1st Time Buyers - First Time Buyers

Bluebirds1975

My wife and I are looking to purchase a house at some point this year. As first time buyers we have no chain as we are currently renting.

A couple of questions I have if anyone can help?

1. We have a combined income of about £55k. What size of morgage would we be able to get?

2. Who offer good rates for first time buyers? (If anyone actually do!)

3. Is it best to shop around yourself or go through a broker?

Daz1

Good luck with your endeavour. Having been in the same situation (first time buyer, chain free) just over a year ago, I may be a little rusty but some practical advice:-

1. Do your research-don't rely on a broker for everything-make the effort to get on line and check out the deals that are available-this will give you an indication of what deals there are

2. Many high street banks have a mortgage calculator on their website-this will give you a realistic indication of what they would lend you. Be aware, this is a rough guide only-your individual circumstances will dictate what they will lend you. You may be able to get more, or they may only offer you less

3. Go to a broker (some say whole of market, others selected panel). I went to a whole of market. Check out what they can get you ..... compare it to what you have found out through your own research. Sometimes brokers have access to deals not available to "the public". But you won't know if what he offers you is good or not unless you have done your own research beforehand.

4. You will also need to decide on the type of mortgage you want (fixed, tracker etc). The broker I went to was quite happy to explain the different types to me and there was no pressure. I had already decided the type I wanted before I walked in there.

A good broker will be happy to explain the ins and outs of LTV, deposits etc...but the more you know already, the better equipped you will be to make a decision (my brokers jaw dropped when I said during the initial interview that I was looking for a 2 year fix, with no ERC, a high LTV -know the jargon)

TonyMMM

You don't mention how much you have put aside for a deposit ? .....The more the better ...at least 10% seems to be the way to open up the best deals at the moment .

Dan_Collins_2

TonyMMM

A deposit is a must now. 10% is fine, 15% better. 5% is still pos but less choice and harder work to get through.

Daz1 has some good points, a good broker will always be happy to go though the mortgage from a-z. A good broker will mean you may not have to study the market, however it would help you if you knew a little.

Lenders calculaters are ok, some better than others. You can get anything up to 4-4.5X joint but your credit score needs to be good to max out and in this market be careful not to over stretch.

sarkin

do you have a deposit?

Brokers have 99% of the best deals

Do your research, get quotes from a broker, compare and choose. Chances are the broker will nearly always find the best deal.

coodey

Me and my partner just completed on our first mortgage. We managed to get a 95% mortgage from Skipton BS at a very good rate.

I dont have the best credit history and have a satisfied ccj still on my record. To get the mortgage we went through William H Brown (Sequence) broker. They dont charge no fees to the clients, only the mortgage providers.

They were able to contact Skipton and despite us falling outside there recommended lending criteria they were willing to "move the goalposts" to gain our custom.

Wouldn't bother with the larger mortgage companies if i was you - they already make millions so dont need to worry to much about new customers. The smaller building society's will do what they can to get your custom!

neas

even if it means lending to risky customers... Of course that sounds a good business model.. desperate for customers so take on extra business risks... if they are unlucky they make more losses...

What you proving here?

Dan_Collins_2

coodey wrote: »

Me and my partner just completed on our first mortgage. We managed to get a 95% mortgage from Skipton BS at a very good rate.

I dont have the best credit history and have a satisfied ccj still on my record. To get the mortgage we went through William H Brown (Sequence) broker. They dont charge no fees to the clients, only the mortgage providers.

They were able to contact Skipton and despite us falling outside there recommended lending criteria they were willing to "move the goalposts" to gain our custom.

Wouldn't bother with the larger mortgage companies if i was you - they already make millions so dont need to worry to much about new customers. The smaller building society's will do what they can to get your custom!

WHBrown have a panel. They are owned by Skipton and they are targeted to get Skipton mortgages!

The Skipton group are having a few issues, although the BS its self is a good lender. If you get a good WOM broker the Skipton and other small lenders will be available to them.

Although I am begining to wonder for how long brokers will have access to the better deals!?