Borrowing Power Calculator

Lenders don't all use the same formula. More cautious lenders will lend around 4.5× combined income, while most standard high-street lenders sit in the 5×–5.5× range, depending on your credit profile, outgoings, and the lender's own risk appetite. A smaller group of enhanced and specialist lenders will stretch to 6× for certain professions, circumstances, or higher earners.

This is exactly why going direct to a single bank can undersell your borrowing power — a broker can compare across the whole market and place your application with the lender whose criteria actually fits you, rather than the one you happened to walk into.