Advice on first steps to buying

Blotto17

I’m happy with my financial situation and I’m ready to make my first move to buying a house….

What is  my first move? 

MIP? Broker? Mortgage Company?Right Move? 

propertyrental

Blotto17 said:

I’m happy with my financial situation and I’m ready to make my first move to buying a house….

What is  my first move? 

MIP? Broker? Mortgage Company?Right Move? 

Yes. All theabove.

SDLT_Geek

Helpful advice is to make your post heading more specific. 

Most people posting on this Forum will be looking for "helpful advice"! Some help themselves better with a good heading. 

Perhaps "First steps to buying to first home?" would be better.

So other things you should be doing are working out how much you can afford and getting an idea of the costs involved, including stamp duty land tax (if buying in England).  It would be useful to say where you are living now; with family?  Renting?

In which country are you looking to buy?  For example the process is quite different in England and Scotland.

Emmia

I would go online and put in you estimated deposit, income etc and work out a ball park of how much you can borrow. 

I would then look at what that will buy you in your preferred areas... after that (personally) I'd go to the bank you have your main account with and see whether they will lend to you, the rate / term /monthly repayments etc. 

Once you have an agreement in principle, I'd go round the estate agents, browse rightmove etc. And go and see some property.

I'd only go to a broker if there was something unusual or awkward about your circumstances e.g. a poor credit history, fluctuating income, wanting to buy a property which would require specalist lending... 

Blotto17

So I’m renting at the moment. Have been renting for years. Have managed to save a lot in this time due to having low rent for a good ten years. But I’m renting in a different area of the North West (England) now and boy has it jumped up recently, and will do so again no doubt next year. I’m in my early 40’s, I’ve been putting it off for years. Come next year I need to make my move. 

It doesn’t make any sense for me to rent anymore as my deposit is quite large. It can often be around 60% of the cost of whatever house I want to buy when I look online. So what I will be paying on a mortgage every month should be less than what my rent will be. 

The trouble is I’m a complete novice at this. Very inexperienced as you’ve probably guessed. That’s why I thought a broker might be beneficial for me. As I’m doing it on my own and they could do a-lot of the “heavy lifting” for me. I’m a bit dyslexic when it comes to numbers so it’s all a bit daunting. Also I think the mortgage I’m looking for might be a bit different to most as my income is modest but I have a large deposit. 

My contract with my current renter runs out at the end of July and they are not exactly flexible so I would like to be ready to move by then. Am I leaving it too short notice? 

BobT36

"My contract with my current renter runs out at the end of July and they are not exactly flexible". 

Just FYI, when your contract runs out, you AUTOMATICALLY move onto a periodic rolling tenancy, by law. 
The only thing they can do about this is give you a section 21 afterwards, giving you 2 months minimum notice (that they may begin to take formal repossession proceedings via court etc. This takes a long time). 
You can also leave with immediate notice on the final day of your tenancy, rather than giving the usual contractual notice period (one month or whatever). 

If I ever manage to buy, I'm planning on giving my one month's notice (as I'm currently on rolling) only when I've got the keys, and use that month to get any work done on the place and gradually move in. I'll have to pay for both places for that month, but I'll manage for just the one month. 

SDLT_Geek

Blotto17 said:

So I’m renting at the moment. Have been renting for years. Have managed to save a lot in this time due to having low rent for a good ten years. But I’m renting in a different area of the North West (England) now and boy has it jumped up recently, and will do so again no doubt next year. I’m in my early 40’s, I’ve been putting it off for years. Come next year I need to make my move. 

It doesn’t make any sense for me to rent anymore as my deposit is quite large. It can often be around 60% of the cost of whatever house I want to buy when I look online. So what I will be paying on a mortgage every month should be less than what my rent will be. 

The trouble is I’m a complete novice at this. Very inexperienced as you’ve probably guessed. That’s why I thought a broker might be beneficial for me. As I’m doing it on my own and they could do a-lot of the “heavy lifting” for me. I’m a bit dyslexic when it comes to numbers so it’s all a bit daunting. Also I think the mortgage I’m looking for might be a bit different to most as my income is modest but I have a large deposit. 

My contract with my current renter runs out at the end of July and they are not exactly flexible so I would like to be ready to move by then. Am I leaving it too short notice? 

The general advice on here is not to give notice to end your assured shorthold tenancy until everything is settled on your purchase.  If buying in England, that is on exchange of contracts.

As @BobT36 says, it would be even safer to leave giving notice until completion of your purchase.

This will leave you paying both rent and mortgage for a period, but if you can budget for that it will make for an easier move and less risk.  You do any decorating or improvements before you move in.

What kind of price are you looking at?

Emmia

Blotto17 said:

So I’m renting at the moment. Have been renting for years. Have managed to save a lot in this time due to having low rent for a good ten years. But I’m renting in a different area of the North West (England) now and boy has it jumped up recently, and will do so again no doubt next year. I’m in my early 40’s, I’ve been putting it off for years. Come next year I need to make my move. 

