How much can you borrow?

First of all, buying a house or flat is an expensive business so it's a good idea to work out whether you can afford to borrow enough to get on the local property ladder in the first place.

Generally speaking a mortgage lender will let you have about three times your gross salary, sometimes a little more. If you're buying with a partner then they'll probably throw in the equivalent of his or her annual salary in addition to the amount they're prepared to lend you. So, if you're on $45,000 a year and he or she is on $35,000, you should be able to borrow around $185,000 to $200,000. If you get any additional income from bonuses or commission this may be taken into account as well.

Do some sums and work out how much you're likely to be able to raise via a mortgage. Is it enough, bearing in mind the price of property in your patch?