First time buyer questions!

Happyhousehunter

Hi all - I am a FTB looking for a bit of help regarding getting a mortgage and buying my first place in London.

A few questions -
1 - is it likely that being in the probation period of a new job will impact my ability to get a mortgage? If so, is there anything stopping me getting something arranged before I leave my current job?

2 - any recommendations of mortgage brokers or is it best just to go to the high street bank I use?

3 - if my parents loan me some money towards the purchase, does this have to be legally written as a gift?

4 - any other tips and hints for buying a place?

Thanks! :money:

Malmo

1) Depends on the lender. Some lenders will not consider applicants still within probationary period.

2) One suggested method (as well as Google), is to follow the steps in this post.

3) Will it be a loan that you repay or a gift with no repayment?

4) Where to start? Have a read of this MSE article which describes a simplified timeline and milestones of the buying process. It doesn't really factor in the complexities of a chain and the impact of that on the end to end process, but it is still useful as a guide.

Here is also a MSE guide that refers to the likely buying fees & costs to factor in and when they may be due.

Generally, the lower the Loan-To-Value ratio (LTV), in other words, the mortgage amount as a percentage of the agreed purchase price or surveyor's valuation (whichever is lower), the better the consumer terms, such as interest rate. So a LTV of say 65% (where you provide the remaining 35% as deposit) on a mortgage product would have better terms than a LTV of 95% (where you only provide 5% as deposit). The term (duration) of the mortgage also significantly affects the total interest you repay over the full term.

As well as the above, I'd also urge you to take the time to thoroughly review your credit files/reports from all 3 Credit Reference Agencies (Experian, Equifax, Callcredit/Noddle).

I've read countless threads here where posters haven't done this in preparation ahead of time and have had problems either obtaining a mortgage agreement / decision in principle (AIP / DIP - they're the same thing) or have been refused at full application or underwriting.

Take a look at this post for what you should do.

sebadee

1. Stable employment is always a plus.When I spoke with my broker about a job change, he said even though it would have no certain impact, it might be worth holding changes until I got the mortgage.

2. I used this service to find my broker ' unbiased dot co dot uk ' (I am not allowed to post links) I found someone local to me which was very handy (as I needed to run some documents around to him after work)

3. I can't help there, but I did notice on my solicitors forms they ask if the money is a gift.

4. If you get a DIP (Decision in Principle mortgage), agents take you a lot more seriously.

Other then that, view as many as you can.
* Video the place with your phone (ask first maybe be polite) as you will forget some stuff.
* When you find a place you like, don't let on to the agent to much, especially if you want to try and barter a lower price.
* Set up rightmove alerts, especially at the moment, as not many houses are coming onto the market, so * their a quite a number of buyers around waiting to pounce.

average_joe

1. Staple position is prefered, also depends on lender
2. If you got a good credit history, try your bank. if not ask around, friends or family can help.
3. upto 2 family members can give you a gift. Due to money laundering regs, they may require a written statement stating its a gift.

hope this helps.

sanamgupta

first you should check each room and free area. Then ask the people who are living near the buying house.

Sarahj1590

Me and my partner are both in our probationary periods but TSB don't have a problem with this. As long as it is a permanent position with an initial probatioary period and not a probationary/temporary position they can mark you as having a permanent position. They will need employer references for this though. I think Nationwide also follow this system.

As other posts on here have said, some lenders want at least 6 months in the same job or something, but not all. So for us TSB were the best option (and they are our current bank).

We also have a gifted deposit. If it is a loan, they will take the repayments into account when assessing affordability.

jaynebrat

Halifax also don't mind about probationary periods.