Feeling so overwhelmed. Can someone please explain how to buy a house?

[growgrowinggrown]

Hi all,

Basically as the title says.
I feel I am in a position to look at buying a house - I have some money together and have been looking at properties but I don't know what I do next.

Do I approach a bank for a mortgage? What is a mortgage broker? Do I need one? How do I find one?

I would love it if some kind soul could take pity on me and give me a super simple 'do this, then this, then this....tah dah you now own a house'

I have £30k saved (that is total - to use for deposit, any fees and furniture) and earn £35k PA if its relevant

I also live oop north so not looking at London prices

I’d go on line and put your figures into an online calculator. Also work out your outgoings as any mortgage broker will want that. Then look at what you can afford where you want to live. Very roughly you could borrow 165000 leaving you a bit and if you roll the fees into mortgage.

Start by looking at mortgage calculators online - this will give you an idea of how much you can borrow.

Speak to an independent mortgage advisor - you might find one through an estate agent.

Once you have an idea of how much you've got to spend, start looking at houses. Estate agents generally won't accept an offer unless you can show that you have an agreement in principle from a mortgage company.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy

Lots of info here

Are you in England? It works very differently in Scotland.

Most estate agents will have mortgage brokers attached to them. They can also recommend solicitors.

Use an online calculator to see what you can afford, then find a property in this budget.

I would suggest £20-25 of your £30k for the deposit. The rest will be needed for fees and furnishings.

You don’t need a mortgage broker but I’ve found them to be very useful. They can compare hundred of mortgages with various lenders to find you the best deal for your individual circumstances. Some will charge (pm me and I can recommend an excellent broker that doesn’t charge ☺️ They were utterly brilliant and guided me through the whole process). Otherwise, you can research yourself and approach a lender independently.

In preparation, you can get a ‘mortgage in principle’ agreed with a lender. This isn’t a formal application for a mortgage, more of an agreement that you will be able to borrow £xxx which can be useful when negotiating on a property. It’s not essential though and can often be quickly and easily arranged after you’ve made an offer.

It seems really daunting but once the wheels are in morion, you’ll be carried along by the estate agents and solicitors…they will tell you what needs to happen next and what you need to do.

Good luck!

See an IFA and find out how much you could borrow, and what the repayments would be with different deposits/repayment terms. Get a mortgage offer in principle. These usually last 3 months or so, and should account for committed outgoings - eg car loan, childcare.

Once yiu know what you can afford, you can look for houses.

Banks and estate agents have mortgage advisors too, but we have always had excellent advice from the IFA we got when we bought our first house, 21 years ago. We only have a few more months to pay.

There is a broker called London and Country which is always recommended on here

For the love of god don’t go anywhere NEAR a broker (or solicitor) attached to an estate agent

• create an account for ClearScore/CreditKarma/Check My File and check your credit score

Make sure there aren’t any defaults, unexpected accounts, and look at closing any unused credit cards etc

• phone London and country and run them through your situation. They will ask for details of all your outgoings and give you an idea of what you can borrow
• start looking at houses. Be prepared for some agents to want to see evidence you can afford the asking price - the broker will send you this
• when you find something you like, you make an offer!

Do your research. Look at the properties for sale in the area you want to buy. Make a list of your must haves and your can haves. Then see what’s available in your price range that includes your must haves. Use either an online mortgage calculator or a broker to see what your budget is. You may be surprised at what you can afford. Don’t use the banks mortgage advisors, they’ll only give you their products, brokers are better and they sometimes get good deals on rates

Don't use the mortgage adviser from the estate agent.

Thank you all so much for this wealth of information! I knew mumsnet would come through for me.
I am in Liverpool so not too crazy for prices - I was assuming that properties in the 140-155k region would be within my budget.
So my take away from the above

• mortgage advisor
• stay away from estate advisors / individual banks
• get mortgage in principle prior to physically house hunting

Are auction properties too involved for me to look at?

As other have said. Do not use a broker or adviser attached in any way to a agent.

Search for an independent mortgage advisor in your area. (I know a fabulous one in Somerset if that's any help)

They either have a set fee or the lenders pay them so you don't have to. They do all the hard work and form fulling for you. It is amazing.

