Advise needed First Time Buyer

karma_nirvana

Hi there,

Not sure if this is the right place but would appreciate if experienced hands on the board could advise me and help me towards my property search. I am trying hard to get into the property ladder. I am looking into buying preferably a 2 bed flat for 255k on resales or around 290k on Newbuilds (with Help to Buy). I have an in-principal approval from a bank so have an idea how much I could stretch myself with the deposit that I have. I work near Charring Cross and would prefer commuting time to be around 30-40mins. Motivation to buy is majority to get my own place as well as investment horizon. Please if you could advise me on the possible areas I should look into.

Also what sort of additional monthly expenses will I have to incur on a newbuild and resale flat assuming both will be leaseholds.

Thanks a lot in advance.

kingstreet

karma_nirvana wrote: »

Also what sort of additional monthly expenses will I have to incur on a newbuild and resale flat assuming both will be leaseholds

You'll have ground rent & service charges and if using HTB Equity Loan on a newbuild 3% or 4% of the value of the equity loan is treated as a cost.

All these will reduce your borrowing power, so ensure you (or your broker) re-calculate affordability with your chosen lender taking into account these costs.

Southend1

You should note that there's no such thing as the property ladder. It's just something they talk about on TV to encourage the bubble.

Also property is only useful as an investment if you have more than one, or you are able to downsize, move to a cheaper area, or move in with someone else in order to realise the gains.