First Time Buyer trying not to reinvent the wheel

epicurus

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first house in about 6-12 months and would be grateful for any advice from those who have been down this road on what mistakes I should try and avoid to save money, time and stress.

Deposit of £20,000
2 bed property
Up to £100,000
Household income of £40,000 = £24,000 after tax
Will rent out one of the rooms for £4-5k per year.

Thanks in advance.

noodle

I see you're only thinking of borrowing 2x your salary, with 80% LTV. You could almost certainly borrow more and pay more. If you're happy with a £100k property, then be sure to buy one.. ignore people who try to get you to stretch further (estate agents, mortgage advisors, lenders etc).

Aside from that, keep saving.. don't underestimate all the additional costs that come from owning a property both in terms of the initial moving expenses and additional ongoing costs. Don't be tempted to pre-empt your purchase and start buying stuff 'for the new house' unless you're getting a bargain... because all you're really doing is gathering 'stuff' you've got to lug about, and eating into money you might find you've got more use for when you do actually move.

Finally, view lots of properties (even if you love the first one you see) and before you commit to one try and get time alone with the seller/occupier before making an offer. Have a nice chat about the pros and cons of the property, the neighbors, costs, why they bought the property and why they are leaving etc etc. Estate agents will tell you what they think you'll want to hear... but it's the person living there who'll tell you what it's really like.

magpiecottage

Relatively large deposit, easily affordable borrowing, wanting to learn from the mistakes of others rather than making mistakes of their own.

What a pity it wasn't you that moved into 11 Downing Street in 1997!