Buying your first property and getting yourself onto the property ladder can be a daunting task, so our experienced property lawyers have put together some top tips to make the transaction a lot easier for you.
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Educate yourself & make the most of online information
Going online and doing your own research is one of the best ways to make sure that buying your first property is as smooth as possible. When planning the purchase, make sure that you look into things such as the local area, recent sold prices in the area, crime rates and lots more, as this will give you a reliable perspective of what life will be like living at the property. Overall, this step is essential when knowing how to buy a house.
Although this is a great way to make sure your first home perfect for you, the virtually endless tools and information available can lead to you easily becoming too picky when choosing a property, so make sure you focus on the things that matter the most to you and don’t let the other factors sway your decision too much.
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Get the right support
When you are buying your first home, it is vital to make sure that you have the best professional support to hand. Finding a dedicated and experienced Solicitor or Conveyancer to take care of the process is the only way to make sure you’re covered from all angles and all problems are dealt with.
Conveyancers are there to make sure that clarity is maintained throughout the whole process and they are able to work with you to pre-determine any potential issues and provide you with an in-depth account of all stages of the buying process, which makes things much more manageable.
In professional terms, finding the right legal team to deal with the buying process is the best way to ‘protect your investment’, which is vital for the long-term future of your investment.
When you are finding the right experts to support you, make sure to check client reviews and make sure they are regulated by the SRA.
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Be transparent about fees, expenses & budget
It is common for first time buyers to go online and search for the perfect home. Even though this is the most exciting part of the process for many, it is essential that you know what fees and expenses you will be required to pay throughout the process.
Taking the time to find out what fees you are expected to pay by either contacting your Solicitor or Conveyancer or using online quoting tools to obtain an understanding of what fees are payable and what the fees actually mean and cover would be beneficial, as it allows you to know what budget you have to work with.
Although it may be easy to boost your budget slightly to compromise for the fees, it is vital to make sure that your mortgage payments are manageable, the last thing you want is struggling to manage payments just for the sake of having an extra bedroom or a bigger garden.
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Speak to mortgage lenders & get accepted
Once you know what fees you have to pay and what your budget is, get in touch with some mortgage lenders and get a mortgage offer approved as soon as you can. Although many first time buyers leave this dreaded task until they have found a property they are genuinely interested in, doing this as early as possible makes the process much quicker further down the line.
On top of optimising the buying process, being able to prove that you have been accepted for a mortgage plays in your favour when it’s time to contact estate agents or sellers, as they can see that you are a serious and viable buyer.
If you’re finding it hard to get accepted for a mortgage, Martin Lewis money saving expert has some tips for getting accepted.
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If you’re struggling to get your full mortgage deposit for whatever reason, Government help to buy schemes make things more manageable. With the growing number of schemes available to new buyers, it is hard to find the right one, which is why we are looking at three of the key mortgage schemes available at the moment.
Help to buy – Equity Loan
This scheme caters to those who have 5% or more of their deposit, with the Government lending up to 20% of the property price. Although they set out to help more people get onto the property ladder, this scheme limits buyers to new build properties, and on top of this, you will have to start paying interest on the loan after 5 years.
Starter Homes
For the Starter Homes Scheme, you have the chance to purchase a home for 80% of the market value, which means that you can either save money on your first home or get more out of your budget.
This scheme may seem perfect, but there are a couple of downsides:
- You are limited to new build properties
- You cannot sell or let the property at the open market value for 15 years after buying the property.
If you’re considering a Government Scheme to help you get on the property ladder, make sure you know the ins and outs before you commit, so you can make sure that you don’t get any surprises along the way.
When buying your first home, it is important to know the processes behind it and understand what is happening at each point. Although your Solicitor/Conveyancer does most of the work by eliminating any potential problems and making the buying process clear, it is still a good idea to get to know the basics of buying your first home.
If you’re ready to buy your first home and you need a Solicitor/Conveyancer, get in touch with our experienced team today.