First Time Buyer Advice!

charlotte22

Hello guys,

I'm looking at buying my first property but am in a slightly tricky position.
I am looking for a change of career soon, but want to make the most of my current income before doing so as I am probably looking at a drop in pay. I qualify for a mortgage and have a sufficient deposit however, in the area that I live in there are next to no properties available within my budget - property prices are sky high.

I have family in Devon and visit quite often - there are plenty of properties available there in my price range.
I'm not ready to relocate at the moment, but was hoping there would be a way of buying a property there, within my budget, and renting it out until I'm in a position to either move, or sell and buy a property closer to home.

I've been told that as a first time buyer I must live in the property myself, and will not be allowed to rent it out, but was hoping there may be a way of working around this.

I was wondering if anyone can offer me some advice on what options are available to me.
Is there any way I could buy a property in Devon, without having to live there. Or would I have to look in to a help to buy scheme in order to buy a property where I currently live? If so, are there drawbacks to help to buy schemes?

I'd be very grateful for any help!

AlanE1956

Be aware of using the help to buy schemes. I advised my daughter to use it 2.5 years ago. She purchased a house at £240,000 then and is now looking to redeem the 10% equity loan she took under help to buy. The £24,000 borrowed has now grown to £28,000 as the house value has increased to £280,000. It has cost £300 to get the latest valuation from a RICS registered valued and another £250 for conveyancing of the redemption. So the cost has increased £4,550 or 18.96% in 2.5 years. That in hindsight is a dear option.

charlotte22

Thanks Alan, I did feel quite wary of going down that route as it feels like it would be more expensive in the long run.

Cakeguts

I get the feeling that you don't really understand about the costs of owning a property. People think that paying rent is dead money but there is a lot of dead money associated with owning a property. You are responsible for paying for all repairs. So it isn't like paying rent where you pay the monthly amount and then all repairs are done for you. If your house needed an expensive roof repair you would have to pay for all of it and you don't get this money back if you sell it is just a repair.

So what you are hoping to do is buy a house in Devon based on what you earn now? Not what you will earn when you change jobs? How are you going to pay the rent for where you live now and the mortgage on a house in Devon on what you will be earning in the new job? People assume that all tenants pay the rent on time and look after the house. They don't. If you let a house you have to have enough spare cash to be able to continue to pay the mortgage if the tenants don't pay rents for months and months. You also have to be prepared to pay for any damage that the tenants cause that isn't covered by the deposit.

charlotte22

Hi Cakeguts, thanks for your advice.

I do realise there will be lots of unexpected costs and do not intend to go in to this lightheartedly.
I'm prepared for a cut in pay though this may not be the case, I live with my boyfriend so my rent will be halved. I'm also not using all of my savings for the deposit on the property, I'm keeping some spare for exactly this reason.

What I'm hoping is that if I am able to rent the property out, the rent will be a little higher than my mortgage repayments (after doing some research this should be the case) and this extra money can go towards any additional costs involved such as repairs, insurance etc.

There are personal family reasons behind me wanting to secure a property - for the benefit of my family not just myself, which is why I want to explore all of my options now rather than 5 or 10 years down the line.

I would rather buy a property to live in than become a landlord but am just trying to explore every avenue.

marksoton

A lot of lenders require a 25% deposit on a BTL and sometimes that you're already a homeowner.

When you want to eventually move to Devon are you prepared for the potential 6 months it'll take to get your tenants out?