First-time buyer: what do you wish you'd known before you started?

[leafling]

I'm hoping to buy my first home this year here in Scotland. I'm 38, single, no kids, and have savings toward it of about 50k. I'll need to keep some of that for furnishing the place, as I just came back from living overseas and have nothing furniture-wise of my own.

I don't have much in the way of family to help guide me, so I'm coming here for your best tips and advice on the whole process!

What do you wish you'd known? What should I be thinking about that I might not know to think about? Mindset stuff, practicalities, mortgage applications, what to do first...

I've been listening to podcasts and reading what I can online, but it's all feeling a bit nerve-wracking!

Any improvements to a house cost twice what you thought in time and cash - do not underestimate renovation costs.
Even if all you have is £10, pay that off the mortgage at the end of the month as it adds up to paying off mortgage early....

As you're in Scotland, I imagine that any offer you make is legally binding, so I hope I'm not stating the obvious when I suggest getting your DIP in place and doing a decent survey on wherever you're buying prior to making an offer.

Not to settle and also the property ladder is not necessarily a thing- lost a lot in negative equity because we had kids and had to leave the apartment we assumed would sell easily. Wish we’d bought a house in the first place. Also scope out the plumbing if you can!

I'm curious about this – in part because I'm thinking of going for a not-perfect-for-me apartment in a village I adore, and would love to just be here and then 'upgrade' when the time is right. Can you explain more about what you mean?

leafling
we ended up having more than 2 children so a 2 bed apartment didn’t suit but we couldn’t sell without making a huge loss so ended up renting out, was the bane of our existence!

My advice, never think your budget is what you spend on a house.

At least 1-5% will be fees (surveys, conveyance, searches, moving fees) and you should also have about 10-20% spare for random things you will discover need fixing (boiler breaking the day you move in, surprise roof leak now its raining, moved some furniture and found damp etc...).

It will always costs more than you think.

I also agree theres no such thing as a property ladder, it was a fallacy sold to a generation. Houses do not appreciate in value anywhere near as much as shows like homes under the hammer promised. The early 00s was unique but everything crashed and while yes they do go up but it can take decades and they can also go DOWN in value too. Flats are a market that are crashing right now.

If buying a new build, factor in the “just moved in” costs. You will probably think about carpets, curtains and blinds, but also curtain rails, toilet roll holders, towel rails, light bulbs and lampshades. If you’re not buying a new build, make sure your list of what is being left includes those little things because they can add up!

second PP re the property ladder and not settling. We made a lot of compromises on our first house (it was the peak of the market) and now those things really bother me but the cost of moving feels so high and I’m not sure all the ‘small’ compromises balance the cost of moving. And the houses that we wanted before haven’t gotten less popular so now we’ve lost first time buyer status (less of an issue with stamp duty) and we’re still competing for the best houses. I think unless you’re expecting your salary to significantly increase later and you need something now, don’t bank on the property ladder.

Oh and it’s harder to view houses for moving to the next one because if we do find a house that looks good we can’t view unless we’re on the market or had an offer accepted

Check that showers, taps and toilets all work. Then it’s not a surprise when you move in.

I'm going through the process of buying a house right now. As a first time buyer it's quite daunting and just recently my confidence took a bit of a knock.

If you want some advice though. Start by looking at what type of mortgage you want and then get an agreement/decision in principle sorted. It gives you an idea what you can afford, what your repayments will be etc and shows an estate agent that you're serious when it's time to put in an offer. I opted for a mortgage broker to do all the leg work for me and what they found matched the deals I was finding so it saved me time and effort. You would be wise to do research early on about who you want to use as a conveyancer/solicitor as well as a property surveyor. If you know who you plan to use then it's just making calls at the correct time to get the ball rolling.

It's also a good idea to have a few things to hand that you will need. You will have to go through an identity check, a passport makes this very quick and simple, my solicitors sent me an app that I used....super easy. Also your latest P60 and at least three of your most recent pay slips as proof of income and bank statements going back six months for the account where your deposit is being held. I had to request some of these through my banking app as I get quarterly statements and needed one up to this month. It took five days for it to be available to download. These had to be printed off which was more difficult than I expected as I haven't had a printer for over a decade. Infact there have been several times when I needed to print a hard copy of things so I bought a basic printer in the end.

Knowing what to budget for is a big help, I'm paying £1790 for conveyancing and £600 for a survey, house movers will cost me £500. I have £350 put by for a damp survey if I need it, £100 to get the chimney flue inspected plus another £1000 for anything that comes up. Get some quotes online to get an idea of what this is going to cost.

