PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle may have signalled their intention to be “financially independent” – but the Royal rebels would have to come up with a £5million deposit,
and almost £20,000 a month in mortgage repayments, if the Queen ever decided put Frogmore Cottage on the open market
and they wanted to buy it, building society experts have suggested.
And separate research has indicated while former Suits actress Meghan could probably command an annual salary approaching £140,000 if she did get a job,
Harry would have to get by on a rather more modest £40,000 if he re-enlisted in the army – making the five-bedroom property near Windsor Castle out of their price range,
even if they could somehow raise the hefty £5million down-payment. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex dropped a bombshell on Wednesday when they announced,
via their Instagram account, that they were “stepping back” as frontline Royals and planned to “move towards financial independence”.
They also said they planned to retain Frogmore Cottage, the grace-and-favour apartment allocated to them by the Queen, and for the renovation of which they spent £2.5million of taxpayers’ cash, as a UK base, prompting speculation that they were planning to relocate, possible to Canada.
Frogmore Cottage is part of the Crown Estate – but a spokeswoman for Yorkshire Building Society estimated it would be worth about £10million on the open market.
She told Express.co.uk: “We would be happy to assist Harry and Megan achieving a mortgage on their Frogmore Cottage.
“The maximum loan available through the Yorkshire Building Society on any property is £5m.
“Therefore on an estimated value of £10m for Frogmore Cottage we would require a minimum deposit of £5m.
“Therefore Harry and Megan could apply for a mortgage of £5m on a 1.27 percent two-year fixed rate and a product fee of £1,995.
“Based on a 25 year borrowing term and on a capital and interest basis, the initial monthly payments would be £19,461.
“All applicants must meet our lending policy, and Harry and Megan would need to demonstrate their ability to repay their loan over the long term.
“That includes supplying evidence of a regular salary or track record of stable income if they became self-employed.
“We would suggest that Harry and Megan have a chat with a mortgage adviser to find the most suitable option for them.”
Meanwhile, research published by Training and qualifications provider TheKnowledgeAcademy.com indicated it would not necessarily be plain-sailing for the Royal Couple if they did try and go it alone.
The analysis, based on average reported salary figures and available job openings across the UK and North America’s biggest job listing sites, indicates Meghan could expect to earn an average of £139,685 a year in a “normal” job.
Meanwhile former soldier Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan and reached the rank of Captain, could expect to earn an average of £40,684 annually.
This would bring their combined income to just over £180,000 a year – significantly less than £240,000 annual cost of servicing their mortgage.
A spokeswoman for TheKnowledgeAcademy.com said: “Meghan Markle has better earning prospects no matter where the royal couple decide to live.
“The former actress could simply pick up where she left off.
“Given the fact that the she hasn’t left the public eye since her marriage, but has actually received even more attention from the press, it wouldn’t be difficult to see her landing another high-profile and well-paid acting role.
“Alternatively, her background in fashion (having released two fashion collections with Canadian company Reitmans) could land her a role as a fashion designer.
“In this case, her salary would be a more ‘modest’ £38,276 in the UK.
“The couple would still be better off staying in the UK, as the same job would only earn her an estimated £30,778.80 in Canada.”
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Source: Los Angeles Times