Mortgage advice - first time buyer

[Delvis]

It's is tough - really tough, a deposit takes years to build, even if you live like a monk.

Shared ownership can be an option, but has its own risks...

Aye, something we've considered, she just hates new builds...but it may be something we have to do

Or keep your payments the same, take advantage of the better LTV and thus interest rate and shorten the term.

That’s the approach I took, payments went up by £50~ but my term is almost 10 years shorter now than when I bought the house 3 years ago.

Aye, if you can comfortably pay it off at the same rate, why not?

Also if you have any unused credit cards with zero balances then look at cancelling them and only keep 1 or 2. I'm looking to buy (first time) and had over £50k of available credit available. I was advised by my broker that lenders can be scared by this, so cancel the ones you don't need.

Thanks. Yes I only have the two, one I clear every month the other has less that 2k to clear - I'm aware this probably needs to shift first

Before buying make sure that you dont stretch your budget to the absolute limit, make sure you have some spare cash every month in case the house needs maintenance.
For 90-95% LTV HSBC seems to provide one of the best rates and their online process is very simple. You can try making an application online just to get an agreement in principle, hsbc doesnt carry out a hard check on your credit history for this (or nationwide, these are the two I tried less than 6 months ago).
The only advantage of going with a mortgage broker is if you are self employed and they sometimes offer a cashback with their lenders but definitely not worth paying them for, as you can pretty much apply to most banks directly. If you are buying through an estate agent they might try and persuade you to use their advisors.

Wife is self employed, so may be worth looking at a broker and normal advisor?

Also to claim on the H2B ISA, the house value has to be under 250k. One of my mates went just slightly over and hence couldnt use the ISA bonus.

Yes, I've noticed that. There are some ways 'around' it.

 

[Uther]

Run some numbers through one of the online mortgage calculators to see if it's doable where you want to buy. Also, a few places will do an AIP online, but make sure they only do a 'soft search'

 

[shadow_boxer]

Biggest piece of advice is to be realistic. Don't get carried away and stretch yourselves. In a case where there is very little deposit see your first home as a stepping stone to something bigger in the future. Mortgages are pretty straight forward to be honest but sounds sensible to see an advisor if your wife is self employed. Ensure theyre whole of market and how are they payed (commision etc). The mortgage itselfi can be sorted pretty quickly its the finding a house and building up your deposit that takes time. Also remember that interest rates are likely to rise from the historic lows of recent years so calculate what would happen if they doubled or tripled. Could you still afford the house and some quality of life? Budget for other major expenses also like holidays and cars, think about career prospects...are jobs stable, earnings likely to change and finally what are you contributing towards pensions?? Consider solicitors fees, stamp duty and how will you furnish the house?

A lot to think about but the mortgage itself is relatively straight forward.

All people and couples have different levels of repayment they are comfortable with. Sit down with the wife can see what that is for yourselves after take home pay.

 

[NoobCannon]

Best advice i can give is dont buy a new build if at all possible.

Also save as much money as you can before applying for the mortage, a loan from parents can help if you need it

 

[secretspy]

I've just recently purchased a flat through shared ownership. I didn't want to have to go down that route but was the only way to get me on the property ladder, particularly as it's just me and I was living in an expensive area. (I've had to move out of the county)

I used a mortgage broker (integrity mortgages) because I had no clue and they needed to do checks to prove I wasn't money laundering anyway. They were really helpful and friendly and also got me a great rate on my contents insurance too.

 

[Uther]

loan from parents can help if you need it

A 'gift' from parents would be better...

 

[BongoHunter]

Might be worth considering buying somehing that needs modernisation. This will knock quite a bit off the price, and as long as you can modernise it there's the opportunity to add a lot of value and save a few quid when you buy.

Just completed on our first house on the Friday just gone - it's habitable, but needs modernising. We saved over 100k by taking on a bit of project (verses prices of other houses on the street), and plan to get the place completely refurbished over the next few years.

Worth bearing in mind that you can't mortgage something that's not habitable, it needs to have a functional kitchen (ish) and other services etc to get a normal mortgage on.