Rough guide,
Work out what you can afford with mortgage calc. Think about fees to the solicitors and any surveys you want to do if its an old property full survey is good. Might need to keep money aside for this.
Then have a look at some houses narrow search
See a broker or advisor in a bank we used Natwest but lots of options. Get mortgage in principal.
Choose house and either put in offer with seller or do survey if needed first.
Instruct solicitor and bank you have had offer accepted
They will guide you through now. Keep good relations with solicitor and ring once a week to see how things going if you need to sign anything etc kind of helps to keep you in mind.
Good luck

I'm in Scotland but we phoned first mortgage and got an offer in principle. Then we started looking and when we found one (private sale) we phoned a solicitor (recommended by family) and said we'd found a house we wanted to buy could he help us. From then he took us through all the steps and before we knew it we owned a house.

Get your own conveyancer/ solicitor. There’s plenty of them. Ask your neighbours who they used. Use a local high street one with a good reputation ( good if you have to pop in/ sign things)
Also be careful when transferring money to your solicitor for completion day. Lots of scams about. Transfer £100 ring them , check they have it before transferring the rest.

Most auction properties sell for a lot more than the listed price. They also tend to need a lot of work, which I would steer clear of if you don’t have experience of house ownership/renovations. It could end up costing a lot more than you think. It would be a lot easier in your situation to go for a place that you could move into, and do up bit by bit if needed.

I think if you are interested in auction properties I would ring the auction house and find out what costs and immediate payment they require if you win one to work that into budget/ready cash.
I would have a lool but for me its the risk factor unless you could get a quick survey done before the auction or you have a builder mate/relative to take round.
I Imagine some good deals to be had if careful and brave enough.

Martin Lewis has a pdf for first time buyers
www.moneysavingexpert.com/first-time-mortgage/

You also need to budget for the cost of a solicitor to manage the purchase for you (called conveyancing). It will cost the best part of a thousand pounds.

You'll also need to pay for a survey on the property: that'll be a few hundred quid.

The good news is that as a first time buyer you won't have to pay stamp duty which is a percentage of the purchase price paid in tax. That's a good saving. Your solicitor should fill in the return to HMRC saying that you're a first time buyer and exempt.

If you buy at auction, completion usually has to be within 28 days. This is very difficult/impossible to achieve if you need a mortgage and I believe you have committed to buy once the hammer comes down.

Do not be tempted to buy by "modern auction". This gives the buyer longer to complete and therefore works with a mortgage, but it means the buyer pays all the fees - usually the seller pays the estate agent fees, but not with a modern auction.

Houses sold at auction often need major work, or are unmortgageable.

Money Saving Expert has lots of advice on house buying and how to get the right mortgage deal.

If you look at auction properties, always read the legal pack!

Homes under the hammer fan here.

hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/the-hoa-step-by-step-guide-to-buying-a-home/

Here you go

[quote MintyIguana]Martin Lewis has a pdf for first time buyers
www.moneysavingexpert.com/first-time-mortgage/[/quote]
Second this.

Also don't necessarily write off applying direct to a lender and always do your own research about what is available. If you easily meet affordability and LTV and have a good employment record, you don't necessarily need a broker to get the best deal.

We looked at L&C oft recommended on here. They totally ignored what I asked for and recommended a different mortgage product. They were also quite rude and dismissive when I explained why I wouldn't be taking their recommendation.

I applied directly to a major bank for a mortgage and we still have the same product 15 years later as there's never been anything new to beat it and it's saved us thousands in interest in that time.

Do not be tempted to buy by "modern auction". This gives the buyer longer to complete and therefore works with a mortgage, but it means the buyer pays all the fees - usually the seller pays the estate agent fees, but not with a modern auction

Surely that depends on the fees? If the fees are £10k and the winning bid is £20k below what the property would fetch on the open market, then you're onto a winner.

Presumably also, by auction, you're not at risk of being gazumped or having the seller drag out the sale process because they haven't found anywhere to buy or their purchase has fallen through/being delayed?