First Time Buyer!!!! Need Advice!!!!

wiggyuk

Me and my partner have been living in private rented accomodation for about 18 months know, we are looking to get our own place but would like some advice is the a rule to how much mortgage you can normally borrow depending on your income ? we have not been to see anyone about this yet so where do I start ?

My partners boss told her he saved money on his house because he agreed to buy the property before it was built, off plan I think this is called, is this a good way to buy and does it save you any money, and how do you hear about these new builds before other people get the best plots ?

I am also confused by the amount are mortgages available ?

I would like to buy a house that would be suitable for me and partner for the next 50 years I dont really want to get my own place and then move again in the next 10 years if I can help it.

I have also been advised by a collegue to ask estate agents to put me on the housing reprosession list, is this something worth thinking about and that can benefit us ?

silvercar

is the a rule to how much mortgage you can normally borrow depending on your income ?

Different companies have different rules. think of 3 x main salary + 1 x second salary as a minimum. Could increase to 3.5 x joint salary provided you have no other debts, are in steady jobs, no CCJs etc.

Do think about how much you can afford, allowing for household bills etc.

buy the property before it was built, off plan I think this is called, is this a good way to buy and does it save you any money

It can do but are you flexible about when you move in? Things can run behind schedule. Also you are banking on prices being stable for the time gap between exchange and completion.

the housing reprosession list,

Houses that have been repossessed vary in condition. Usually the previous owners have not been in a position to spendmoney on them for a long time. Also the days of building societis selling them off very cheap just to get shot of them has long gone. They are now obliged to find the best price they can.

I would like to buy a house that would be suitable for me and partner for the next 50 years I dont really want to get my own place and then move again in the next 10 years if I can help it.

Wouldn't we all, think of the savings in costs and hassles. Unfortunately in the real world very few of us can afford to do this. Unless you have mega deposit money behind you this is a pipe dream.

wiggyuk

Thanks for your advice I am pretty flexible about my moving date as I am in rented accomodation anyway.

You say 3 x my sallary and 1 x my partners that is so poor, I am on 20k & partner est 10k per year

3 x 20k = 60k my sallary
1 x 10k = 10k partners sallary
10k + 60k = 70k
If this is the case I am shafted, you cant get much for 70k knowadays

silvercar

I did say that was a minimum, at 3 x joint you could get £90k. You could probably find someone prepared to give you £100k. How much deposit do you have?

Heth_2

We are ftbs and my husband is on 21k and i am on 12k, we are borrowing 109k but that is with a 25% deposit (they didn't even take proof of income when we did the mortgage application). When we looked to buy last summer we only had a 10% deposit, and were going to borrow around 100k. Lots of banks/building societies have calculators on their websites to figure out how much they will lend you, or go and talk to a mortgage advisor and they can get you an agreement in principle to give you some figures before you house hunt.
In any case i don't think the house we are buying will necessarily be the one we will live in for 50 years. We are planning to live there for at least 5, and we have bought somewhere with enough space should we have kids, but i still hope that in the distant future we will be able to buy a nicer house.

nelly_2

Also think about your month repayments + maintanace +living a life +kids in the future.

wiggyuk

silvercar wrote:

I did say that was a minimum, at 3 x joint you could get £90k. You could probably find someone prepared to give you £100k. How much deposit do you have?

Well thats another thing we dont really have any deposit at the moment I was willing to wait another year and try and save up a deposit of something like 5k, but we are in poor kept accomodation ie extreme damp & condensation, so the missis as just got to the end of her teather and wants to move sooner.

afinn

Yes you can buy "off plan" but don't forget that when anyone buys a newly built property there is roughly a 15%-20% premium included in the price, after all everything is brand new (its a bit like buying a new car you loose the VAT as soonas you drive off the forcourt) so although you can get a deal from the developer it will probably still cost you more than an older property in the same area. Upside is you should have no DIY expenses when you move in.

The more deposit you can save the better off you will be. Do either of you work in one of the Key Worker Sectors (Police, Nurse, Teacher etc) if you do you could always apply to Keysart for help with purchasing, they usually lend you the deposit. I think the deposit in repayable when you sell the property but also may be transferrable to your next property. You would need to speak to Keystart about that.

nickforhire

The Halifax have lent my partner and me 4x our combined salaries. We are both graduates with no debts (other than student loans), but only a 3% deposit. They have waived the higher lending charge (normally you pay a higher rate if you want to borrow more than 95%) and we're getting £550 cashback for being first time buyers. I earn just over £18,000 and my girlfriend earns just over £14,000, and we're borrowing £128,000 on a house purchase for £132,000.

We've chosen a house for the long term, as we don't plan to move area or have children, however of course you never know what the future might bring. With your salaries you can probably borrow up to £120,000 (which is bit of an improvement on £70,000 as the worst case option).

wiggyuk

I would be very happy with £120k, I will have to pay Halifax a visit and find out what they can do for us my partner is 18 next month so cant really do anything about finding how much we can lend until then.

No we dont work in the key worker section, I am a warehouse & purchasing manager and she is a branch manager for a coffee shop.

I have been looking at property on the net and most of the ones me and my partner liked the look of was 90k - 110k, I would prefer a semi 3 bedroom, with driveway or garage & reasonable sized garden.

What other things do I need to take into account when buying a house, ie stamp duty, serveyors, etc ?

wiggyuk

Also which is the best mortgage to go for ?

Flexible mortgage
Fixed rate
Tracker rate