First time buyer needs lots of advice!

babybel_2

Hi I'm a newbie and need some help/advice..anything appriciated!
Dh and I are interested in buying a property. At the minute we live in london but are keen to widen the search to somewhere closeish with good schools, good links, abit of greenery, a bit villagey etc..(the usual)Any ideas on nice, reasonably priced areas?
I just don't have a clue where to start. I don't know ANYTHING about this type of thing (just love Phil&Kirsty &Sarah Beeny!), so need some top tips!
Oh, also at the minute, we're both students but he should be working soon (I hope!). Do we need to save forever for deposit or is a 100% morgage an option? Does this add lot of interest? How do you work out how much repayments would be (until I know that, I don't even know what kind of budget we will have..)
We would also be looking to buy to let to begin with, to help pay some of the morgage for a while..
Sorry this is so long & dimwitted..but any advice/links appriciated!

Katgoddess

Basically start by making sure you haven't got any debts other than your basic student loan. Get rid of all your overdrafts, credit cards, and loans that you have got while a student. If you can get rid of your student load as well, great!

READ THIS ARTICLE

Then start saving, using your isa allowance up first. £3000 quid each, then other high interest accounts.

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Earn extra cash by getting a second job, stoozing, , credit card cashback, loyalty cards and other ways all on this website.

Save money by economising, shopping around, and making sure you never pay over the odds for something.

THEN once you have a bit of cash behind you, you can start looking at houses, and how much they will cost you. Once you are working full time you can look at how much you can save each month, and how much of a mortgage you will get.

When you say buy to let do you mean renting your whole house to someone or just a room? A buy to let mortgage is a lot different to a normal one, and requires a much higher deposit. If you rent out a room you can make £4250 a year tax free.

You have made your first good decision by joining here. All the information you require is on this website somewhere. Spend a day reading all the articles and guides .

Welcome to MSE. It will change your life.

firrybabe

You need to try and clear as many of your debts as possible and work out exactly how much money you can put away towards a deposit and the other buying costs. Even if you get a 100% mortgage you will still need some money to use e.g. solicitor's fees, arrangement fees, initial household bills, basic furniture, cleaning stuff, lightbulbs etc It all adds up.

You then need to examine your income and try and gauge roughly what you might get offered as a mortgage.

It might be a good idea to try and get some further info on mortgages, there's some good stuff on this site and many banks & building societies offer free mortgage advice, just make sure you don't ask them to go ahead and do the credit search on you - unless you really want that product.

When you have a clear budget in mind, get your face known in the estate agents and really stress your first time buyer status.

it can help to look at a variety of properties as it will help you decide on what you don't like/want as well as to help you focus on the things you really want.

Ask if you can take a digital camera (borrow one from a friend if you don't have one) when you go on viewings, so that way you can review it when you get home.

babybel_2

Thank you both so much. It looks like I've got a lot to learn...but at least I've found a great place to start!!

bert

Almost everything you need to know is on here http://www.firsttimebuyerhelp.co.uk/

terrierlady

remember as FTByrs you are walking gold dust to any new home developer.

Elliott_Woods

A good place to also have a look at is https://www.upmystreet.co.uk this will tell you Local Schools, Council tax bands and lots of other local information - once you have supplied a post code for the area where you are looking to purchase. Very informative I found.