When it comes to viewings. I took someone with me to look for things I would be too distracted to see, I was looking at the layout of the bathroom and imagining if the one I saw in B&Q would look good there, she was looking for suspiscious stains on the ceiling that might indicate a leak, if there was any musty smells or signs of DIY repair jobs done. Always look at what sold and for how much in your search area, Rightmove will show asking price but that's not what it sold for, you can look online for completed sales right down to the street. It helps to have an idea if you're paying a little more or a lot more or maybe even under than is typical for that street. It's still good to look at Rightmove though, I was shown a three bed end of terrace on for £130k that needed a ton of work done while around the corner I knew there was a three bedroom for £120k that was ready to live in that was with a different agent. Why the difference?

Lastly, I know others have made this point but don't look at this as an investment, it's somewhere to live in and hopefully feel like home. Find somewhere you want to live, somewhere you will be happy, not somewhere to stay for five years before selling it for £60k proffit and moving on to something else. Not that it can't happen, but it feels like the housing market is off the boil in many areas and house price inflation might not be what it once was.

I hope you find somewhere that makes you happy :)

Don’t be too charmed by new builds or show homes, take time to also consider older houses including ex local authority homes which often have bigger plot sizes and more potential for development.

• You will need building and contents insurance.
• Make sure you check any factors fees and who is responsible for cleaning/maintenance of communal areas.
• Check where to store your wheelie bin and where your neighbours store theirs. You don't want a stinky bin under your window.
• You can furnish very cheaply from Gumtree and Facebook marketplace and you may be surprised what friends and colleagues might offer. You can always upgrade when finances allow. Try IKEA and TKMaxx for basic crockery, towels, bedding etc.

In Scotland the vendor has a survey and valuation done, called a Home Report.

You are in a good position! And I think is a great move if you feel comfortable, although the first one is always daunting....

Seems like you are doing the right thing and doing your research. Dont over extend yourself too much. Remember you will probably need a 10% deposit although you can get 5% deposit mortgages now, but you will need to remember the costs for solictors, stamp duty etc. and also work to be done (although you can always do work later maybe once have saved more again).

Use the mortgage tools like martinmoneysaving has and also there are some good other ones like the hntr app for first time buyers which help you through the process or also one we used was called Brickwise which could give you questions to ask and also spot flaws in properties to make sure you were buying something that was a good propoerty and good conditon.

If you are a buyer now likely in a good position as many people are selling... make sure you negotiate hard and do your best to get a good priced house. Also remember it is not yours until you exchange and a 1/3 of property transactions in the England fall through post offer! So dont get too attached if you can...

Good luck! An exciting albeit it can be a daunting step... any questions also post back here as mumsnet community often have good advice and insight from a variety of people too :)

Just to clarify, an offer in Scotland is not legally binding. You can pull out any time up until the missives are concluded. It happens less in Scotland due to the home report being done up front but it does still happen occasionally. In Scotland you also cannot view the property again after an offer has been accepted.

"In Scotland you also cannot view the property again after an offer has been accepted."

Huh? That sounds horribly impractical.

There is a lot of things in Scotland which although written in law and 'have to' bear no resemblance to what goes on in practice.
However, do get everything lined up and find a solicitor BEFORE you start considering offers. They will guide you.
IME, it is easier still in Scotland and there is less sillyness of gazumping or pulling out last minute.

In Australia, mortgage products where you can make an extra payment any time are common. Get one of those.

Don’t buy at the top of your budget. Leave a little extra.

1). Your first payments are nearly all interest and only a few $ off the principal. Make your first payment so you know how it works then make another one. That second payment will be all off the principal. This reduces the amount of interest allocated out of your next regular payment and increases the amount you pay off the principal.

2). Pay your mortgage fortnightly https://www.loans.com.au/home-loans/first-home-buyer/does-paying-your-mortgage-fortnightly-save-money

“In Scotland you also cannot view the property again after an offer has been accepted."
Huh? That sounds horribly impractical.”

Not sure about this, we viewed our house after the offer and also had an asbestos survey done.

I'm sure it depends on the seller but solicitors will generally advise that no more viewings are possible after the offer is accepted. We were allowed a timber survey because it was advised in the home report but it was made clear we couldn't be there while it took place.

Oh, we were quite naughty then!😂 We even took photos as the house needed gutting. We weren’t there for the asbestos survey thought.

Our seller invited us round for a cup of tea once the offer had been accepted to show us the location of the stopcock etc and to discuss what furniture we might want left behind. We were FTB and she was downsizing so it was helpful.

That is just odd. Every place I have bought in Scotland (x3) I have managed a couple of viewings before offer, and another viewing nearing completion with tape measure in hand.

Some sellers are more helpful than others! Usually you aren't allowed to view/measure up until the missives are concluded.