Advice on Mortgages -First time buyers

[BH250]

Is it me or is it just impossible for anyone to buy a house these days? Im currently renting a very small flat with my partner and it has its own issues such as mould etc. we're lucky in the fact we're only paying £300 rent each month but we would really like to buy our own house, just a simple two bedroom place with a small garden and a driveway. We both work full time, and have desperately been trying to get a mortgage but we just don't seem eligible for one I don't understand how, we have no debts or anything

Sorry accidentally pressed send before finishing! Just don't understand how people can jump on the property ladder, does everyone have help from family members or is there something we're missing out on? We have savings too, not amazing amount but about £8000 between us, we've worked so hard to save that from our jobs too, sorry for the rant, just so confused in this whole process of buying a house

There is no reason you can't get a mortgage if you are both working. Have you applied for one in the past?
I don't know where in the county you are but the standard is a min 10% deposit of the property value and then you can borrow between 4-5x your combined annual earnings towards the rest. Debts and outgoings will also be taken into account. There are also various government schemes which require less deposit, and you may be able to get a government loan/rent part of the cost of the property to help you get on the ladder.

I would suggest you go and speak to a mortgage advisor

We've been to one in the past, they said we might be able to get £129,000 but there was no guarantee and this was only because we were long term customers, other banks have only offered us mortgages of 90,000ish most properties where I live (in the south west) cost over £145,000. It's very hard to get on the help to buy scheme where you can put down a 5% deposit I've got many friends in the same job as me so earning a similar amounts and they have been declined the help to buy scheme. We have not not been made aware of any over schemes that can help us, should our bank made this more clear? Or is there any other way we can get help?
Sorry just feel so lost in all this. They really don't make it easy. And I don't think I can continue renting in this flat anymore, we've sucked it up for over a year and we just want a house somewhere that we own (doesn't have to be perfect) - just like everyone else!

Myself and my husband used a help to buy scheme to get our first place 5 years ago. Things have changed slightly since but there are still lots of schemes about so try not to get disheartened.
www.helptobuy.org.uk
Lots of new builds offer help to buy schemes. We had a scheme where the government funded a loan of 30% of the property value, we can pay this back any time. We then put down a 5% deposit and got a mortgage on the rest. This is the equity loan scheme, a version of which is still running, now with 20% equity
www.helptobuy.org.uk/equity-loan/equity-loans
So in theory if you can borrow say £120,000, then you should be able to get something for around £165k
Take a look at new developments in your area as these are usually the places offering the scheme. We weren't a customer of RBS (who our mortgage is now with) and most people I know didn't take out a mortgage with their regular bank, so you may be surprised if you shop around
There are also new builds that offer part buy part let, which may mean you can get more house for your money, and buy the rest of the equity in the future
Don't give up hope!

It's not that hard to work out. You are looking at properties around 150000, including fees etx.

Most places want 10% deposit, so 15000, you only have half of that.

You either need to keep saving, or look at more realistic properties. Few people jump straight to two bedroom houses with gardens in expensive areas.

Basically at the moment you are not a prime candidate for a bank to lend too.

Agree with previous poster, you need more of a deposit, technically your at about 80,000 mortgage on a standard mortgage. Myself and partner had been working since being at school and had savings of 20,000 by the time we were 23, the trick is to try if you can to stay at home with parents/family whilst working and you can save shed loads, plus both myself and partner went to local uni's so didn't have student loans etc which makes a big difference. not sure if that's an option to come out of rented?

You might need to lower your expectations for your first home. My first was a second floor one bedroom flat with no parking and no outside space. My second is a three bedroom house which needs complete refurbishment, a garden but no driveway. Very few people can have their ideal home as a first or even a second time buyer.

I presume two beds are more important than a garden and driveway? You need to prioritise.

We're high earners and looking at two bed flats. It's tough, I empathise.

Have a look at help to buy and shared ownership.

Nationwide do a scheme where if you have an account or savings with them for a certain amount of time it makes you eligible for a 95% mortgage with them.