First time buyer.

Deano4174

sarah_elton wrote:

Fees:

Mortgage arrangement fee, or mortgage booking fee - fixed rate mortgages especially tend to have them (mine is £399).

Plus there may also be a small 'completion fee' (mine £30).

They should run through with you all the fees associated with the mortgage.

Obviously you've also got all the other costs associated with buying - are you aware of what and how much they are? If not we can list here...

would appreciate it if you could give me a list of what all the cost that i will be looking at are. and also when the broker says its no fee then does that mean its no fee for the advice and i have to pay them a fee on completion? the broker is london & country.

Thanks.

Deano4174

sarah_elton wrote:

But if the £526 is instead of rent currently being paid, it will take a lot longer to save.....

I'm getting 100% at 4.99%, I know there is significant risk involved due to lack of protection against the market, which does have to be thought seriously about, but I weighed that up against how much I'd drop in rent in the time it would take to save a deposit.

did you go through a broker to get your 100% mortgage or did you find it yourself?

annie-c

I took a 100% FTB mortgage last year, and also a loan to do some essential repair work. It was a fairly safe risk as I knew that the house would be worth more on the open market with the renovations done. This year I am re-mortgaging with an 80% mortgage and am so glad I didn't carry on paying rent for another year. In order to do this I had to move out of a really nice rented flat, into a really not at all nice house, but it was worth it for the end result.

But bear in mind that I did wait until I was on a decent salary in a stable job before even thinking about buying.

sarah_elton

I got mine through HSBC, who, if I recall correctly, don't deal with brokers and therefore aren't searched by them (that may be completely untrue - one of the advisors on here will know). On their FTB mortgages they don't mind what the percentage is, so might be worth asking them how much they'll lend you.

OK, costs involved:

Stamp duty - none for you as it's a tax only payable if you buy a place more than £120k.

Solicitor - budget approx £800 for a freehold property, or £1200 for leasehold. (but get quotes from a few - they'll do it over the phone)

Mortgage fees - as I said mine are £429 in total. Also check with your broker as I know some companies charge an extra fee if it's a 100% mortgage - HSBC don't but ask up front about they mortgage they've recommended to check.

Broker fee - I don't know as I didn't use one. I assume you will pay them something, at some point. Just ask them in words of one syllable what they charge, and when, and they'll have to explain it.

Removal firm - if you can hire a van and move yourself, budget say £60. Not sure how much cheap removal firms are as not had to use one, but guess a couple of hundred minimum?

Anything you need when you first move in - not sure if you're moving from home or from rented, but list out the essentials you don't have currently (e.g. washing machine, furniture......) and look up some prices. It tends to add up pretty fast.

In total my move is costing me about £3k (of which about £1200 is lounge suite, washing machine, and DIY that needs doing as soon as I get in).

annie-c

London and Country don't charge any fees. They make their money by getting a commission from the lender, but this doesn't affect the deal you get. The lenders are willing to pay them a commission because of the sheer volume of business they put their way.

But don't confuse the broker's fee with mortgage fees, which Sarah has listed in her posts, and which you'll pay directly to the mortgage company when L & C have found you the best deal. 'No fee' broker means that you don't pay fees for the service the broker provides, ie looking around the market for the best deal on your behalf.

Deano4174

annie-c wrote:

London and Country don't charge any fees. They make their money by getting a commission from the lender, but this doesn't affect the deal you get. The lenders are willing to pay them a commission because of the sheer volume of business they put their way.

But don't confuse the broker's fee with mortgage fees, which Sarah has listed in her posts, and which you'll pay directly to the mortgage company when L & C have found you the best deal. 'No fee' broker means that you don't pay fees for the service the broker provides, ie looking around the market for the best deal on your behalf.

so if i go through L&C will i have to sort out my own solicitor and survey etc or will this all be done for me?

annie-c

Deano4174 wrote:

so if i go through L&C will i have to sort out my own solicitor and survey etc or will this all be done for me?

Depending on which lender you opt for, they will probably services to you, but you can usually choose to shop around if you want.

I got my first mortgage through HSBC like Sarah. I wanted a homebuyer's report (a 'mid-range' survey) in addition to the standard valuation that was a compulsory part of their mortgage deal, so it was cheapest to have both done as part of one survey by their own approved surveyors.

But I shopped around for my own conveyancer, I can't remember now exactly what fees I paid, but I chose a fixed-price deal. For conveyancing I phoned a range of solicitors that I found on an internet site and then chose the one that I felt most comfortable with (one of the cheapest, but not the absolute cheapest - I wanted someone that I knew I would feel comfortable to phone up and ask stupid questions, and so I went with gut instinct after talking to them on the phone).

annie-c

Typo in first sentence above - should read 'they will probably offer services to you'

While on the subject, a warning about buildings and contents insurance. I stupidly took HSBC's insurance and have paid about double the amount I could have paid if I'd shopped around.