Can anyone help with some advice for first time buyers?

[CharleyFarleyy]

Hi, me and my OH are currently saving for a deposit in our help to buy ISAs. We have £1000 saved up of our own money so with the extra money from the government and how much more we will have saved up we should have £2000 by August and my mum has kindly said she will give us another £1000 in August so all in we are hoping for £3000 in August. I know this doesn't seem like a lot but we are after a new build in Sheffield no more than around £150k . Would our 3k deposit be enough to get the ball rolling with a developer?

Sorry if I seem green it's because I am! We both have no idea how any of this works! Any help would be massively appreciated.

The developer will want a reservation fee, probably around £500.

The mortgage company will only lend up to 95% of the value, so you'd need £7,500 in cash as a deposit to make up the difference. On new builds banks will often only lend up to 80% so you'd need a cash desposit there if £30,000.

You need some advice from someone who can talk you through it all, would recommend seeing an IFA (independent financial advisor, not someone who works in a bank).

No not even slightly.
Sorry to be a downer but we're in the same situation as yourselves and saw an independent mortgage advisor on Friday.

Here are our numbers....
We currently have £6k saved for deposit.
Our joint income is £70k, so I thought quite good and our outgoings are low.
We can get a mortgage for £150k but we need at least £8k plus a further £3-5k for solicitors/agents fees.
Our monthly payments would be £1251 for a 2yr fixed across 35 yrs

So....we're back to saving 😩

the person you need to talk to is an independent mortgage advisor. they will let you know the amount you can borrow and what deposit you need. But sorry, you will need more saved that 3k, at least 7500.

what is your income OP?

Would our 3k deposit be enough to get the ball rolling with a developer?

No. You'll need at least a 5% deposit plus cash for legal fees.

Also with a new build you literally need to buy flooring and curtains so even once you've saved enough for deposit, legal fees and so on, you then need to factor in these additional costs

You need at least £1200 for legal fees. Perhaps even more as apparenly leashold properties have higher legal costs due to work involved. Then you need to pay valuation survey etc etc and on top of that you need to have for deposit and stamp duty. Not to mention moving costs etc. Sadly 3k is not going to take you very far.

You'll need 3-5k for legal fees alone. New builds will have different rules to older houses and you might be able to get a deal, but I'd say you need double what you have saved, at least.

You will need a deposit of at least £7.5k but you'll get better mortgage rates with a 10% deposit. You'll also need money for legal fees and stamp duty which kicks in at £125k. You'll also need to budget for mortgage application fees and a mortgage valuation. You'll won't get a lot of change out of £10k realistically.