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How much income do I need to earn for a £1 million mortgage?

Aaron Strutt Image
Page updated 06/11/2024.
 
When determining how much you can borrow for a £1 million mortgage, mortgage lenders offer between four, five, and six times your salary.
 
Some lenders require single or joint applicants to earn at least £250,000 a year to qualify for £1 million, while others expect them to earn just over £180,000. The most generous lenders will require them to earn £167,000 each year.
 

Do the lenders use income multiples for £1 million mortgages?  

 
Banks and building societies use mortgage affordability calculations to determine how much you can borrow. The figures they use to generate the maximum loan sizes change significantly depending on the lender.
 
Providers are increasingly offering more generous mortgages to professionals like accountants, doctors, dentists and solicitors. They also issue more significant multiples and larger loans to those earning over £75,000 or £100,000 yearly. 
 
Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Banks and building societies are offering £1 million+ mortgage rates, and they have some of the most generous acceptance criteria for those seeking larger loans.
 
"Many borrowers contact their bank to find out how much they can borrow or use a couple of online calculators. Our brokers constantly research the market to determine which lenders offer the most generous loan sizes and have the best rates." 
 
When generating the maximum loan, the lenders will assess your monthly outgoings and credit commitments, but some are more lenient. For example, some providers do not reduce the loan size if you have children, while others take higher bonuses or commissions into consideration.
 
Credit cards, loans, cars on finance, and kids in private schools reduce the amount people can borrow, although some lenders are more lenient on specific credit commitments. This affects the overall maximum loan size.
 
 

Is it possible to get six times your salary for a mortgage and borrow £1 million?    

A small number of banks and building societies can offer up to six times the salary for a mortgage. Applicants either need to earn over £100,000, or joint applicants need to have a combined income of £100,000. 
 
It is also potentially possible for younger professionals like Accountants, Actuaries, Architects, Barristers (including Barristers in Pupillage), Dentists, Chartered Engineers, Medical Doctors, Optometrists, Pharmacists, Solicitors, Chartered Surveyors and Vets to borrow six times their salary.
 
Applicants would need a single or combined income of at least £167,000 to borrow £1 million at six times their salary.   
 

How much is a £1 million mortgage rate?  

 
Banks and building societies have been lowering their mortgage rates but the pricing improvements have slowed down. There are now sub-4% two-year fixes, and some five-year fixes are getting closer to 4%. The average mortgage rate for borrowers with larger deposits is around 4.25% at the moment.
 
Many borrowers are opting for two-year fixes now, hoping rates will decrease over the near term.
 
Lenders like Barclays for Intermediaries and HSBC for Intermediares have many of the most competitively priced rates. However, there is a lot of competition to attract wealthier borrowers seeking larger loans, so it pays to shop around. 
 

Click to view our large mortgage loan best buy table and borrowing calculators.  

 
 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a large mortgage loan, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

Your mortgage is secured on your property. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage  

 

Some lenders will accept foreign income and bonuses paid in foreign income for mortgage affordability purposes. However, not all banks and building societies issue foreign-income mortgages. 

These currencies UK lenders consider include: Euro, Australian Dollar, Bulgarian Lev, Canadian Dollar, Croatian Kuna, Czech Koruna, Danish Krone, Hungarian Forint, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Norwegian Krone, Polish Zloty, Romanian Leu, Singapore Dollar, Swedish Krona, Swiss Franc and United States Dollar.

Mortgage lenders tend to take a "haircut" and take a per centage off of the income to cover themselves in case of currency fluctuations. 

Nationwide for Intermediaries offers a two-year fix at 4.17% for larger mortgage loans between £300,000 and £5 million for borrowers purchasing a property. The overall cost for comparison is 7.1% APRC. The fixed rate is 0.04% more expensive for remortgages.

If you borrowed £1 million on the 4.17% two-year fix, the monthly interest-only cost would be £3,475 increasing to £4,872.68 on capital repayment over a 30-year term.

This mortgage is available on interest-only or capital repayment, and borrowers need a 40% deposit to access the rate. After two years, Nationwide's mortgage will revert to a standard variable rate of 7.49% unless you switch deals, and early repayment charges apply

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to determine how much your £1 million mortgage would cost.

One of the most competitively priced two-year fixes for £2 million mortgages is available through Santander for Intermediaries' large loan team priced at 4.27%. 

Wealthier clients with clear credit histories could access £2 million mortgages with monthly repayments of £7,116.67 on interest-only, rising to £9,862.23 on full capital repayment over a 30-year term.

Santander for Intermediaries' 4.27% fixed rate has a £999 arrangement fee and a two-percent early repayment charge in year one, lowering to one per cent in year two. The APRC is 6.7%, and borrowers must put down a 40% deposit to qualify. The mortgage reverts to the current 7% standard variable rate if they do not remortgage or complete a product transfer.

Trinity Financial specialises in arranging £1 million+ mortgages and our team of expert advisers do everything possible to secure the cheapest rates and the fastest mortgage offers. 

More of the lenders have set up specialist lending teams to agree larger mortgage loans, and they have separate processing teams to underwrite applications. 

We regularly work with clients over the phone to discuss applications and confirm the documentation we will require, and we also have Mayfair based offices where we meet clients.

Click on the link to view some of the mortgages we have arranged over the last ten years. https://www.trinityfinancialgroup.co.uk/case-studies/

• You contact one of our consultants by calling 020 7016 0790 or complete our basic enquiry form or mortgage questionnaire for a more detailed initial response.
• You tell us what you are looking for and the property type you want to buy. We assess your mortgage and financial protection needs based on your monthly budget.
• We collect the information and documentation the lenders and providers need.
• Based on the information supplied, we provide you with illustrations of the most suitable products for your circumstances.
• We then submit the application on your behalf to secure a mortgage offer as quickly as possible. This is once you have confirmed you are happy to proceed.
• We manage the application through to completion and liaise between all involved parties, such as valuers, estate agents and solicitors.
• Post-completion, we are available for any questions. When you reach the end of your initial product, we can also discuss any further mortgage, will or financial protection product requirements.

As part of our ongoing service commitment - we will contact you at least three months before your fixed or tracker rate expires to ensure you avoid reverting to an expensive, standard variable rate.

At least 50 banks and building societies provide interest-only mortgages. 

Most of the larger lenders expect borrowers to earn in excess of £75,000 to qualify.

Sometimes the whole mortgage is available on interest-only, or for lower deposit mortgages we regularly arrange for 50% of the mortgage on an interest-only basis and 25% of the loan on capital repayment. 

Private banks regularly ask wealthier clients to make bullet repayments and they are linked with their bonuses to bring the loan-to-value down. These repayments are written into the mortgage contract.

If you earn over £250,000 one bank provides full interest-only for those with a 25% deposit.  

Smaller lenders are offering interest only to applicants with lower incomes who use the sale of the property as their repayment vehicle. 

Remember, you need a plan to repay the mortgage or the outstanding balance will remain the same. Part interest and part capital repayment mortgages are often a better option.

Trinity Financial's brokers have access to a range of lenders offering high-net-worth clients offset mortgages.

These mortgages are outstanding for those receiving more significant bonuses or commissions because of the reduced interest you pay. You can also reaccess the funds if you need them. 

Offset mortgages tend to be more expensive than standard ones, so borrowers will pay more, especially if they do not use the facility. 

Most banks and building societies allow borrowers to repay 10% of their outstanding mortgage balance each year without charge. They would need to reapply to their lender to get the overpayments back if required, which can be challenging.

Some lenders offer £1 million+ mortgages without early repayment charges.

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