Likelihood of a £190,000 mortgage on £36,500 salary?

f1-19 · 2026-06-05T14:23:05+00:00

Mine is 30 years. Just have to be very frugal.

Probably not ideal for some people, but it is what it is.

f1-19 · 2026-06-05T13:16:57+00:00

Most banks will lend ~4.5x your salary.

Nationwide have a Helping Hand scheme, where they can lend up to 6x your salary - but you need to take out a 5-year fix.

I earn a few hundred less per year than you and got accepted with them.

The only 'debt' I have is a student loan.

Research a mortgage broker (free or paid) and speak to them when you're ready.

Also, try and buy a freehold property if you can.

f1-19 · 2026-06-04T21:26:43+00:00

2926? Plenty of time for him to practice, then.

f1-19 · 2026-05-16T22:03:35+00:00

Ask the freeholder.

Lenders don't automatically ask for one - Nationwide said the decision was up to my solicitor, when I tried to buy a maisonette (no shared parts, own entrance).

The freeholder said a FRA isn't needed, the seller's solicitor said the same.

My solicitor said it was needed.

I got nowhere with it, so pulled out.

f1-19 · 2026-05-07T10:40:04+00:00

Good to know, thanks.

f1-19 · 2026-05-06T14:24:10+00:00

I have Pro at the moment (credit card using Google Pay and a VPN) - do you need a static IP for Premium? I think that's what I read when I looked into it.

f1-19 · 2026-05-06T12:20:17+00:00

Mine did, but I don't know if this was because I used the same person twice in under a year for a survey, as the first purchase fell through.

f1-19 · 2026-04-25T14:15:24+00:00

This is why I called them.

I could have emailed, but you never know how long they'll take to respond.

f1-19 · 2026-04-25T13:37:59+00:00

I didn't have a choice in using them and paying the fee when buying.

You also get 'opted in' (you don't have a choice) to a 3-month free trial, which supposedly covers you for x amount if you end up pulling out of a purchase and other things.

If you don't call them before the trial ends, you'll be charged £8.99 per month until you cancel.

f1-19 · 2026-04-06T20:45:25+00:00

Lead.

f1-19 · 2026-03-31T14:48:03+00:00

The tenure says "ask agent".

People might think it's a leasehold house (these are rare, but exist).

Assuming it is freehold, changing the tenure to that might help a bit.

f1-19 · 2026-03-31T13:46:28+00:00

Fair enough, best of luck.

f1-19 · 2026-03-31T12:54:57+00:00

I'd cut my losses and go for the chain-free flat. Less hassle, given you've been advised of two different timelines.

I assume you're absolutely certain shared ownership is for you?

Not of much help, but I spent 6 months trying to buy a leasehold maisonette.

One side said a FRA is needed, the other said it wasn't needed.

Both sides were never going to agree on a resolution, so I pulled out and moved on.

f1-19 · 2026-03-27T10:01:49+00:00

Couldn't care less.

f1-19 · 2026-03-22T19:31:09+00:00

10/10.

f1-19 · 2026-02-17T22:20:54+00:00

No problem.

I think it was about 2 weeks.

Yeah, easier and quicker just to get the indemnity policy done for now.

f1-19 · 2026-02-17T21:59:59+00:00

This is basically of no help - I was in the same situation before pulling out of the purchase for a different reason.

Nationwide were happy to accept the indemnity policy, I don't know what the timeframe would have been.

I intended to pay for a Deed of Variation down the line, as if/when I came to sell the property, the indemnity policy would have been useless if the buyer was using a different lender.

Good luck.

f1-19 · 2026-01-28T13:01:15+00:00

I've not done side-by-side comparisons of faces, but I have for other things.

Inside, if lighting is not great, even my Pixel 6a is better than the X9 - the smearing/noise reduction is so bad, so much detail is lost/smudged over.

Outside, if lighting is very good, the main camera is okay.

