Planning ahead - FTB Long distance from home

Xan245

Hi everyone,

After spending a couple of weeks reading the forums and site learning all I can about mortgages and home buying I felt the need to make myself known and plea for further assistance.

My GF and I will be looking to buy our 1st home together late next year as it will take around a year to save for a deposit on a property amongst all the other associated fees involved.

I am having a problem wrapping my head around how to go about this as where we plan to move to is some distance from our homes at the moment where we live with parents, and thus would probably involve a change a of job for myself, GF is at uni until summer next year and will be looking for work once the course is complete.

I would greatly appreciate anyone with any experience of long distance moves and how to go about them when it involves changing job as well sharing them,

TIA

ocalllo

rent in the area you are going to move to first.....get your jobs sorted and settled and only then look at buying.

slosher

We spent many months trailing back and forth to Cornwall trying to buy from London, it just did not happen as we were just too far away, we also found that we were viewing houses that were not really suitable as we felt a bit desperate (not the way to feel when your looking for a home) So we decided to move down and rent in Cornwall whilst looking for a house to buy, we are only on a six month tenancy so hope to buy before that runs out but if we don't we will carry on renting until we find the right property.
This has taken the pressure off completely. Good luck and do not rush into anything.

Xan245

Thanks ocalllo & slosher,

We are looking to go from Bedford to Birmingham, so not quite that far, but it does seem to be the way of doing things,

Still pushing the ball up the hill for the time being, it'll start rolling next year, I'm hoping that planning now will make things much smoother then the time comes

MrsManda

As already suggested it really is a good idea to get a new job in Bedford, rent a house in the area and then search for your new home. It'll give you chance to work out where precisely you are willing to live because you'll be able to visit the areas at different times of the day.

Are you planning on trying to get a mortgage on the basis of your current job and then trying to find a job in Bedford?
I'm not sure how the mortgage market works at the moment but I wonder whether it'll make it harder to get a mortgage for a house is so far from where you are currently working.
Plus do you really want to be commuting ~1.5-2hrs each way from your home in bedford to your current job whilst you look for a new one?

Xan245

Hi MrsManda,

I'm currently living and working in Bedford. The idea I'm now getting together in my head goes somewhat like this;

1. during next year apply for jobs in Birmingham
2. once I have secured a job hand in my notice in Bedford and look for somewhere to rent in Birmingham
3. let a few months pass before looking for a house to buy as that will give time to get a few payslips through on the new job
4. start talks with brokers about applying for a mortgage

on a side note from what I have read am I correct in thinking that 1st you get a mortgage in principal to know how much you can afford then find a property then apply for the mortgage, or do you find a property before looking for a mortgage in principal?

sonastin

Xan245 wrote: »

on a side note from what I have read am I correct in thinking that 1st you get a mortgage in principal to know how much you can afford then find a property then apply for the mortgage, or do you find a property before looking for a mortgage in principal?

The looking for a property and the arranging of the AIP can be done at the same time - it helps to show an EA or a vendor that you can get a mortgage, but it isn't essential so if by chance the perfect house appears on day one of looking, you might be able to skip the AIP step. But chances are it'll take to a while to find the right house and you can use that time to speak mortgage brokers as well. You'll need to know what your budget is going to be before you start searching though, so if you need help deciding that, speak to a mortgage broker first.

Xan245

Our goal is to have around 10k saved between us for a deposit + some extra for the associated fees etc, which equates to 15% of a 70k property.

We've had a glance at properties in the areas we will be looking at to get an idea of prices which is how we got the 70k figure, it just depends on what happens to house prices in the next 12 months or so.

FTBFun

Xan245 wrote: »

Hi MrsManda,

I'm currently living and working in Bedford. The idea I'm now getting together in my head goes somewhat like this;

1. during next year apply for jobs in Birmingham
2. once I have secured a job hand in my notice in Bedford and look for somewhere to rent in Birmingham
3. let a few months pass before looking for a house to buy as that will give time to get a few payslips through on the new job
4. start talks with brokers about applying for a mortgage

on a side note from what I have read am I correct in thinking that 1st you get a mortgage in principal to know how much you can afford then find a property then apply for the mortgage, or do you find a property before looking for a mortgage in principal?

Make sure you go on the electoral register (both of you) as soon as you move to Birmingham as this will help with your credit rating. I assume you've both been on it in Bedford?

The AIP is done first. Apparently when I got mine I was told that I had to have made an offer on a property when applying for it - however I didn't and just waited until my offer had been accepted before getting the full application.

You do not necessarily need one, but it is useful to demonstrate to the EA and the vendor you are a serious buyer. Don't show it to them though as that weakens your bargaining position.

Xan245

Hi FTBFun

We are indeed on the register here, I also got a credit card ~6months ago which I spend a little on each month and pay most off, hopefully doing my credit rating some good (not that I've done anything to make it bad) although the 0% is about to run out so will be clearing all of it this month,