House buying, where on earth do I start

[ghostmouse]

I have enough to buy a modest 3 bed semi near to me, it is an unwanted inheritance (would far rather have my darling husband here with me) I’d live in a tent forever if I could just have him back but here we are, the moneys come as a shock. It’s enough to put a very hefty deposit down and I’d only need a small mortgage. However I’ve never bought a house before, I’ve always lived in council housing and always been skint.
I also have a not very good credit rating, again no judgement please I’ve had a shit bloody life and it’s only now I’m finally debt free
So please where do I start? I really have no one rl to ask, no one in my family or any of my friends own houses and the internet doesn’t seem to give decent advice

Thanks

Some info here
www.postoffice.co.uk/mortgages/house-buying-process

If you have a not great credit rating your first step needs to be to find out if you can get a mortgage.

I’m sorry for your loss

I'm sorry, first of all, for your loss. That must be very tough.

Re buying a house, you need to know, first of all, how much you need to spend to buy the kind of house you want - and therefore how much money you're going to need to borrow - and whether or not you can afford to borrow that much. Sites like zoopla generally have a mortgage calculator showing how much the monthly payments would be on a specific property, and you input the amount you're borrowing on that.

If you let us know here what your likely budget is, and where you want to live, you'll find plenty of people who love a bit of house-hunting porn!

Thanks I’m just hoping I can get a mortgage but I’m not holding out much hope

Where are you living at the moment ? Any possibility that you can buy your council house ?

I would need a mortgage for 40000, my deposit is almost 75 % give or take
I’m looking for anything up to 145000, however houses are few and far between for that price here, I’ve found 1, it’s close to where I live so not much disruption to the dds

I need a fresh start I really do, I miss him

Why do you think you won't be able to get one? If you've got enough for a hefty deposit I'm sure someone will be prepared to lend you more.

Otherwise, is what you have enough to buy a smaller property without a mortgage? At least then you're 'on the ladder' and it should make it easier to get a mortgage in the future.

No I want a fresh start, tbh it’s hard to get a mortgage for my type of house, I don’t think I can buy now anyway I’m in north wales

That’s the cheapest for a 3 bed biwi unfortunately, it’s mad, 6 months ago the houses were cheaper

With the large deposit you have with a small mortgage to make up, I don’t think you’ll have any problem obtaining one.I don’t think credit rating will have too much of an impact at all.

Speak to a broker who specialises in bad credit and give them a copy of your credit report. From that a good broker will be able to confirm one way or the other.

Good luck

Mind you I’m currently paying 500 council rent, I’ve calculated I’d only be paying 180 pounds mortgage every month over 25 years, I was quite shocked at that.
I’ve always been told that bad credit rating means no mortgage

I will defo look at credit brokers thank you

@ghostmouse not true about bad credit = no mortgage but the rate will be higher I imagine and it does depend on what the credit problem is.

Speak to an all market broker who doesn't charge - they'll make a commission from the mortgage lender you go with instead of you paying them. It might be worth building your credit rating first - things like getting and responsibly using a credit card can help.

If you speak to a broker they will look at your income, outgoings etc and find out how much you can borrow.

if you don't mind a little travel set your search 10/15 miles from your current postcode and you may be surprised, 20 minutes from my home now I can get a 3 bed terraced house for the price of a small flat here!

A good estate agent will guide you but have you considered just buying your council house instead and using the money to do improvements? You'll get a good discount if you've been renting a long time. Also consider treating yourself to a good holiday or something.

We are using London and country for a mortgage. They will look one out for you.

We can’t buy our council house in wales anymore unfortunately,
I’m very keen on staying very local to me due to support links I have, not from my family but dp family and my friends

I’d try and buy your council house as well. You’ll get a good discount

Right to buy was abolished in Wales, I am unable to buy my council house.
I also do not have a traditional bricks and mortar council house and to be honest I hate where it is and I need a fresh start

Can you post your rough area nothing specific? Posters may be able to advise local brokers or houses. We can at least offer a virtual
Handhold through the process.

I used a broker who was great and we did it all over the phone/online due to Covid. Happy to give details if you want to dm and they basically handhold you through the whole process so you really don't need to do anything on your own

Hi I’d suggest phoning London and country, they’re free to use and I’ve found them fantastic for advice and finding me a good deal.

Just as a note, you don’t have to take a mortgage over 25 years, you could take it over a shorter period or make overpayments to the level of your current rent and pay it off more quickly.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

London & Country are often mentioned on here, because you don’t pay a fee. Here’s why:
www.landc.co.uk/about-us/how-we-are-paid/
So yeah, it’s probably worth contacting them to see what mortgage you could get. Then you can start looking where.
www.landc.co.uk/contact-us/

Good luck Op.
I remember your other thread. 💐

Thank you everyone I will certainly try London and country.
I’m in north east wales not far from Chester

A quick Zoopla search shows plenty of properties in that area (rough guess based on what you've said!) that are well within your price range, so hopefully you'll be lucky with the broker.