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

Our fees are around £900, and most sites have said keeping £1k aside for solicitor's fees is SOP.
 
Ah, I remember my first purchase. A few years ago now but I still feel the aftershocks in my wallet. My advise is to carefully watch your money the next 6-12 months until you get a feel for what this place is going to cost over the course of a few months. It's not just the mortgage, as that is not the only thing to worry about.
 
Do your painting and decorating before you move in. I have been doing some painting the last few days and it is a bit of an arse with sofas, beds, tv's etc in the way.
Put some money aside for when something goes wrong for example the window frame in our lounge may need replacing - we are looking at upwards of 3k for that. Another big expense would be your boiler dying.
 
firefilesuk said:
are there fees associated with overpaying or is it simply like paying into a bank account in an attempt to reduce the balance.
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I am only permitted to overpay my mortgage by an extra 500 per month for the first 2 years, from then I can overpay as much as I want... no penalties.

Although there are stipulations in the agreement that say if I sell or pay off the mortgage within the first 2 years I will have to pay the lender a 2500 fee... after those 2 years though I can do what want without penalty.
 
krooton said:
Weird, we have a 5% mortgage over 25 years and interest only makes up 50% of the loan.

I'm guessing you've got an interest only mortgage?
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No, are you sure your interest rate is 5%? Even a small change in interest rate can make a big difference.

£100,000 at 5% over 25 years means a total repayment of ~£185,700. The same amount and period at 4% is ~£158300.
 
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Tunney said:
No, are you sure your interest rate is 5%? Even a small change in interest rate can make a big difference.

£100,000 at 5% over 25 years means a total repayment of ~£185,700. The same amount and period at 4% is ~£158300.
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You obviously know your stuff bro!

My mortgage starts off at around 5% for the first two years (tracker) but then will reduce to 4% after those 2 years (if the national interest rates were to stay the same)... that 1% reduction is quite considerable even from the point of view of my monthly mortgage repayments as they go from 500 to around 430.
 
Tunney said:
No, are you sure your interest rate is 5%? Even a small change in interest rate can make a big difference.

£100,000 at 5% over 25 years means a total repayment of ~£185,700. The same amount and period at 4% is ~£158300.
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Fair enough, it's 4.8% for the 2 year fixed term, then it goes lower due to current interest rates.
 
Oooh nooo.. after all this talk of being careful with my money, the workshop have just phoned about my bike service... 650 quid! FFS!

I'm gonna be insolvent before I even move into my new flat!
 
Citizen420 said:
Oooh nooo.. after all this talk of being careful with my money, the workshop have just phoned about my bike service... 650 quid! FFS!

I'm gonna be insolvent before I even move into my new flat!
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and lo, welcome to the world of owning a home!
 
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