Buying own house

[Usborne]

Any forces wife know how to go about buying your own property? Not sure who to go to for mortgage advice etc. Any tips?

DH has 2 years left and we want our own house - no more magnolia!!! - but not sure where to start.

I saw that money guy (can't remember his name) saying that London and Country mortgage brokers were really good and so when we bought our house last year, we went to them and they found us a fab mortgage with Abbey.

We couldn't fault them.

I know that you can ask an independent 'Abacus' financial advisor to come to your house (through the army) and he might be able to advise you more.

I know that there are also new pension rules where you can have much more of your pension put into your leaving lump sum when your DH leaves so that you have more for a mortgage deposit.

We're moving into our own house after our next 2 yr posting and we can't wait to be able to do our own garden and paint the walls whatever colour we want!

Lucky you!!

We did get a mortgage offer, but most lenders wouldn't touch us because of the army pension thing. The offer was for a really small sum(think shoe box in the park!!) so it was a waste f time, especially as we have 1ds aged 6 and 1dd aged 8months.

We did it 4 years ago. My tips are:

1. Get an Independent Financial Adviser. You won't have to pay them as they get a fee from your eventual mortgage lender.
2. Be 100% sure of where you want to buy as it's so expensive to move privately. Check out schools and local facilities.
3. Do as much research about the area as you can if you don't know it already. www.upmystreet.com is invaluable.
4. If you're buying near where you're posted at the moment get a certificate from your unit (can't remember what it's called) which you'll need if you decide years down the line to move again due to another posting. You'll then be able to claim back fees for the subsequent move. No-one tells you this because they don't want you to know!!
5. Get a fixed rate mortgage if you're unsure about your future employment.
6. Check out estate agents online and do most research into houses for sale on line. It'll save you ££££ as you won't waste time driving around.
7. If planning to buy in a bit of the country you don't know too well, go and stay there for a week. Rent a cottage out of season so you can get a feel for the area and decide if you really like it.

That's about it for now. I'm happy to answer questions. BL

P.S. We don't have a single magnolia wall in our house!!!!

We did this 6 months ago (hence my nickname!)
There is this thing called advance of pay (LSAP?) where you can get some money towards the deposit which you pay back from salary in last 5(?) years of service. Assume this goes for all 3 services, DH is RAF. We were going to get this (DH did all the paperwork on bl**dy JPA) but our solicitor messed up and didn't give enough notice to get the money transferred, so we didn't get it in time (we could have waited but that would have meant putting completion date back and we couldn't really do that) Anyway, worth investigating.
I love having my own place after 4 1/2 years in MOD housing, I already feel so much more settled and I really feel part of a community too. (Though that might have more to do with DH having been posted 3 times in 13 months and us moving each time)
Can ask DH for more info on LSAP if you want but he's out tonight!

Thanks for the advice. (who's bright idea was JPA!!) Will try the HIVE for info about the advance. I'd heard it can only be used for a deposit? So many rumours and not enough facts!! Typical army life!!