Overwhelmed! First Time buyers

londonlydia

Hi all,

I'm reading as much as I can on here, but I'm overwhelmed by all the different types of mortgage etc, and what costs are associated with the different routes! Just wondering if there are any lovely posters on here who can give me some advice as to what steps I need to do now? I'm guessing I need to start with getting a broker, who do I approach? So far the only thing I know really is that a friend has just purchased a home and has recommended a solicitors for us which is based in Leeds, as she said it was cheaper and pain free using a distance solicitor than using the local ones (SE London suburbs). Also, the main question is what sort of mortgages do people recommend? Here's our situation:

My boyfriend and I are planning to move in together in our first home. I am 26, he is 29, we are unmarried. We plan to buy in the Dartford/ Kent area, as my no.1 house need is one near the Dartford crossing. He earns £33.5k, I earn £31k, both of us are in full-time employment. In total we have £60k saved (and will save £2k a month till we buy), but we will probably only use £50k as a deposit because realistically we know there are other costs, and also we dont have any furniture because we both live at home and dont want to get credit for that. We both have 'green', i.e. good credit records (we've checked them). Lastly, we are looking to get a place in the £150-200k range, so are looking for £100-150k mortgage. Is this acheivable?

Dave_Ham

Hi,

It sounds as if you are being prudent already and are in a good position.

There is a large amount of good advice here for first time buyers, have a good look and ask any further questions..

Be mindful, in your circumstances mortgages are quite straightforward. The Estate Agents are the ones to watch and quickly understand the process.

Rule of thumb on a mortgage broker for you would be to look for an independent broker. It is likely that your circumstances you will get a better deal, as a direct client of a bank. A decent broker will help you with this...


All the best

Dave_Ham

Thinking about it and knowing Dartford, there are many new build properties in the area and the rules are different on new build properties..

dimbo61

Yes I think so but I am not the Halifax or any other lender for that matter.
Having a solicitor 100/150 miles away could be a pain in the a** if you need to pop in for a chat or drop off paperwork ie wage slips,P60,s, ETC
So in the next 2 years its the big wedding is it? then maybe the patter of tiny feet ( 2 or 4) and do you see yourself working in 3/4/5 years ? So many questions
Then you need to look at what type of mortgage you want and the term, Do you fix for 5 years or take a BOE tracker

londonlydia

Thanks for the advice so far! I've just done a search and found three mortage brokers in my area who say they are whole of market, so I've tabbed them. How do you choose between them? Is there anywhere you can see reviews/ opinions?

I think in terms of lifestyle in the next few years, we probably will get married, but I am not going to be one of these £20k weddings thanks (its ONE day lol!). Kids arent on the cards for at least 5 years, and even so I definitely want to keep working after maternity leave etc, as I worked hard for my current dream career, and my employers are excellent anyway on parents leave, flexible working etc. So overall, whilst I dont want to push myself to the limit of our finances each month, I think we have got a bit of wiggle room.

As for types of mortgage- this I would like some advice on. I think I'm leaning towards trackers, mainly because I'm put off by bank's own SVRs and have read a few threads where people have struggles to change mortagage after the fixed term period ends...

Dave_Ham

Don't think too much about rates, have that conversation with your broker.

Right, you need to understand the differences:

Whole of market - typically these are fee free and the broker looks across the market and selects the best product must suited to your needs. In 99% of the time, they will only look at commission paying deals - hence where they earn their money.

Independent - You will pay a fee for this £500-£1,000 I would expect and you get truly independent advice. If the broker receives a commission from the lender, they pay this back to you.

Given your information and circumstances, I would expect you to be financially better off taking independent advice..

Hope this makes sense....

londonlydia

This si the blurb on one of the broker's websites, do you mean this sort of thing Dave?:

After the initial free consultation, we will agree with you whether you pay us a fee, or we are paid out of the cost of any financial product you buy (commission). We will always tell you about any commission we earn, and it will be taken into account in working out our fee.
Commission is paid to an IFA firm by a provider, usually an insurance company or an investment house for the successful placing of business. The commission is included within the providers normal product charges, so there is nothing you need to pay us in addition. The amount of commission is based on a percentage of the premiums payable or sums invested.
Fees will usually be based on time spent and evaluated at a rate per hour calculated to recover our costs. Fees attract an additional VAT charge whereas commissions, under current legislation, do not.

Whether we take our remuneration by way of commission or fees will be a matter of discussion and agreement, and no charges for fees will be made without prior notification in writing.

Dave_Ham

This would look like a whole of market, not independent.

We still undertake whole of market for adverse credit cases we are likely to need to manage and also some clients are just generally unhappy paying a fee.

My personal opinion is independent is better advice in your circumstances as would expect you to be better off..

You can always e-mail them and ask if they would recommend HSBC or Brittannia Mortgages as they only entertain direct client business..

Good luck