First time buyer help

[OnNaturesCourse]

Basically, where do we even start?

(things like this should be taught in schools)

Do you have a deposit?

Have you seen a broker to get an AIP (agreement in principle) so you know how much you can borrow?

Might need a little bit more information!

Are you trying to work out how much you need to save, or have you saved some money?
Are you wanting to start looking at houses, or still working out what kind of price bracket you can afford?

MSE have a handy timeline and lots of guidance: www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/buying-a-home-timeline/

Personally I'd opt for a solicitor you can actually visit if needed such as if your DH leaves v important paperwork in his bag instead of posting it and has to hand deliver it rather than online/by phone only.

A whole of market broker will usually get you a far better deal than just going to your bank. London & Country are free and pretty good (we paid for a broker last time though; one off fee of £200 & he sorted our remortgage and any future remortgages. We found him quicker, and again, it was nice to be able to pop into the office rather than communicating just by phone/email).

Sorry.

We have recently come into money which we will be using for a deposit. Looking to put down a deposit of about 13k.

One issue we anticipate is I don't work, only my partner. Another would be (and I may be wrong) but where the deposit came from - its not our savings but a gift from family.

A gift is fine, your deposit doesn’t have to be from savings. As long as you have put it in a bank or building society it is proof you have a deposit.
Also it doesn’t matter if you don’t work if your partner on their salary earns enough to pay the mortgage repayments. Your first step is to find out how much you can borrow based on your partners salary alone - there are free websites that allow you to find this out (you could start with nationwide mortgage calculator or go on the Martin Lewis website)

You say partner rather than husband/wife, so it might be wise to protect the deposit from inheritance via a Deed of Trust in case of a split.
Use a whole of market broker. I've used London and Country before after a recommendation from here. They were very helpful, easy to sort things out with and were fee free.
Remember during the process, the estate agent does not have your interest in mind, they work for the seller.
Avoid estate agent recommended solicitors and mortgage brokers. They will be getting a kick back and often are not the best option.
Also you do not need to speak to their broker to qualify you can offer on a property. As long as you have an agreement in principle from your broker, that is enough.

First, I'd be in touch with a mortgage broker and see what mortgage you could get. The gift is no issue, you just have to be able to prove where it came from and that it really is a gift (not a loan) and be able to show the paper trail. The main issue is affordability though. With only £13K, you would be limited in how much mortgage you could get unless your partner's income is quite high, but it depends on what you want to buy. You could start with an online mortgage calculator to get an idea (all the banks have them). In practice though, the mortgage we actually got was for more than any of the online calculators said as the mortgage application takes account of much more information about you.

Once you have the agreement in principle from a lender, via the broker, you can start looking at houses.

Thank you.

Will look into the info provided tonight.

I feel a bit overwhelmed at just the thought of it all. That's one of the reasons we started renting many moons again as to very young me it was easier so I stupidly took that route. Wish I hadn't now as it got us stuck.

Google mortgage calculator and have a look on a few bank websites, you can put in your partners wage and your deposit and it'll give you a rough idea of how much you can borrow, and then you can have a look at houses available for that price on rightmove or zoopla to get an idea of what's affordable in the area you live in :) That's a good starting point!

What's your partners salary and how much do you want to borrow?

Salary is variable but minimum of 1700 pcm after tax. We work out our budgets on that figure.

@OnNaturesCourse

Salary is variable but minimum of 1700 pcm after tax. We work out our budgets on that figure.

Borrowing is usually capped at around 4.5x the annual pretax salary. I've usually found the Halifax mortgage calculator pretty accurate.

As you don't work I think you may be counted as a dependent, unless you support yourself independently? Something to discuss with a broker.

I support myself through benefits. But I guess it could be seen as I'm supported yeh.

@OnNaturesCourse

I support myself through benefits. But I guess it could be seen as I'm supported yeh.

So your benefits may be counted towards the total income - I think it depends on the lender. Again, definitely something to discuss with a broker. Do you have an idea of how much a suitable home will cost - are you looking to buy outright or use a scheme such as shared ownership?

Buy outright as I believe most schemes aren't suitable for our needs

Yea if you don’t work I’d imagine you are counted as a dependent. I’d assume if your DP is on £1700 after tax it’s about £27k a year?
So with you as a dependent I’d imagine you’d get closer to 4x than 4.5/5x the salary so is work off being able to borrow about £100k.

If the money was given as a gift, you may find the bank or solicitors will require them to sign a declaration that it’s a gift and not a loan.

I’m a first time buyer too, I haven’t even bought a house yet but have been looking for ages!
It took me about 3 months to feel as though I knew what I was doing.

First thing- google ‘how much can I borrow mortgage calculator’. It will ask you about your income and spending and will tell you roughly what you can borrow.
Add on to that the amount you have for a deposit and that’s the ballpark price of house you can buy.

Next look to see how much it will cost you to borrow that much. Google ‘compare mortgages’ and enter some hypothetical figures. Experiment with different house values, deposits and the term of the mortgage (usually can be up to your DP retires), and whether you fix it for 2 or 5 years. See what the monthly payments are and compare it to what you pay now in rent. This will help you get a more realistic idea of what sort of price you can afford and what sort of mortgage you might want.

Then start looking at rightmove/on the market / zoopla to see what is on sale in different areas for the amount you can afford. Under filters tick the box ‘include sstc/ sold subject to contract’ so you get a bugger selection of properties and what the asking price was.

So then you will have a rough idea of what you can borrow, what you can afford, and what you could get for your money.

Then it’s time to talk to a mortgage broker who will go through the numbers with you properly, and because you’ve done a bit of research first you will have a good chance of understanding what they’re explaining to you. Good luck

If you are reliant on benefits, you are going to find this very difficult.

I'm only reliant on benefits due to our circumstances.

I truly believe should we move to our own place our outgoings would be less, and therefore I'd not be.

It wasn’t a criticism, more a sense of frustration at the way it works. I work FT and earn good money, yet have only just been able to scrape, beg and negotiate a mortgage by the skin of my teeth. Like you, owning my own property makes more economic sense in various ways, but getting that point across to a mortgage company is very difficult.

With that salary and deposit you would be looking around the 100/110k price I think. Is that price going yo work for the area you live?

Our area is on average 180,000 - we are tied to the area as have children at nursery here and don't want to move them for various reasons. We do have the option of looking at lower prices range but that would mean looking at a "do-er upper" sort of deal.

@OnNaturesCourse

Our area is on average 180,000 - we are tied to the area as have children at nursery here and don't want to move them for various reasons. We do have the option of looking at lower prices range but that would mean looking at a "do-er upper" sort of deal.

If you buy a project, how will you pay for the work? They aren't usually that much cheaper unless they are so bad they are unmortgageable or need major immediate work, unfortunately.

If you can't consider other areas, have a look at something like shared ownership. You might be able to buy 50% or so, get the stability of ownership & pay rent on the unowned portion.

In a few years you might be in a better position to buy the remaining share or sell and buy somewhere else.

I know someone who has just brought a flat for £180000. He had a deposit of £35000 and has a similar take home page. I think his mortgage term was 30 years (inherited some of the deposit).