← Blog · Finance · 6 min read
How much house can you actually afford?
There is a big difference between the amount a bank will lend you and the amount you can comfortably live with. Lenders look at ratios on a form. You have to live in the house, pay for the boiler when it breaks, and still afford a holiday now and then. Here is how to think about it honestly.
Start with the 28/36 rule
It is old, but it has stuck around because it works. The idea is simple: keep your housing costs under 28% of your gross monthly income, and all your debts combined — housing plus car, loans and cards — under 36%. On a €60,000 salary, that is roughly €1,400 a month for housing before other debts pull it down.
The reason for two numbers is that a mortgage rarely exists in isolation. If you already have a car loan eating into your budget, the amount left for a house shrinks. Our mortgage calculator has an affordability tab that runs both checks and works backwards to a sensible price.
Remember the costs beyond the mortgage
The monthly repayment is only part of owning a home. There is property tax, building insurance, and the steady drip of maintenance — a rule of thumb is to set aside around 1% of the home's value a year for upkeep. None of that shows up in a basic "how much can I borrow" number, which is exactly why people feel stretched after buying.
The deposit changes everything
A bigger deposit does three good things at once: it shrinks the loan, lowers the monthly payment, and often unlocks a better interest rate. It can also remove the need for mortgage insurance. Saving a little longer for a larger deposit frequently does more for your budget than chasing a slightly bigger loan.
Leave room for real life
This is the part the formulas miss. A lender cannot see that you have two kids in activities, a long commute, or a plan to go down to one income for a while. Borrowing the maximum on offer leaves no cushion for the unexpected, and the unexpected always turns up. Many people who are happiest with their purchase deliberately bought below their limit.
A simple way to pressure-test the number
Before committing, try living on the new payment for a few months. Set up a standing transfer for the difference between your current housing cost and the future one, into a separate account. If that feels fine, you have your answer — and a nice head start on savings. If it pinches, better to know now than after you have signed.
The takeaway
Affordability is not one number, it is a comfortable range. Use the 28/36 rule as your ceiling, factor in the hidden costs, protect your deposit, and leave yourself breathing room. Run your figures through the mortgage affordability calculator and aim for the lower, calmer end of what is possible rather than the maximum.