First time buyer advice

lea2012

Hi

I am looking for a little bit of mortgage advice as a first time buyer.

I am a single mum who currently works part time as a teacher. I currently rent and pay £400 a month and do not recieve any help towards rent as I earn too much.

The house next door but one to where I live has come on the market for £60,000 and there is another around the corner for £55000 that I am very interested in. The more expensive one is a better prospect as it is a repossesion but is in a good condition whereas the cheaper needs work doing to it.

I am looking for advice / info on what to do in terms of seeking mortgage advice, who to speak to etc? What are the interest rates roughly at the moment and are banks even lending to first time buyers?

I know I will need to put down a deposit and was hoping to maybe get help from my parents to put down 10% but is that enough?

From the basic info I have gathered at the moment I would actually be saving money if i had a mortgage instead of renting so it does look a better prospect.

Any information at all would be appreciated as I have never bought a property before or considered it so haven't a clue whwere to start!!

Leanne.

happybroker

10% is the minimum deposit you will need, 15% get's you much better rates and also more lenders willing to look at the application.

You will need to have a squeeky clean credit history and a high score to qualify for 90% lending. The rates at this level are not too cracking as lenders really don't want to lend at that level but need to be seen to be making the gesture.

Follow the MSE process, speak to brokers and also look at best buy tables. Be carefull how many searches you have done as they can affect your credit score.

A broker is more likely to give you advice if you're unsure and using a local one may give you the confidence of a "face to a name" and a bit of hand holding but you may have a fee to pay and end up with a higher rate of interest due to the bank's policy of dual pricing at the moment. It's your decision as to wether it's worth it or not.

Be careful of the price of insurance etc if you go directly to a bank.

Your income will be a factor also, at 90% with those figures you will need around £15k for sure.

Good luck, exciting times.

DanDan123

lea2012 wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for a little bit of mortgage advice as a first time buyer.

I am a single mum who currently works part time as a teacher. I currently rent and pay £400 a month and do not recieve any help towards rent as I earn too much.

The house next door but one to where I live has come on the market for £60,000 and there is another around the corner for £55000 that I am very interested in. The more expensive one is a better prospect as it is a repossesion but is in a good condition whereas the cheaper needs work doing to it.

I am looking for advice / info on what to do in terms of seeking mortgage advice, who to speak to etc? What are the interest rates roughly at the moment and are banks even lending to first time buyers?

I know I will need to put down a deposit and was hoping to maybe get help from my parents to put down 10% but is that enough?

From the basic info I have gathered at the moment I would actually be saving money if i had a mortgage instead of renting so it does look a better prospect.

Any information at all would be appreciated as I have never bought a property before or considered it so haven't a clue whwere to start!!

Leanne.

Hi,

As you mentioned you will need atleast a 10% deposit, so that would make the purchase price of the 60k property 54k.

Making a couple of assumptions (interest rate at 5.5% and paying over 25 years) i make that a monthly payment of around £335 per month. Obviously you would also need buildings insurance, and possibly life cover etc.

Hope that helps.

lea2012

Thanks for your advice, my salary is £16000 plus I do get working tax credits of around £3000 per year, which i believe they take into account?
I can afford the rent no problem at the mo so if a mortgage cost less then it wouldn't be an issue.

I have just submitted a query form to a website to get a mortgage broker in my area to contact me, i dont know if i can say the website or not so i wont but it offered independant mortgage advise so will wait and see.

I am still a little bit apprehensive and i hadn't even considered buying until the one near me came up and at what i think is a very good price for a semi detatched with garden (ex council house) in an area i know and like living in. I will wait to see what advice I can get off a mortgage broker and then have a think, thank you very much.

herbiesjp

Income multiples are fine - that is assuming you do not have any other debts?

Are you aware of any bad credit history that you might have?

Are the properties of standard construction? That could put a spanner in the works as well.

GSXRCarlos

good luck

if it's a repossession you need to be in a position to complete in 28 days from your offer being accepted

lea2012

Thanks again for the other advice, the property is an ex council house so should be of a solid construction, I have asked the estate agent about the property and have been advised that is has a relatively new kitchen and bathroom (how old relatively new is in etstate agents terms tho i dont know) and that the rest of the property is in good condition but may just need decorating if i wish. Obviously I haven't done any surveys or anything yet but its does seem quite solid.

I have spoken to my parents and we are going to discuss it in a few days to see whether or not it would be viable for me with a 15% deposit, but thank you all for your contributions.