Buying a house - my options

adpad

I'm a single 25yo (currently living in Reading, Berks) and I've never bought a property before.

I've been renting for the past year but I'm fed up of paying someone else's mortgage - but also enjoy my independence to much to move back with my parents.

I have £25,000 saved up for a deposit. I feel this is far too little to live in any nice city in the south east. Maybe too little to bug anywhere?

Is the shared mortgage scheme any good?

Is there anywhere available I can go to get advice on mortgages? (Other than here ofcourse!) excluding banks...

kingstreet

What do you mean by "shared mortgage scheme?"

Independent mortgage brokers tend to have better all-round knowledge of different lenders' criteria and special schemes such as Help To Buy, which include shared ownership and shared equity on newbuilds.

adpad

Sorry, not scheme. Just shared ownership. I've noticed a few of these on sites like right move. I guess the mortgage is halved

kingstreet

Shared ownership means you purchase a portion of the property, not all of it. The remainder is owned by a Housing Association and rent is payable, typically at 2.75% of the value of the share, plus ground rent & service charges.

As these costs are taken into account by mortgage lenders in working out mortgage affordability you can see what you can borrow reduced, so a standard property with a standard mortgage may be a better option.

The Government issues a shared ownership calculator to work out affordability in addition to the lender mortgage calculators and you would need to work from the lowest output from the two to ensure you are able to proceed.

Again, a mortgage broker would be a good first point of contact for help with these calculations and further information.