Buying your first home should be a really exciting time in your life but where do you start? Mortgages, Solicitors, estate agents, Who? What? Where? When? In which order?

1) Mortgages - unless you have spoken to an adviser it can be difficult for you to properly assess how much you can borrow and how much you can afford. Do this first before you look at potential properties you may be interested in.

2) Deposit – At the time of writing, a first-time buyer will need to have saved up or, if they are lucky, have a gift from a parent/relative of at least 5% of the purchase price, the rest of the money will come from the mortgage lender. You can of course put down a bigger deposit.

3) A good broker will compare mortgage products to find the best fit from his/her panel of lenders.

Other associated costs

4) Stamp duty – “Stamp Duty relief for first-time buyers If you’re a first-time buyer in England or Northern Ireland, you will pay no Stamp Duty on properties worth up to £300,000. This means if you are a first-time buyer, you will save up to £5,000. For properties costing up to £500,000, you will pay no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000. You will pay Stamp Duty on the remaining amount, up to £200,000. If the property you are buying is worth over £500,000, you will pay the standard rates of Stamp Duty and will not qualify for first-time buyer’s relief.” https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-stamp-duty

5) Survey fees – when you buy a property with a mortgage, the lender has to be satisfied that the property you are buying is worth the purchase price or that it is suitable security. As well as the lender valuation, it is good practice to pay for a homebuyer’s report. This is because a homebuyer’s report is more detailed and tells you the buyer about the overall condition of the property, e.g the state of the roof, any damp etc. A homebuyer’s report will make you aware of any work that needs doing immediately or in the near future.

6) Legal fees – when you are ready to buy your first property you will have to instruct a solicitor to do the conveyancing = the legal process of transferring property from one owner to another.

7) Removals – where necessary you should shop around for removal costs

Here at FD Financial I have helped many first-time buyers with their first purchase. *I can definitely help with 1, 3. *I definitely cannot contribute to 2 and 4 😊 I can help arrange homebuyer’s reports, recommend solicitors who can act for you wherever you are in the UK, and also recommend removal firms in certain parts of the country.

If you are reading this blog and not bought your first home yet, but thinking of doing so, then call me first. Otherwise, you may fall in love with a property you cannot afford. You need to know what your maximum is before you start looking at houses/apartments.