Beginning on the property ladder

talksr

Hello, I have begun looking into obtaining a Mortgage for my first home. I was looking to buy a small 2 bedroom home near to Stansted, Essex. The average cost is around £180 to £200,000.

I have been saving like mad since I finished uni last summer and so far I have around £15k to put toward my mortgage.

I would be very interested if anyone can offer me advice/experience on how much I should save before I go for a mortgage, and also which sort to go for as there are all sorts of different types.

I don’t have any debts (apart from the student loan) and I have a very good credit rating & always pay bills on time if this helps.


Thanks

VIGILANT22

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-guide

Supreme_2

How much do you earn?

talksr

Supreme wrote: »

How much do you earn?

At present 25k but should be going up to 27,800 by the end of this month.

vl2588

You sound like you're on the right track to me, well done! I have just started saving and have a loooong way to go!

Minimum seems to be 10% deposit at the moment but the more you can save the better a deal/the more options you should have.

Dan_1976

Yeah, get to 10-15%, 20% if you can, but remember you need money for legals etc and a bit of a back up if you can.

goRt

It's not a "property ladder", it's just another class of investment - prices can go up as well as down
Are you sure you want such a large multiple of you income as a mortgage - 3.5 times is more affordable when interest rates go up

talksr

Dan_1976 wrote: »

Yeah, get to 10-15%, 20% if you can, but remember you need money for legals etc and a bit of a back up if you can.

Ah thanks guys.
It has been hard to save up what I have but it will really be worth it once I have my own place. And like vl2588 said, the more I can save, the better deals I will get.
There are some nice new properties being developed near to where I am, and it would be great if I could get one of those.

What sort of costs can the legal costs come to? Or does it really vary depending on the price of the property?