First Time Buyers

Buying a home for the first time can be a daunting prospect. There’s so many things to think about – and that’s before you’ve even considered the mortgage!

To help you reduce the stress, here are our Top Tips for First Time Buyers.

• Budget accurately: Be realistic about how much you can afford to spend on a house, and ensure the intended mortgage is affordable. Don’t forget to allow for furnishings, and remember older properties may require work to be carried out. Make sure you budget for these expenses in addition to the purchase price. Allow for other fees such as legal work (conveyancing) and for stamp duty check out our easy to use calculator.
• Ask for a second opinion: When buying for the first time try to take an experienced home buyer with you when viewing a property. If this is difficult to arrange, make sure you get some assistance at the second viewing.
• Remember the bills: Budget for expenses such as council tax, utility and communication bills, boiler servicing, and other home repair items.
• Look at the local area: Even if you do not have children, remember that property in the catchment area of good local schools will always be much easier to sell on. What local amenities which are important to you (shops, gym, cinema etc)? Before making any final decision about where to move to, take a stroll or bike ride around the local area and consider different times of the day for traffic and noise level.
• Check transport links: Consider the availability of public transport services, like local bus routes or the frequency of train services.

We could write a book about first time buyer process, pitfalls, tips and tricks and if you are looking for a truckful of info please GET IN TOUCH. For the super condensed but still super version CLICK HERE!