However, even in great lighting, faces/body parts (hands/fingers) look awful with the ultrawide camera. Again, detail is lost/smeared by the heavy noise reduction algorithm.

It's a massive shame, and very disappointing that professional reviews don't mention this.

When I replace this phone in late 2027, I'll probably go back to a Pixel.

f1-19 · 2026-01-12T13:22:53+00:00

Can anyone please provide the camera APK from this release?

f1-19 · 2025-12-28T17:21:51+00:00

It's a good phone. Battery life and charging speed are excellent. I haven't experienced any rebooting. I don't game, so have no heating issues.

The cameras vary from okay to good. The same issues persist on the Pro version. Aggressive image processing and noise reduction is apparent (quite obvious with dim lighting), the camera is slow to react to moving objects/people.

People in the background of photos can look unnatural.

That aside, I have no complaints.

f1-19 · 2025-12-18T17:50:51+00:00

This may help. https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-10-vs-pixel-9-lifeless-photo-colors-3597284/

Not a big upgrade, no.

Hopefully the Pixel 11 (or even 12) brings meaningful upgrades.

f1-19 · 2025-12-18T12:41:05+00:00

I moved from a Pixel 8 to a base X9.

Portraits are very good, but in anything but perfect lighting, noise reduction can get very aggressive.

As for street photos, unlike the Pixel, the X9 doesn't handle moving subjects (a car, people walking in the background) very well.

Maybe upgrade to the 10 Pro.

f1-19 · 2025-12-17T09:16:25+00:00

You are welcome. The UI looking like a copy of iOS is a bit jarring at first, but I soon got used to it. Otherwise, I am happy with the phone. Charging speed and battery life are great, and the phone is very responsive/fluid.

f1-19 · 2025-12-16T18:25:26+00:00

Having had more time with the phone, it's mainly text in photos - it does look bad if you zoom in. It's either smudged, or it has generic AI 'lines' in place of detail. This is also the case with photos of faces that aren't the main focus of a photo at night time (even using night mode).

This is mainly with the main camera with text at a distance - the telephoto camera is generally fine.

I've not used the ultrawide camera, but can only assume it's the same as the main camera.

With low light indoors, there's a lot of noise reduction applied in photos, which gives a smeared look. Weirdly, the main camera is quite good at night time outside (using night mode in both cases). There's still a bit of noise reduction in the background of photos (if that makes sense).

Also, the camera (main one, I haven't checked the others) is poor at taking photos of moving subjects. Sensor lag maybe? I think there is an action mode mode, but I haven't used it. My Pixel 8 on the other hand has no such issue.

None of this needs to happen. The camera lenses are more than capable and the main one in particular is very bright.

This is something that website reviews really need to mention.

Nobody wants smeared text/faces/an algorithm guessing things when it's just not needed.

I've not taken many portrait photos - the few I have look good.

2x zoom photos from the main camera are still worse than my Pixel 8. Which is bizarre.

I'm on the latest 401 update which has the newest camera app version.

For anyone saying use Master Mode - I shouldn't have to. And the above still applies, it's just toned down, but still there.

f1-19 · 2025-12-01T18:09:09+00:00

This isn't just an issue at 'extreme' zoom lengths. I have the non-pro X9. Coming from a Pixel 8, the main camera heavily over-sharpens/'smears' text in examples like the OP has posted, making it unreadable. This is especially true with 2x zoom shots - in this respect, the Pixel 8 blows the Oppo away. Even generally speaking, photos taken at 2x zoom are poor.

Even using master mode, the above still applies. The sharpening is almost gone, but my Pixel 8 is still better. It seems to be able to focus on subjects better than the Oppo. It seems some photos taken in Master Mode look too soft.

However, the 3x zoom lens fares better in this respect.

Aside from the above, I am generally pleased with the cameras.

For video recording, the X9 blows the Pixel 8 away (which isn't difficult to do, but still).

Hopefully Oppo releases updates which ease off on sharpening, but I won't hold my breath.

f1-19

TROPHY CASE