First Time Buyers - so many questions!!

CatherineSFG

Hello everyone

Myself and my partner are currently trying to purchase our first home. We have a few questions and appreciate that no one will be able to answer them all accurately however we are really grateful for any opinions / advice you can give.

1. We have a decision in principle and deposit saved up with the hope of buying a house around the £240k mark. As we don't currently have any commitments, we have probably spent a little more on leisure for the past few months compared to what we should have done and I'm worrying whether our mortgage will actually be accepted in line with our decision in principle. Roughly how much of your monthly income do you need to save per month to get the max mortgage for your salary?

Note - we have no loans, debt or any negative credit history info.

2. We are viewing a house tomorrow which is being marketed at £250k. In the current market do you think there is any chance at all £240k would be accepted bearing in mind that we are first time buyers etc?

3. How much do you all feel is comfortable to stretch yourselves? So after your deposit, how much money do you like to have left over for emergency situations etc?

Any help / advice is appreciated. Thank you all!

housebuyer143

1. The mortgage company tend to take into account only guaranteed outgoings like loans, child care etc, they have their own calculation for standard living costs factored into the calculator. They are unlikely to care you have splurged a bit in recent months. In my experience, if what you put in the calculator is accurate, what they will lend tends to be what they say. 

2. It depends on so many things, no one can say. If it just came onto the market I do doubt it though. Being a FTB isn't that desirable to many I am afraid. Ftbs as I have dealt with them tend to be slow and skittish. 

3. I like to have £2or £3k but it depends how fast you can save up again as to how much you feel comfortable having left. Remember a house purchase can take a few months so you could have more by the end. 

lincroft1710

1. don't know

2. it will depend on so many things, so it is impossible to say.

3. Very, very unwise to stretch yourself especially in the current volatile economic climate, with price rises almost every second. Old CH boilers are the most likely failures and possible rewiring issues, so budget for these.

canaldumidi

I shall hopefully be selling soon (once my sellers find their onward move) and shall if at all possible avoid FTBs who will inevitably panic at first sight of their survey.

housebuyer143

canaldumidi said:

I shall hopefully be selling soon (once my sellers find their onward move) and shall if at all possible avoid FTBs who will inevitably panic at first sight of their survey.

I am on my third buyer... The first two were FTBs, one couldn't get a mortgage, the other got cold feet. Needless to say, buyer number 3 is not a FTB and I will avoid like the plague on future.

dimbo61

The words to an old song go 
" There are more questions than answers "
You know some of the answers.
Age,s Job, Income, Savings, Location, Type of property you want to buy and local market.
Now £250,000 might buy a Parking space in Chelsea and a 4 bed detached house with ensuite, garage and nice garden in Cheshire.
You might have saved the deposit in 12 months or 10 years !
Some people are spenders while others are great savers and careful with money.
Good luck on getting the property you want.
Read as many of the posts as you can

tryingmybest99

Ignore the unhelpful people who have weird prejudices against first time buyers on this thread. I just bought my first flat on my own and completed in February and it sounds like you're in a good place to be putting offers in. My (completely subjective and based on my own very limited experience) answers to your questions;

1. As someone else said they don't really look at what you're putting away each month, it's what you have saved as a deposit, what your salaries are and what your outgoings are. I found getting a mortgage broker invaluable and he gave me some great advice. If you don't want to do that I would check your credit report (MSE has a Credit Club with Experian, Credit Karma is also good and based on TransUnion). Ignore the actual score though- underwriters look for different things, but it's worth keeping an eye on your credit utilisation rate (which doesn't sound like a problem for you) and other things you can control (e.g. being on the electoral roll) and of course, keeping an eye out for any attempted identity fraud. My rating was good and through my broker I got about £1k more than the online calculators said I would of that helps.

2. It's hard to say and I don't know the market at the moment, but I know that in "normal" times offers at 5-10% under are normal. If you can't stretch to the 250k highlight the fact you are FTB and therefore no chain. When I put my offer in (at asking price) I sold myself to the EA as being FTB, ready to go with a MIP and 30% deposit as well as ready to appoint a conveyancer. I managed to beat out three other offers at asking that way.

3. I really stretched myself, probably a bad idea but there you go. I just wanted to get that LISA up to its limit. Once I had paid solicitors fees etc I didn't have enough money to furnish the flat and now I have credit card debt. However, my mortgage is low and I am sticking to budget easily and should have it paid off in 5-6 more months. So I feel it was worth it, I love my flat so much! I just am painfully aware that if I get hit by a car and can't work or something, I have no contingency funds!

Sorry my answers are pretty basic, but I hope you find something useful in there. Good luck with your house purchase!

[Deleted User]

Abandon all hope of discounts, it will be a miracle. You will have to look for rubbish priced 10-20k below your maximum, or be willing to wait until you get very lucky.

Noneforit999

Some good advice posted above.

The lender is really only going to care about stuff you pay for monthly which you can't easily not pay so if you have a PCP on a car or £600 nursery fees etc. We spend everything on a credit card so if a lender were to ask to see our bank statements (which they have before), it would show a payment of £xxx to Amex each month, they won't request a credit card statement so how do they know what I spend it on? All they care about is if I have a balance on the Amex that I haven't paid off.

The lender is looking to see if you can afford the mortgage so can you comfortably repay the amount each month based on the rate you are applying for and an increased rate just in case. You can choose not to eat out, you can choose not to have a £150 hair cut....you can't choose not to make a car payment so that is why they look at things like PCP/HP/Loans/School fees or anything else you have a commitment to that you can't choose not to pay.

al2410

Hi I was hoping for some advice. Me and my partner are first time buyers we are looking at a house 175000, we have a 10% deposit. Combined salary of 55k. I have two late payments logged on a store card in the last 12 months due to carelessness and 5/6 late payments 2+ years ago. My partner has no recent credit history but a few late payments 2+ years ago. We have some credit card debt but can pay this all off. What are are chances for getting a mortgage. We are so worried. 

gwynlas

Everyone was a FTB once and came to it with different life experiences. Offers will depend on local market and stock available in some areas modernised terraced house could be 125K but new build detached 250K amd willing to take offers. Emergency pot should be 3 to 6 months salary but build this up once you are in. Do not go into debt for furnishings as much as you would like everything new, the net charity shops and gifts are the way to go.