fbpx

First Time Buyer: A Step-By-Step Guide

If you’re a first-time buyer, the prospect of owning your own home is an exciting yet incredibly daunting feeling. The buzz of what is yet to come may be overshadowed by the fear of “what if’s” and “have I considered this” – so getting everything in order saves a lot of stress and worries.

In this blog, we outline a step-by-step guide as to what you can expect when purchasing your first property.

  • Firstly, understanding how much you can borrow is imperative before you start viewing properties. How much you can borrow with each lender can differ greatly by as much as £100,000. Imagine just seeing one or two lenders and not realising that you could have actually bought your ideal home first time around. Get an Agreement in Principle from your Independent, whole of market Mortgage Adviser. Do you know the difference between a tied-adviser and a whole of market adviser? Choosing the wrong adviser can be costly. Look out for our next blog about this!
  • Next, find your property! This isn’t quite as straight-forward as you may think. The stress of negotiating the price you’re willing to pay through the selling agent comes into play at this stage. It’s important you’re happy with the price that you are purchasing this for. Your Agreement in Principle will be needed to provide to your selling agent to prove that you are able to afford the properties that you are viewing. It’s unlikely they’ll take any offer seriously if you’re not in a position to proceed; so be one step ahead of the competition offering on the same house!
  • Once you have an offer accepted on a property, it’s time to progress further with your mortgage application and instruct your solicitors to begin the legal work. If you don’t have a solicitor, we can suggest efficient, reasonably priced solicitors for you to speak to. Book in for another chat to discuss your income, outgoings and other circumstances and our advisers will search across a range of lenders to find the perfect interest rate for you. Remember – it’s very important to be completely honest with your commitments and any outstanding debts so that we can liaise with the lender and get a decision through as smoothly as possible.
  • Once the application has been submitted to the lender, they will assess your documents and value the property. All being well, if they are happy with both the property and your personal information, the application will be agreed and a mortgage offer will be issued. Now that the money is agreed, both you and your solicitors will receive a copy of the mortgage offer document; things really start moving forward from here!
  • Your solicitors will then undertake their searches and enquiries to check that your new home has no issues such as flooding, drainage and boundaries. The solicitor’s searches can often be the longest part of the process – but rest assured, everyone is working hard behind the scenes!
  • Once the searches are returned, you will be expected to sign a contract to purchase your home, pay a deposit and set a completion date. Exchange of Contracts takes place between you and the seller (who you are purchasing from) at which point the purchase is legally binding and nobody can back out (including you!). You can then make arrangements for your impending move, for example, handing in your notice to your landlord, booking removal vans etc…
  • As contracts have been legally exchanged, your solicitors will request the funds from your lender and any balances due is paid at this stage.
  • Finally, completion day! Your solicitors will transfer the funds to the sellers and transfer the property deed into your name – giving you ownership of the property. Then it’s time to collect your keys and make your house your home!

Purchasing doesn’t need to be as stressful as it seems. We specialise in independent mortgage advice and aim to take the stress and pressures out of the process for you. Call us for free, upfront and honest advice from one of our friendly advisers.

We are a directly authorised firm regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and as such, our advisers have access to some of the most competitive deals and exclusive rates on the market and will offer you the highest level of advice available. We have access to the whole of the mortgage market. When you speak to a bank or building society directly, they can only tell you about their own rates.

Throughout the application you will have regular contact with our Administration team who will guide you through the entire process and support you as much as possible, should you have any questions or queries.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP WITH THE REPAYMENT ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

My Mortgage Brokers is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Reference number 84758 for the life insurance, general insurance and mortgages.

Previous Post
Is remortgaging for you?
Next Post
The Difference Between an Independent Mortgage Adviser & a Tied Mortgage Adviser