Buying a property for 650k...

[Notmyrealname85]

I’m a first time buyer and likely won’t be buying for another year at least! But how much should I set aside to buy a property for 650k? I already have 55k saved...

I suppose deposit plus first mortgage payment plus ?????? No one in my family is good with money or really owns property... I’m very good at saving but no familiarity otherwise...

Expenses including stamp duty, moving fees, solicitors fees etc will be around 25,000 - 30,000

How long is a piece of string??
Totally depends on how big a mortgage you're able to secure and only you know that

On top of that, stamp duty, solicitors fees, moving costs. All info/calculators can be found via google.
That's the absolute bare bones. Then you need to allow for furniture, and potentially appliances, window dressings, flooring.

You need to speak to a mortgage provider to see what sort of loans they will make and how much you need as a deposit. Usually £10% minimum i think.

Does your salary allow you to borrow the extra - I assume you’ll need a loan of over £500,000 which is a huge amount and would probably require a salary of at least £120k.

Martin from Martin’s Money Saving Tips has a free downloadable ebook about buying your first property - you might find it useful.

Thanks all! Think I should spend the year researching this a LOT as did not think of those additional costs

If the predictions of a brexit crash come to fruition, you should be able to find a bargain in a year or so. Keep saving!

Look into what mortgage amount you qualify for and rates. Eg rates on 90% mortgages are much better than on 95% ones. Remember the costs like a PP says.

Also the salary you need to qualify for such a mortgage. Few ftbs will be buying £650k properties on their own. Also are their any special circumstances that may restrict choice, eg if you're self employed or a large amount of your salary is made up of bonuses.

If the 55k is to cover deposit plus stamp duty plus fees plus moving costs then you haven't really got near enough. There are 95% mortgages about but realistically you should look at 10% deposit and then other costs on top of that. Stamp duty is a killer, we bought for 650 last year and it was annoying to just write off around 20k (can't remember exact figure.)

Deposit + stamp duty (c£20k on 650 purchase price) plus solicitors and conveyancing £2k plus survey £500 - £1k plus any extra stuff like electric survey plus moving costs plus furniture plus white goods plus unexpected things you need/want to fix plus plus plus....

What put that figure in to your head?

Have you got a mortgage in principle or been to see what you can borrow? That would be a good starting point.

Look realistically at what you can borrow and afford the payments on for a start, and also budget for income protection. There are good whole of market brokers that will talk to you for free I would recommend seeing one.

Well done you for saving so much you are already in a much better position than most FTB's.