Helping you purchase your first home
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There’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying your first home. With many different routes to consider, we’ve put together a few tips to help you get on the property ladder and secure your first home!
1. Get professional advice from a qualified, whole of the market mortgage adviser.
With large financial commitments like mortgages, it’s vital you are confident you have selected the best option. Every individual has different needs and goals, so an off-the-shelf mortgage will not necessarily be the best fit for you. We offer a completely free all-in-one mortgage service, assessing your needs, and taking your mortgage through to completion.
2. Know what’s affordable
When you start looking at houses, it’s easy to let your budget creep up, but there’s nothing worse than setting your expectations on a property that you later find out you can’t afford. Get an understanding of the maximum amount lenders are prepared to borrow you, and ensure you are comfortable with the expected monthly payments. With access to the whole of the market, we will assess all of the options available to you. We can also advise you on how best we can maximize your affordability while making the monthly payments more affordable.
3. Understand your profile
Different lenders look at different things, but the majority will need to assess your credit report to ensure you fit their lending criteria. Taking a look at your credit report before applying for a mortgage helps you understand what lenders will see and stops any nasty surprises if a lender spots something you weren’t aware of! We recommend looking at your credit report regularly to ensure everything is as you would expect and that there are no errors working against you! We can provide you with options based on your credit now, and also recommendations of what you could get if certain changes were made.
4. Saving for a deposit
Getting a lump sum of money together for a deposit can be tricky, but saving little and often can go a long way! All mortgage providers will ask for some form of deposit, but this can be as low as 5% of the purchase price. If you are able to get a bit more together, a higher deposit (when compared to the property price) usually leads to more competitive interest rates. If you have family members that have savings, there are also many options that allow your family members to keep their savings, while adding towards your buying ability!
5. Use the tools available to you!
As a first-time buyer, there are a variety of Government-backed schemes designed to help get individuals onto the property ladder. Properly understanding your circumstances, we will be able to advise you on what option is best for you.
6. Be prepared!
There can be a lot of costs involved in new property purchases. After you have your deposit together and are ready to make an offer on the new property, it’s important to ensure you are aware of all of the costs involved! Firstly many mortgages will come with a product fee, in most cases, this can be added to the loan but this might impact your total borrowing capacity. There also often valuation fees, which in most cases are payable upon application (although we may be able to find you an alternative with a free basic valuation!). If you want reassurances that there are no structural issues with the property you are buying, before committing to the purchase we can arrange for a HomeBuyers valuation to be carried out. We can advise you on what’s best to do here and how adding the fee to the loan would impact your monthly payments or mortgage term. Many mortgage brokers then also charge a “Broker Fee” that would be payable up-front… we don’t! With our All-in-One mortgage solution, we sort out both your mortgage and the protection policy needed to cover the balance, for no cost!
We will always provide you with a full breakdown of the costs you can expect to pay before you decide to proceed. If you would like to see the costs and options available to you drop us a message with the details of your
Talking to a professional working within the industry who talks to lenders daily gives you confidence that you’ve gone for the right product. Get in touch with us if you would like us to review your mortgage options and for a free quote. We can meet at our office in Handbridge or in a Zoom call so just let us know what works for you!
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01244 478 007
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Know whats affordable
2. Know what’s affordable
When you start looking at houses, it’s easy to let your budget creep up, but there’s nothing worse than setting your expectations on a property that you later find out you can’t afford. Lenders will make an assessment by deducting your existing debts from your income, so reducing your credit commitments before you apply for your mortgage is a great way of increasing your affordability. With access to mainstream and specialist lenders, we will assess all of the options available to you. We can also advise you on how best we can maximize your affordability while making the monthly payments more affordable.
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Get application ready
3. Get application ready
Different lenders look at different things, but the majority will need to assess your credit report to ensure you fit their lending criteria. Taking a look at your credit report before applying for a mortgage helps you understand what lenders will see and stops any nasty surprises if a lender spots something you weren’t aware of! We recommend looking at your credit report regularly to ensure everything is as you would expect and that there are no errors working against you! We can provide you with options based on your credit now, and also recommendations of what you could get if certain changes were made.
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Saving for a deposit
4. Saving for a deposit
Getting a lump sum of money together for a deposit can be tricky, but saving little and often can go a long way! All mortgage providers will ask for some form of deposit, but this can be as low as 5% of the purchase price. If you are able to get a bit more money together, a higher deposit (when compared to the property price) usually leads to more competitive interest rates. If your family have savings, there are also many options that allow your family members to keep their savings, while adding towards your buying ability!
As a first-time buyer, you may able be able to make use of Government-backed schemes that are designed to help get individuals onto the property ladder. By talking to you about your circumstances, we will be able to advise you on what option is best for you.
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Saving for a deposit
5. Keep it manageable
There can be a lot of costs involved in new property purchases. After you have your deposit together and are ready to make an offer on the new property, it’s important to ensure you are aware of all of the costs involved! Firstly many mortgages will come with a product fee, in most cases, this can be added to the loan but this might impact your total borrowing capacity. There are also often valuation fees, which in most cases are payable upon application (although we may be able to find you an alternative with a free basic valuation!). If you want reassurances that there are no structural issues with the property you are buying, before committing to the purchase we can arrange for a HomeBuyers valuation to be carried out.
Many mortgage brokers then also charge a “Broker Fee” that would be payable up-front… we don’t! With our All-in-One mortgage solution, we sort out both your mortgage and the protection policy needed to cover the balance, for no cost!
We will always provide you with a full breakdown of the costs you can expect to pay before you decide to proceed. If you would like to see the costs and options available to you drop us a message.
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Georgia Evans
30 Handbridge
Chester
CH4 7JE
01244 478007
hlfinancial.co.uk
