Buying your first home is an exciting new adventure – with a lot of stress and anxiety along the way. It takes most people years to get on the property ladder as you need to save up for a deposit, find a property and apply for a mortgage.
There is a lot of legal jargon to understand and money to handle and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by all the questions and paperwork. Buying your first home can be scary, and you need to prepare for the big move.
Here are the most common worries people have when buying a new home.
Saving up for a deposit
A house deposit is usually 10% of the property price. However, it can be between 5 and 20% of the initial property price in some cases. For example, if the property is £300,000, you need to save a minimum deposit of £15,000. Without a doubt, that is a lot of money.
House prices have skyrocketed in recent years. It is increasingly challenging to get on the property ladder and buy your first home. Fortunately, there are government schemes available to help you – such as the help to buy a loan.
You only need to pay 5% of the property purchase price, and the government will arrange a repayment mortgage of 25% of the property purchase price.
Finding a house
Finding a house that you love can take a long time. You need to think about the location, price point, size, history and what is going to suit you in the long run. You might want a new build-home or a period property with original features.
With so many choices out there and so much to consider, it can be difficult to stay within budget and find the home of your dreams.
That said, there are plenty of online agents and platforms out there that allow you to apply filters to your search and narrow it down. By filtering your search by location range, size, type, and price, you’ll just be left with a cluster of houses that could potentially be your dream home.
Applying for a mortgage
Many first-home owners feel nervous about their mortgage applications. You need to be realistic about how much you can afford, both for the deposit and mortgage. Be sure to check your credit score, and the government options such as a shared ownership scheme and put a plan in action to improve it.
You also might need to sign up for the electoral register or update your address details as well as prepare for any added costs along the way, like hiring a solicitor to handle the legal stuff. Using an online help to buy mortgage calculator will help you find out how much your monthly mortgage repayments will be to make the process a lot smoother.
How does heritage housework?
If the property is pre-marriage, the house does not enter the share and can be sold without permission from the deceased’s children. If it was acquired after the marriage, 50% of it makes up the inheritance to be shared by the wife’s children, who must authorize the sale.
Sometimes there are no goods to be inventoried, or if they do, they are goods of small value. The amounts not received in the life of a family member can be received by their dependents or successors without the need to enter the inventory or bearing. If you think about your home as a future heritage to a loved one, a will kit may be helpful to sort out wills and testaments easily.
House surveys
Once you find a property that you like, you need to hire a property surveyor. This can be quite daunting as it’s their job to identify any glaring problems. For example, the roof tiles may contain asbestos, or the property may have a dampness problem.
These problems you will need to fix if you move into the home could be added to your already long to-do list. Alternatively, you may be able to negotiate with the seller and get them to fix these problems as part of the sale. Ask your solicitor for advice and consider the cost of fixing problems with the property.
Finding your dream property can be a stressful time full of anxiety, but when you approach it in an organised manner and prepare for any bumps in the road with a level head, you’ll be able to sit back and relax in your new home in no time.
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I’ve got a whole section of the site dedicated to first time buyers. You might enjoy my post on tips about the most expensive cities in the UK and how to repaying your mortgage
