first time buyer help!!!

unseenworld

Hello to you all,

my bf and i are looking to buy for the first time, he has the majority of the deposit 30K and I have another 10k but we are not sure if to put it all in for the deposit or use part of it for fees etc or fixing the place up, would it be good for us to use an off setting morgage/account? we are looking at properties around the £225 mark so does anyone have any idea of the amount of fees we might encounter? and is it best if to keep the deposit just with his money because the morgage is based on my bf's income only because I work freelance and don't earn a huge amount!!! So may questions, its a confusing world out there!!! many thanks if anyone can help my in the sticky bussiness.

gordonstights

Personally, If it were me (and I'm sure you will not agree) I would get my boyfriend to put in exactly the same amount as me. So in your case you both are putting in 20K with both your names on the mortgage (despite the loan based only based on your bf salary).

Obviously having less deposit has its disadvantages, but at least everything is equal.

Good luck

unseenworld

I would love to put in more but that is all I have!!!

takoo

Hi Unseenworld

Your likely "mandatory" costs are going to include:

1. deposit (say 5% to 10% of the price you pay for the dwelling)
2. surveyor's fee and costs of any special inspection/tests by experts, eg gas appliances by CORGI
3. your solicitor's fees and reasonable costs
4. mortgage fees and costs
5. stamp duty land tax (unless you can get an eco-home or buy in a designated disadvantages area)
6. removal costs (unless you do it yourselves)
7. any essential repairs required by the mortgage company.

"Discretionary" (but could wait) costs might include:

1. redecoration
2. non-essential repairs
3. a designed garden
4. new furniture etc.

Also, you may get the Home information Pack which may highlight snags etc

Hope this helps.

Good luck

Takoo

gordonstights

unseenworld wrote: »

I would love to put in more but that is all I have!!!

I wasn't suggesting you try to find 30K to match your boyfriend, I was suggesting he matches your 10K to make a total of 20K deposit. But as I said, putting in less overall has its disadvantages. The only other costs I can think of (that takoo hasn't mentioned) are insurances, you say you are a freelance worker? Might be worth getting a quote for insurance to cover your repayments if you are out of work for long periods.

unseenworld

Thank you all for the advise though isn't it better to pay a larger deposit to begin with if we can, or does it make little difference?

Hutchch0920

Yes, the advantages are that you will get a better mortgage rate with a bigger deposit because you are a lesser risk to the lender, you will definately need to keep money back to pay for fees ect. Some lenders offer no fee mortgages (such as HSBC) but you tend to pay a premium. To secure a better rate you will often need to pay a product fee. Shop around for your solicitor and find someone you think you can trust and agree a price before you commence any proceedings with them. Finally with regards to putting in different amounts, i have put in 4k and my boyfriend around 1.5k (not very much but we're shared ownership buyers) we keep an excel sheet of every expense concerned with the purchase, what for, how much and when paid out. at the end of the purchase we will calculate the difference and my boyfriend will be paying part of my half of the mortgage repayments to equal it out, we've agreed he'll pay 50quid a month more for however long it takes.Good for me because i'm still a student so the cheaper the better! hope that helps! x

poppy10_2

gordonstights wrote: »

Personally, If it were me (and I'm sure you will not agree) I would get my boyfriend to put in exactly the same amount as me. So in your case you both are putting in 20K with both your names on the mortgage (despite the loan based only based on your bf salary).

This is really unnecessary, and would result in their deposit being only 20k when they have 40k available - in todays climate it's best to reduce the LTV as much as possible.

If you want legal protection for the different amounts you have put into the house, it's fairly straightforward to do so - I think it's called tenants in common.

unseenworld

Thank you all for your help!!!