It doesn't cost the earth to sort a house out either, you just need to be willing to get your hands dirty and get a decent survey to make sure there's no absolute horrors awaiting you!

 

[Delvis]

Run some numbers through one of the online mortgage calculators to see if it's doable where you want to buy. Also, a few places will do an AIP online, but make sure they only do a 'soft search'

Thanks, I need to do a few more searches so thanks for reminding me. Recently read a out the AIP searches too.

Biggest piece of advice is to be realistic. Don't get carried away and stretch yourselves. In a case where there is very little deposit see your first home as a stepping stone to something bigger in the future. Mortgages are pretty straight forward to be honest but sounds sensible to see an advisor if your wife is self employed. Ensure theyre whole of market and how are they payed (commision etc). The mortgage itselfi can be sorted pretty quickly its the finding a house and building up your deposit that takes time. Also remember that interest rates are likely to rise from the historic lows of recent years so calculate what would happen if they doubled or tripled. Could you still afford the house and some quality of life? Budget for other major expenses also like holidays and cars, think about career prospects...are jobs stable, earnings likely to change and finally what are you contributing towards pensions?? Consider solicitors fees, stamp duty and how will you furnish the house?

A lot to think about but the mortgage itself is relatively straight forward.

All people and couples have different levels of repayment they are comfortable with. Sit down with the wife can see what that is for yourselves after take home pay.

This is kind of what I'm saying to the wife, wewont be able to move into our dream home, it'll have to be something smaller for a few years most definitely.

Best advice i can give is dont buy a new build if at all possible.

Also save as much money as you can before applying for the mortage, a loan from parents can help if you need it

Hah yeah, heard multiple horror stories.

Aye, a loan but a 'gift'

I've just recently purchased a flat through shared ownership. I didn't want to have to go down that route but was the only way to get me on the property ladder, particularly as it's just me and I was living in an expensive area. (I've had to move out of the county)

I used a mortgage broker (integrity mortgages) because I had no clue and they needed to do checks to prove I wasn't money laundering anyway. They were really helpful and friendly and also got me a great rate on my contents insurance too.

I want to avoid moving too far, having just landed a new job with less commute to help save more money, but I can see why it's needed sometimes.

Thank you though, will take a look at the recommendation

A 'gift' from parents would be better...

Yes, gift with a letter apparently.

That won't be happening from my side on all honesty

 

[Burnsy2023]

I've just recently purchased a flat through shared ownership. I didn't want to have to go down that route but was the only way to get me on the property ladder, particularly as it's just me and I was living in an expensive area. (I've had to move out of the county)

I used a mortgage broker (integrity mortgages) because I had no clue and they needed to do checks to prove I wasn't money laundering anyway. They were really helpful and friendly and also got me a great rate on my contents insurance too.

Off topic, but seeing a post from you is a blast from the past. Good to see you posting

On topic, read this to get to to speed on the process and options: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-guide/

I found it very useful when I was in the OPs situation.

 

[Delvis]

Might be worth considering buying somehing that needs modernisation. This will knock quite a bit off the price, and as long as you can modernise it there's the opportunity to add a lot of value and save a few quid when you buy.

Just completed on our first house on the Friday just gone - it's habitable, but needs modernising. We saved over 100k by taking on a bit of project (verses prices of other houses on the street), and plan to get the place completely refurbished over the next few years.

Worth bearing in mind that you can't mortgage something that's not habitable, it needs to have a functional kitchen (ish) and other services etc to get a normal mortgage on.

It doesn't cost the earth to sort a house out either, you just need to be willing to get your hands dirty and get a decent survey to make sure there's no absolute horrors awaiting you!

Very true. Im always keen to DIY and know a lot of trades people personally

 

[Delvis]

Off topic, but seeing a post from you is a blast from the past. Good to see you posting

Indeed! Nice to see you @secretspy

Thanks for the link, assuming that's the PDF I need to read it

 

[BongoHunter]

Very true. Im always keen to DIY and know a lot of trades people personally

We'll worth a look - we think that we will spend around 20k to add 100k of value to our house, it's just we need to live in something that's a bit compromised for a few years.

