three and a half times your salary, four and four and a half times’ your salary, even 5 times in some situations.
Three times your salary
and three and a half times salary
Four times your salary
and four and a half times salary
Five times your salary
and five and a half times salary
What are mortgage income multiples?
In basic terms, this is your annual income multipled to see how much you can borrow eg.
- 3 times your income
- 4 times your income
- 5 times your income
Different lenders will offer different amonths, the higher the multiple, the higher risk for the lender.
Multiples are applied by lenders to find out how much you may be able to borrow for a mortgage. We’ll cover specific reasoning as we go through this article.
What is meant by Income Multiples for Mortgages?
Different lenders use different multipliers, but a rough rule of thumb for single applicants is around 4 to 4.5x your income. If you are going to apply for a joint mortgage with someone else, lenders may use a different multiple, such as 3.5 to 4.
Again, there are many variations here. Some lenders are using a lower multiple for joint applicants, while others have higher ones. You may find that one lender offers a higher multiple for the first income used, before adding on the second income with no multiplier. Another lender might go for a lower multiple applied to the two incomes added together.
It shows how important it is to be aware of all the available mortgages on the market today – not to mention the terms for the lenders offering them.
How many times my salary can I borrow?
This isn’t the same question as the one above. Instead, we’re looking at how much you personally may be able to borrow.
There are numerous factors that come into play here. For example, the size of the deposit may play a role. The larger the deposit, the better the chances are of being offered a higher mortgage multiple.
Lenders base their decisions on risk, so having a larger deposit to put down against the property you want to buy could lead them to offer you a higher multiple. Risk also plays a part when looking at your credit history. If you have a good credit score and you have proven you can repay loans on time with no issues, this could also favour a better decision.
Other deciding factors may include the type of job you have, whether you are self-employed, the type of income you receive (dividends, salary, bonuses, and so on), and how steep your outgoings are each month. Our advisors can guide you through this area, helping you create a far more accurate picture of how many multiples of salary you could borrow.
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Mortgage salary FAQ
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This is possible, yes, although as we have seen, some applicants may be able to borrow more than others. While the standard multiplier is often between 4 and 4.5x your salary, various circumstances could see some people getting a multiple of 5x or more instead.
When you contact the expert advisors at Clever Mortgages, we can help work out what you may be able to get. We can go through various factors with you, such as:
- Employment type
- Salary
- Additional earnings
- Whether you are applying singly or jointly with someone else
- Your credit history
- Your job type (professional, self-employed, zero hours contract, etc)
We can help you understand whether it might be possible to get a mortgage more than 5x your salary, and if so, which lenders might consider you for this.
Not all lenders offer mortgages based on 5x your salary. Those that do are likely to have stricter conditions attached to these offers. They need to be certain you can meet the monthly repayments – not just now, but in the future if interest rates rise, too.
With over 100 lenders to work with, the Clever Mortgages advisors can use their up to date knowledge of the mortgage market to let you know which lenders may extend an offer of 5 times your salary.
The same considerations apply here as they do to the previous section. The 6x multiplier is more difficult to get and only certain people may be able to get it. The higher the multiple, the fewer lenders may offer it. There will also be fewer people who may qualify for the multiple, when considering the various factors lenders consider, as described above.
Which lenders offer the best salary multiples for mortgages today? It can vary – many lenders make changes to their offers over time. However, our mortgage experts are up to date with the current market, so you can find out the available options that may best suit you… no matter when you read this.
The experts at Clever Mortgages can give you advice on how much you may be able to borrow according to your income. We work alongside over 100 lenders of all kinds – some you may know and some you won’t. That puts us in a powerful position to help you find out who offers the best mortgage salary multiples for people like you.
Single Applicant
Joint Applicant
Below are some of the lenders we work with
