advice - 6 months to prepare for mortgage

gingerjester

Hi

I'm looking to buy my first house in approx 6 months. Given that Mortgages are getting harder to come by what do people suggest is the most important factor to getting a good deal?

purely raising the highest deposit
getting my credit cards to zero
amount i have in the bank each month
something else entirely?

any advice much appreciated

_Andy_

Hard to say without knowing income/outgoings/debts etc etc... but I would suggest getting a large deposit together - giving you more choice of mortgages at better rates.

getmore4less

Getting a big deposit together while you have debt just means you are borrowing money on CC's to buy a house.

In this order,
Pay of the debt.
Build up a deposit, using CC, for budgeted expences, paid off in full each month.
Buy.

gingerjester

HI

Thanks for your responses

to add some more detail

Income is £4062pcm
Outgoings are £1500pcm including £200 cash
Debts £3856 on credit card 0% till april (tart - down from 6k)
£6500 on 5.9% lifetime of balance card

As you can guess my finances have recently changed due to a promotion to management at work.

I have been renting for 5 years and am keen to get on with buying.

If i can stick to my saving over next 6 months i can build up £15k + 3k xmas bonus giving me 10% of the value of a 180k house - two bed semi in area where i live.

Calculators i have tried don't seem to penalise me for credit card debt so i'm tempted to plough on with deposit rather than pay off cards.

any thoughts would be welcomed.