Mortgage Affordability Worksheet

Who this is for

Work out a payment you are comfortable with. List what the household spends each month now and what it expects to spend after the move, and the sheet shows what is left from your income. Enter the monthly payment you feel you could manage to see it as a percentage of income and what would remain.

Buyers and couples who want to settle on their own comfortable monthly payment before a lender or broker tells them what they could borrow.

What this helps you track

• The applicants and the household's monthly income after tax
• Each monthly outgoing now and as expected after the move
• The total outgoings and the amount left over each month
• Your chosen payment as a percentage of income
• What would remain once that payment is made

How to use it

1. Write the applicants' names and the household's total monthly income after tax at the top.
2. Go through your bank statements and enter each monthly outgoing in the now column, adding lines for anything not listed.
3. In the after move column, enter what you expect each item to cost once you have moved, leaving the current housing cost blank if it will stop.
4. Enter the monthly mortgage payment you would feel comfortable making.
5. The totals, amount left and percentage are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the columns and take them from income.
6. Take the finished sheet to your lender or broker as a picture of your own budget.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How much of my income should go on a mortgage?

The sheet does not suggest a figure. Lenders apply their own criteria, and what feels comfortable differs between households. Use the left over figure to judge what you could manage, and ask a qualified adviser where you are.

Why are there now and after move columns?

Some costs change when you move: rent stops, bills and travel may go up or down. The after move column is what the sheet uses for the amount left, so it reflects life in the new home.

Is this what a lender will offer me?

No. Lenders make their own assessment of income, outgoings and credit. This worksheet is for your own decision about what you are comfortable paying, before you ask.

Should I include savings as an outgoing?

If you want to keep saving after the move, yes. Add a line for it so the amount left reflects the money you intend to put by.