When you look to buy your first home, it’s one of the most exciting chapters of your life!
Whether you have been living at your parents, or have been in rented accommodation, the sense of pride and achievement you will get when buying your first home, truly is one of the best experiences you are likely to have.
But where to start?? Is it as simple as finding a property and moving in….
These are our top tips, to get yourself prepared, and make sure the buying process is as stress free and straightforward as possible.
Tip 1 - Look into your finances. This is split in too two sections, the first being your deposit and the second being your affordability.
a) When you purchase a property, you must put some of your own money into the deal. This can be from savings, or a gift from a relative and will typically be between 5% and 20% of the purchase price. Make sure this is ready and accessible. If it is a gifted deposit, your solicitor will normally require some additional paperwork from you, but nothing to worry about, just make them aware when you get to that stage.
b) The rest of the purchase monies are made up from a mortgage from a bank or building society, commonly referred to as the lender. You can speak to any lender you wish, but not all will be able to work with you, based on certain criteria’s they may have in place. Rather then trawling through individual lenders yourself, we suggest speaking to a financial advisor that can look at your specific situation and provide the best advice on which lender you could be suited too. Word of warning, try and steer clear from online calculators as a guide to what you can borrow, as often the number that pops up is very far from the reality of what they may be able to offer you.
Tip 2 - Select the area you want to be in.
Sounds easier said then done, but you really need to get a good idea of what you want to have around you. There are many questions to ask yourself here; Do you want to live in a city or somewhere quiet? Do you want to be close to shops or have easy access to transport links? Are you going to be close enough to your friends and family? How long will it take you to commute to work? We have always found, if you focus on an area you really want to be in, you can then build your knowledge of the sort of properties that are available, the roads you would love to be in and also what the prices are doing. It means the search can be a lot more tailored and when the right property comes up, you can jump on it with confidence!
Tip 3 - What do you really want from your home?
Now one of the key words for the section is compromise. What do you have to have, no matter what, and what would be a bonus, that really you could live without if most of the other boxes are ticked. We have bought and sold a few properties in recent years, and every time we have moved, we have always agreed on our MUST haves before we even start looking. As you embark on your search, your MUST haves may change and vary, but it is important you keep focused on what you genuinely want from your first home. Some of the key things to consider are; how much work are you prepared to do a property? Is the garden facing the right way for you? Are there options to increase the value over time with extending or improving? Will the parking situation work for you? And most importantly, can you see this as your first home!? When viewing the house, ask the agent too explain the situation of the seller in detail. If they are moving house, have they found anywhere to go as this key information can massively effect how long the whole process could take!
Tip 4 - Making an offer. Once you have the house of your dreams in sight, you now need to make an offer.
Before this point, just reconfirm with your broker your affordability and make sure nothing has drastically changed since your first conversation. When speaking to the estate agent you need to position yourself in the best possible light. Explain your position again, discuss your finances stating your deposit and mortgage are ready to go. Most agents will suggest you speak to there in-house financial advisor at the point, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We would always recommend going along with this for a couple of reasons - the first, is the agent will have more desire to work with you as a buyer as they have a further incentive in place for them. And the second point is the more advice you get around money the better. Most credible advisors will offer advice without any payment required, so if you like what they say then great. Back to the conversation with the agent, be as open as possible in the conversation, you need them to work on your behalf! Final point on offering, is don’t be afraid to offer on the first property you see! No doubt you would have done plenty of research and know the area you are looking in. You would have seen many of properties online already so if the house is right, then go for it!
Once your offer is accepted the purchase process will start, with solicitors being instructed and you’re mortgage application being submitted. We will be covering the purchase process in another blog at a later date.
As always if you have any questions on the above, or the process as a whole, we are here to help.
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