First Time Buyers

This is a big and exciting step for any first-time buyer. As I am sure you will know, this is likely to be one of the biggest financial commitments that you are likely to make, and it has to be right for you.

What's on this page

Our Process
How to prepare yourself for buying your first home
Fees to consider as a first-time buyer
Contact us
Mortgage Payment Calculator
Checking your credit repot

Our Process

The first step of our process is to book in for an initial chat, where you and one of our brokers can have a brief chat about your circumstances and what you were hoping to do. From here, the broker will book you in for the first meeting which is usually via Zoom. If you are local and we have availability, we can conduct a face-to-face meeting at our office.

Before this meeting, you will be asked to register for our secure portal to upload any requested documents. You can find the documents we will ask for here. The broker will need to review these before any next steps so it’s important that you leave enough time between your initial chat and your first meeting to gather and upload your documents. You will be contacted by one of our team members a few days after receiving your invite to our secure portal, just to check whether you need any help.

All of our first meetings are free of charge. You can find the pricing for all of the services we offer on the fees page and our Buy to Let fee which you can find under ‘Other associated costs to consider’ below.

How to prepare yourself for buying your first home

  •  Speak to us before you start looking at properties. If we’ve already had a meeting with you, then we will have all your information to hand so we can be on standby to produce an Agreement in Principle for when an estate agent asks you for one. Feel free to also pass over our details so we can vouch that you are a credible buyer in a good position.
  • Research the Government Schemes which can help people get onto the property ladder, even if your financial position may not be perfect. Check if you are eligible for some of these schemes and have a think about if you want to use them.
  • Making use of the government ISA schemes can be very beneficial, however, make sure you have separate savings for any upfront costs. Any money from your ISA will go directly to the deposit and the funds will only leave the account on the day of completion.
  • Keep on top of any repayments to avoid any defaults on your credit report. It’s not always about the score on your credit file, it’s about the content. You can access your credit report here.
  • In the upcoming months, to put you in the best position to purchase your own home, ensure that you have no silly references on your bank statement. The lenders do look through these and they will question some of the joke references.
  • Keep in mind that when taking out any credit or finance agreements before buying a property that the lenders will deduct any committed funds from the total amount, they would be willing to lend you.
  • Where some cases can take a matter of weeks, others can take months, so manage your expectations and prepare for a longer wait. If your case does go through quickly then even better!

Costs to consider as a first-time buyer:

  • Deposit – The larger the deposit, the lower the interest rate but we know that this isn’t always possible. Do what you can within your budget.
  • Emergency funds – These aren’t factored in nearly enough when people talk about buying a house. We will explain all the costs and fees associated with purchasing a property. We will also recommend that you have an “emergency fund” for when you move in and notice that some of the things you really thought you could live with, you definitely can’t!
  • Mortgage Broker – For first time buyer residential mortgages we charge £495. Our first meeting is free of charge, once you decide that you want to go ahead, we will then take an engagement fee of £200 and commence our research. You will then pay the outstanding balance of £295 on completion of your mortgage.
  • Valuation – You will need to pay for a standard valuation for the lenders purposes but depending on the age of the property we may recommend you get a Home Buyers Report, so you know if there are any major issues affecting the property.
  • Solicitors Fees – We can get you a couple of quotes with some recommended solicitors.
  • Removal Costs – If you can’t get any help or do this yourself then you will need to pay a removal company or hire a van. Be careful though, as hiring your own vehicle may invalidate your contents insurance, and any items damaged in transit may not be covered.

Use our contact form and choose when you would like a call back, one of our award-winning advisers can then book in your initial meeting with us from here.

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Get your FREE credit report today!

We advise using CheckMyFile as we use a variety of lenders across the whole market. Each lender has their own credit agency that they use to assess your score and credit history. CheckMyFile uses multiple credit agencies which gives us a much clearer overview of your report as a whole and not just based on one particular agency. It will also give you a much clearer understanding of your overall credit position.

30-day free trial, which is £14.99 a month thereafter and can be cancelled at any time.

Looking for something else?

Home Mover Mortgage

If you are looking to move home and want to see how much you can borrow, together with the associated costs of moving, then look no further.

Protection

It is vital that you protect that investment you will be working hard to maintain in the years ahead. As no one can predict the future, we would recommend that you consider protection that will help secure your investment.

Call us today to discuss your needs or send us your enquiry