It doesn’t make any sense for me to rent anymore as my deposit is quite large. It can often be around 60% of the cost of whatever house I want to buy when I look online. So what I will be paying on a mortgage every month should be less than what my rent will be. 

The trouble is I’m a complete novice at this. Very inexperienced as you’ve probably guessed. That’s why I thought a broker might be beneficial for me. As I’m doing it on my own and they could do a-lot of the “heavy lifting” for me. I’m a bit dyslexic when it comes to numbers so it’s all a bit daunting. Also I think the mortgage I’m looking for might be a bit different to most as my income is modest but I have a large deposit. 

My contract with my current renter runs out at the end of July and they are not exactly flexible so I would like to be ready to move by then. Am I leaving it too short notice? 

My previous post described what I did as a first time buyer - moving out of rented accommodation with my husband who hadn't given buying much thought, despite a good deposit, income etc., to buying our own spot (I'm also dyslexic, but not too affected by numbers).

The "heavy lifting" is mostly about providing documents to prove you have the money / will repay - if the place you bank with will offer you a mortgage, they won't require you to provide statements from them (but a broker will), so you'll just need to provide statements from acounts you hold with other providers, pay slips etc., if they ask for them

Or are you really looking for assistance with the buying process? Is there a family member or friend who could assist - especially with viewings, it's good to get a second opinion if you're buying solo.

Personally,  I like to have a rough idea of the numbers from my own research before I go to see someone, whether that's the banks or brokers, or kitchen fitters or bathroom fitters, I don't want to be taken for a mug... fundamentally the only real way of doing this are some online calculators, looking at the products on bank/mortgage provider sites - using an eligibility calculator etc. 

Bigphil1474

OP, Work out what you can afford to borrow. I wouldn't go getting an Agreement In Principal straight away, but have a look on Right Move. Pretty much everything is on there these days. Look at where you want to live, what sort of house, and how much they cost before going for the AIP. You might not need to borrow as much as you think or you might need more than you think. Once you have an idea, then go for the AIP. 

You really have to physically view properties as EA pictures tend to be very inaccurate in terms of size etc. They tend to distort the sizes of everything so they look bigger than reality. Right Move IMO has a shortlist function, so you can  add houses you like to it as you come across them, and remove ones if they turn out to be no good. If you come across a house that you like and can afford, contact the EA and put an offer in. Having the funds and an AIP will show them you are ready to proceed. You will be asked to show where your money has come from at some point for anti money laundering - dig out the paperwork for that if you can. 

It's a bit of a buyers market at the minute, although it does vary around the country, so offering below asking price isn't uncommon. Easier to go up then down.

Blotto17

Thanks for the feedback everyone it is all very appreciated. 

Another question I have with regards to a broker is - Would they save time and stress in being a single point of contact? The idea of liasing with a mortgage provider, solicitors, surveyor, Estate agents etc sounds a bit overwhelming and kind of time consuming as well. Especially when I work nights and full time. 

In the past when I’ve had to deal with different parties like this over a shared issue (nothing to do with buying a house btw) they all tend to point fingers at each other if anything goes wrong or is delayed and I’m stuck in the middle sending  messages between them all. I’ve found myself falling down a black hole in the past. 

Would having a broker do all this for me make life alot easier? I would’ve thought they would be a “dab-hand” at it and be well able to get things moving. 

I’m surprised to hear about this rolling contract with regards to renting. But I wouldn’t put it past my current landlords to issue the section 21 asap. It’s just like something they would do. 

SDLT_Geek

Blotto17 said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone it is all very appreciated. 

Another question I have with regards to a broker is - Would they save time and stress in being a single point of contact? The idea of liasing with a mortgage provider, solicitors, surveyor, Estate agents etc sounds a bit overwhelming and kind of time consuming as well. Especially when I work nights and full time. 

In the past when I’ve had to deal with different parties like this over a shared issue (nothing to do with buying a house btw) they all tend to point fingers at each other if anything goes wrong or is delayed and I’m stuck in the middle sending  messages between them all. I’ve found myself falling down a black hole in the past. 

Would having a broker do all this for me make life alot easier? I would’ve thought they would be a “dab-hand” at it and be well able to get things moving. 

A broker would usually only help you find a suitable mortgage product, leaving you to deal with estate agents, then in due course your conveyancers / solicitors and a surveyor (if you chose to have your own survey).

I’m surprised to hear about this rolling contract with regards to renting. But I wouldn’t put it past my current landlords to issue the section 21 asap. It’s just like something they would do. 

You are on assured shorthold tenancy, aren't you?  (That is where the landlord cannot simply end the tenancy by notice, but there is a whole process to follow.) 

Were you give at the start a copy of the guide, ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’?  It is well worth reading.

You are not a lodger?