If we'd bought a new build in the area we wanted at our budget - it would have been a flat with no parking or garden with a max of 2 beds. We've ended up with 3 beds, 2 gardens, parking and a garage, in an actual house.

I've done 10+ years in quite poor quality rented accommodation, so a few years in something that is less than perfect is a no brainer for us.

 

[Delvis]

We'll worth a look - we think that we will spend around 20k to add 100k of value to our house, it's just we need to live in something that's a bit compromised for a few years.

If we'd bought a new build in the area we wanted at our budget - it would have been a flat with no parking or garden with a max of 2 beds. We've ended up with 3 beds, 2 gardens, parking and a garage, in an actual house.

I've done 10+ years in quite poor quality rented accommodation, so a few years in something that is less than perfect is a no brainer for us.

Indeed, I'm fine with it, hopefully the wife is

 

[Zefan]

Good luck. Buying my house was the most stressful thing I've ever done. I actually dread the thought of moving, and having both a purchase and a sale to worry about

Also, damn @secretspy, been a while since I've seen your username!

 

[moon man]

Might be worth considering buying somehing that needs modernisation. This will knock quite a bit off the price, and as long as you can modernise it there's the opportunity to add a lot of value and save a few quid when you buy.

Just completed on our first house on the Friday just gone - it's habitable, but needs modernising. We saved over 100k by taking on a bit of project (verses prices of other houses on the street), and plan to get the place completely refurbished over the next few years.

Worth bearing in mind that you can't mortgage something that's not habitable, it needs to have a functional kitchen (ish) and other services etc to get a normal mortgage on.

It doesn't cost the earth to sort a house out either, you just need to be willing to get your hands dirty and get a decent survey to make sure there's no absolute horrors awaiting you!

good call
my house was ignored becauce the 150ft plus garden was overgrown and the outside buildings had doors swollen shut with the rain ,also inside needed light updating ,meanwhile they were fighting over holes in camborne with nice new cream coloured walls and a b&q kitchen ,

 

[BongoHunter]

If you do go for something, worth following this thread: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/the-nervous-wait-to-exchange.18591082/

 

[Zefan]

fighting over holes in camborne with nice new cream coloured walls and a b&q kitchen ,

Camborne... big oof

 

[secretspy]

I want to avoid moving too far, having just landed a new job with less commute to help save more money, but I can see why it's needed sometimes.

Thank you though, will take a look at the recommendation

Yeah I get that as I feel the same. It takes me about 40 mins to get to work but i am always casually looking, in case something comes up closer to home.

The other shared ownership properties closer were either too expensive or restricted I.e. you had to live and work in that town already. I got very lucky with where I am now as I was actually first reserve but the couple before me took too long sorting a mortgage. It's not been plain sailing though. The previous owners didn't do any decorating and left certain parts of if in a complete mess but I'm getting there

(P.s. thanks to those that remember me I do browse and post every now and then but it has been a while lol)

 

[shadow_boxer]

This is kind of what I'm saying to the wife, we wont be able to move into our dream home, it'll have to be something smaller for a few years most definitely.

It's all about looking at things sensibly. It's far too easy to get carried away and let your heart and imagination run away with things when looking at houses (particulary first homes). We were the same. We didn't really have a list of what was essential and what would be nice to have. Ended up looking at far too many houses that were twice the price of what we eventually bought. There's plenty of time to get into your dream home, no rush. We've been in our house for a few years and even though we both knew it was a stop gap home we haven't got any urge or rush to move. Remember when you're younger there are lots other expenses like children to think about too so why burden yourself with a massive mortgage. Best of luck.

 

[moon man]

It's all about looking at things sensibly. It's far too easy to get carried away and let your heart and imagination run away with things when looking at houses (particulary first homes). We were the same. We didn't really have a list of what was essential and what would be nice to have. Ended up looking at far too many houses that were twice the price of what we eventually bought. There's plenty of time to get into your dream home, no rush. We've been in our house for a few years and even though we both knew it was a stop gap home we haven't got any urge or rush to move. Remember when you're younger there are lots other expenses like children to think about too so why burden yourself with a massive mortgage. Best of luck.

max out on the budget also go detached if possible and do get carried away ,we may only get one life ,dont ever be sensible