Just bought my first property! any advice for a first time buyer?

krooton said:
There was no chain for our place, which we agreed to buy at the start of Feb, exchanged contracts mid-March, and will finally be moving into next weekend. (4 months)
Click to expand...

Was it in ready and in habitable condition when you agreed?

I don't think mine will take too long , I think it's only the sellers solicitors that would cause any delays but you never know
 
You will be poor
Elec and Gas bills
Council tax (25% off if you live alone)
TV license
Water
Food
Beer
As you have a flat you will get a lease charge
 
Me and gf have been in our house for about 4months now, it's great, but get ready for bills,expenses and TIDYING! When I win the lottery i'm getting asian maids to clean up.
 
JBuk said:
There's no chains involved in my purchase so hopefully it won't take anywhere near 8-12weeks
Click to expand...

How long depends one key thing - the solicitors.

Crucially how pro-active both parties are in getting the job done quickly. I've been involved in house sales before where the other party's solicitor had no interest in completing quickly and was generally mucking about.

If the person buying your house uses a solicitor like that, theres nothing you can do other than sit back and wait.

Quickest move we managed was our first time one, 0 people in the chain and was moved in 6 weeks after instructing a solicitor.
 
Here's a tip:

Sainsbury's own bogroll at 49p for 4 rolls isnt bad at all, and is infact better than some more "luxurious" bogrolls.

This in itself will stop you from being skint. :D
 
I've just bought a new build also, its my third house so I have a good sized deposit from the sale of my current home but my new mortgage is still ridiculously large. It seems daunting now but from experience a few years down the line it will seem a lot less.

Really looking forward to moving in, looking about July at the moment.
 
MrLOL said:
How long depends one key thing - the solicitors.

Crucially how pro-active both parties are in getting the job done quickly. I've been involved in house sales before where the other party's solicitor had no interest in completing quickly and was generally mucking about.

If the person buying your house uses a solicitor like that, theres nothing you can do other than sit back and wait.

Quickest move we managed was our first time one, 0 people in the chain and was moved in 6 weeks after instructing a solicitor.
Click to expand...


Yeah, my solicitors do like to get things moving quickly and the seller is an insolvency firm who are desperate for recouping some losses quickly so hopefully their solicitors won't drag their feet.

Anyways mortgage is all signed and a letter is on its way to my solicitors to notify them so I just have to wait now

I hate waiting lol :(
 
Little tips:

Put a little cash aside for a rainy day, you never know when you are going to need an emergency plumber/sparkie etc.

When you paint a room and have some paint left, get a permenant marker pen and write on the tin which room you painted on the lid/side, then when you need to touch up later on you know which paint to use.

Always keep a tin of Vanish carpet cleaner in the cupboard, getting to a stain early can make all the difference.
 
Thanks for the advice so far guys.

To the guy who asked about my mortgage details, the 200k is what I will generally pay if I complete the mortgage, i.e. 106k loan and 94k interest... the flat cost 130 and I put down a 24k deposit (i moved back home to my parents and have been living like a hermit for 4 years now to save up for this).

My social exile is almost over and my move in date has been set in the offer/contract as the 25th of June.... bit longer than I thought but I have the download festival and rage @ finsbury to fill in the time.

solicitors want 995 quid from me!? All they are doing is typing a letter to send to the current owner?!

Anyway, I now have 5 weeks to pack up all my belongings and get sorted.... I am sooooo frickn excited about living in the centre of the city again, oh and being my own landlord!
 
my solicitors fees are £620 but there's also searches and land registry to pay for so it will end up nearly £1k in total


oh and my house is valued more than i'm paying which is quite uncommon according to my mortgage advisor
 
Citizen420 said:
solicitors want 995 quid from me!? All they are doing is typing a letter to send to the current owner?!
Click to expand...

Assuming its like my solicitors they charge circa £175 per hour + VAT so it soon adds up (although £995 does seem a tad high, although this could be due to a number of factors).

Edit: Does this £995 include searches or is it just their actual fees?

Like yourself, the wife an I are around 3/4 weeks into a house purchase (just had the mortgage survey done, awaiting results).

We really can't wait.

One thing I would suggest you do (although you don't have to go into massive detail) is design a quick cashflow once you know when your major bills will go out. This way you can keep track of your money and know when your crunch points are in advance.

I would echo other comments about keeping a sum aside for 'maintenance/problems'. Personally I would suggest at least enough to cover 3 months of your total 'required' outgoings (mortgage, council tax etc). At least this way you would have a buffer if something were to happen to your job or other circumstances arise and you need money quickly.

Other than that enjoy it mate. :)
 
JBuk said:
oh and my house is valued more than i'm paying which is quite uncommon according to my mortgage advisor
Click to expand...

Mine too! My new flat is a private sale and I got it under its valuation.... my financial advisor says I could flip it and open to bids and make 30k+... which I would do if I could be hooped... I just want to move in and settle down for a while... and anyway it has a massive loft I will be converting next year to turn her into a 3 bedroom flat, rent her out and then buy a new property and then my tycoon status will cemented :D
 
oweneades said:
Assuming its like my solicitors they charge circa £175 per hour + VAT so it soon adds up (although £995 does seem a tad high, although this could be due to a number of factors).

Edit: Does this £995 include searches or is it just their actual fees?

Like yourself, the wife an I are around 3/4 weeks into a house purchase (just had the mortgage survey done, awaiting results).

We really can't wait.

One thing I would suggest you do (although you don't have to go into massive detail) is design a quick cashflow once you know when your major bills will go out. This way you can keep track of your money and know when your crunch points are in advance.

I would echo other comments about keeping a sum aside for 'maintenance/problems'. Personally I would suggest at least ienough to cover 3 months of your total 'required' outgoings (mortgage, council tax etc). At least this way you would have a buffer if something were to happen to your job or other circumstances arise and you need money quickly.

Other than that enjoy it mate. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice bro, I have already got some funds as a backup, more than 3 months of mortgage+bills etc..

I have worked out my outgoings per month and I hope it goes like this:

500 mortgage
100 council tax
50 electricity
50 insurances
200 food
30 factoring

Basically I have budgeted about 1k per month for necessities and the rest of my pay will be savings/luxuries.

In regards to the solicitors I'm gonna get some more quotes as everything has been worked out, the solicitor is writing the official offer and sending it to the owners solicitor... 995 quid for that seems criminal.

Again I cannot frickn wait!
 
Get used to staying at home, your social life will be non-existent.

You will get used to the taste of tescos stripey tinned foods.

Leaving the toilet as long as possible till u flush (if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down!

Saving water and turning every appliance in the house off after use.

Basically be as tight as you can be from the start and you should do well, if u dont make an instant change u will get in bad routines and end up wasting money.

good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom