First time buyer - where to start?

metamatic

As stated in my post, survey, legal fees and mortgage can be done for about a grand.

I accept I haven't taken into account moving/furnishing cost. However for a 2 bed flat I reckon you could get pretty much everything for 2K. Also, the vast majority of this can be financed so no need for cash up front which would be better off spent on increasing the deposit and securing a better property.

gill15

At the moment, I only pay around £150 digs. I know this is very low but I have been saving £350 a month and from what I have seen on the basic mortgage calculator on zoopla I think I expect to pay around this per month. My outgoings at the moment are around £450 -£500 per month for my car, digs, train petrol and other costs I pay.

I am glad to hear the solicitors fees etc should be around £1000, this is what I had estimated and then the remainder on having to furnish/decorate and all other costs and maybe still have some savings left as well. This obviously depends on the property I chose as well what costs but I don't intend on moving somewhere where a lot of work needs to be done eg kitchens, bathrooms.

beecher2

You could maybe get some quotes from solicitors - best to have one in place before you start looking for properties so as they can put in offers of interest for you.

You have maybe seen this already, but it is quite a good guide to buying a property in Scotland
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/housing/buying-and-selling-s/buying-a-home-s/

metamatic

I'm getting as much as I can from DFS on 0% finance. A tenner a month for the rest of my life!

For the electricals Currys and AO do some decent buy now pay in 6 month deals. However their longer term finance rates are quite steep.

gill15

Thanks for all the advice. I am just stressing as there is so much to consider and think about and I haven't even started the process yet and I don't want to miss out anything important or overstretch my budget too far.

I know there is a lot more stress to come as well but having a clear idea of what I need to do and when is helpful.

Hoploz

Don't fall for the monthly thing!

Buy furniture outright. You can get things very cheaply form a variety of places eg Ikea, as well as supermarkets, not to mention eBay and other second hand outlets. You will work out what you want to change or upgrade or splurge on later on. There's no need to buy the best straightaway, you might end up changing the furniture around for example, once you've been in the place for a while, and what you've bought doesn't fit.

Buying monthly is a mug's game. You're saddled with the debt for god knows how long, and you'll end up paying extra, over and above the unnecessarily high start prices. And for furniture that's not any better quality than cheap or second hand, if you go to the right places.

(Rant over!)

hazyjo

Hoploz wrote: »

Don't fall for the monthly thing!

Buy furniture outright. You can get things very cheaply form a variety of places eg Ikea, as well as supermarkets, not to mention eBay and other second hand outlets. You will work out what you want to change or upgrade or splurge on later on. There's no need to buy the best straightaway, you might end up changing the furniture around for example, once you've been in the place for a while, and what you've bought doesn't fit.

Buying monthly is a mug's game. You're saddled with the debt for god knows how long, and you'll end up paying extra, over and above the unnecessarily high start prices. And for furniture that's not any better quality than cheap or second hand, if you go to the right places.

(Rant over!)

100% this. Those 'little' amounts all add up and you soon find yourself forking out an extra few hundred a month. Now that's okay to do the odd time for something you need, but every month? I did it once with a car loan, seemed easily affordable but it makes such a difference to what you have to spend! Never again...


LOADS of decent second hand stuff to get started with, or buy cheap elsewhere. You prob won't want the same furniture in 5-10 years' time.


Jx