Many of our clients are asking ‘how much do we really need to save to buy a house?’ These days, you can’t walk into your local estate agent, see a house, get a 100% mortgage without providing any proof of earnings and four – six weeks later become the owner of your first property!!
Times have changed… But what do you need to know when purchasing your first home? Here are a few tips for someone looking for their first (or any) Mortgage! A First Time Buyer Loan is a great way to get on to the housing market, but don’t forget the other costs when taking out a mortgage.
1. Make sure that you can afford it! Don’t look at the price of the property, make sure that you can actually afford the monthly repayments too. Think about the term of the loan.
2. Can you save up more than 10%? If so, you will be opening yourself up to a wider selection of lenders, with potentially, much better rates. This could save you money in the long run.
3. Look at the cost over the whole term, it may be attractive to put a much smaller deposit down, but if it’s a case of saving up a few thousand extra, and saving several hundred ££’s a month, you may be better off to wait a while.
3. Use a broker!! This is very important. Choose someone that you trust and MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ‘WHOLE OF MARKET’. It’s all very well going to someone who works in the estate agents, but if they only have a choice of 10 lenders, a Whole of Market broker has thousands to choose from and will usually be able to get you a much better deal.
4. Don’t forget the other fees!. Remember that you will most likely have to pay, Solicitors Fees, Broker Fees, Mortgage Application Fees and Valuation fees. This can all add up, so make sure that you have enough to pay these and still put down your deposit.
If you would like to speak to us at Turnberry Financial Planning for some free of charge, no obligation advice, please give us a call on 01604 235136.
