As a First Time Buyer, there are some helpful hints and tips you may need to ensure that you are fully in the know and that your purchasing experience is as smooth as it can be. The following information will hopefully act as a starting guide to becoming a home owner.
A mortgage is simply a loan from a lender or a bank to help you to purchase a property if you do not wish to rent or buy a home outright. You will have to make monthly repayments of the money you have borrowed to the lender/bank, along with a pre-agreed interest rate. If you do not meet the repayments, you could lose your home – it will be sold to cover the money you have borrowed – so it is important that you keep on top of your mortgage payments.
Before you consider applying for a mortgage, as a buyer you must make sure you can afford your monthly repayments. It could be wise to make an initial budget before you begin to look for a property and perhaps enter your information into an affordability calculator just to give you an idea of what may be possible for you. To get a mortgage you will need to prove your income, which can be done using payslips or tax overviews/SA302s.
Normally you will also need to provide a copy of your bank statements and, in some cases, credit reports to give the lender an idea of your general financial management and situation. If you can show you will be able to keep up with and afford monthly payments, most likely a lender will accept your application.
One of the first things to think about when planning to buy a house is the deposit. Usually, you should try to save 5% to 20% of the price of the house you are looking to purchase. The larger your initial deposit is, the cheaper your mortgage will generally be. There will also most likely be more options available to you. If you are unable to save your own deposit, you can use a giftor to provide the sum of the deposit in full or part for you. This tends to be a family member. There are additional ways to get a deposit for the house if you cannot save it up yourself such as Help to Buy schemes, and some lenders may not even require you to pay a deposit if you apply for a Shared Ownership scheme; however it is best to speak to an adviser about the options that are suitable for you.
You should, at this time, also be considering a budget for other general home buying costs.
In addition to the mortgage itself, there will be costs for a number of things within the mortgage application process. These may include solicitor’s fees, removal costs, furnishings, decorating and installation costs, valuation fees and survey costs and buildings insurance. There is also the cost of Stamp Duty, however First Time Buyers do not pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000 for properties valued up to £500,000. Overall payments may vary, so if you have any queries speak to one of our advisers on 0333 320 8658 and hopefully, we can give you a more specific idea of your total costs.
The best option for most people when looking to get a mortgage is to speak to a mortgage adviser and allow them to guide you through the process from start to end. There is a fee for the service, but in the long run you will more than likely save a lot of money using an adviser, not to mention being provided with knowledge from years of experience in the industry. They can help you find the best mortgage deal, the right lender for you and ensure that you come out of it in a good position, with a secure mortgage and hopefully exactly what you were hoping to find.
Contact us at View Finance today on 0333 320 8658 or via our email info@viewfinance.co.uk and one of our advisers will be more than happy to consider your case and, if all goes well, bring you one step closer to securing your dream home with the right mortgage.
