Wednesday 15 June 2016

I'm off to buy a house



Entering the world of house buying is a rather scary prospect.
Mortgage, variables, interest, solicitors, surveys, terms, advisors, lenders…..just a number of words that are thrown your way in a short space of time.
This blog, and the following 2, are about my experience, good & bad, of purchasing a property.


There are a number of ways you can get your journey to being a home owner underway (to name a few);
View properties to get an idea of the type of home you are looking for.
Speak to an advisor to see how much you are likely to see as a maximum mortgage lend.
Decide on the sort of property you want (1/2/3 bed, house/flat etc.) and look at prices in the area/s you wish to live.

After moving back to my parents’ house after my third stint of renting away from home, I looked at the money I had spent on renting to just end up back where I started once again and realised what a waste it had been. So I made the decision that the next time I moved out it would be to buy my own place. The jouney had begun.

After saving for a while, I was in a bank and speaking with an advisor about my account, when I was  asked if there was anything else I needed help with. Deciding to make the most of this, I asked if I could have a chat about mortgages, I was then passed to a colleague who looked at my finances and gave me some figures which that bank would be able to offer me. With thanks I left with “some” knowledge towards my first mortgage.

Some time later I found a property that looked great in the advert with an unbelievably low price, I called to book a viewing and went to see the place that weekend. To say love at first sight is pretty much how it went! The place was incredible and the price they wanted for it was amazing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to be able to afford it, but I did have a bar set for subsequent places I viewed. I still need to have a look at how much it eventually sold for and if there were any issues found on survey as it was an absolute steal!

After some more saving I started to look into places with a bit more gusto! I had decided that 2016 would be the year I moved out and jumped onto the property ladder, now I just had to find my first home.
Viewings came and went and, to be honest, I was beginning to lose hope rather rapidly. It’s amazing how many places that need “Tender Loving Care” would be better serviced with a wrecking ball. I know estate agents want the sale but surely they can look at a place and tell the seller that some things need changing.
Just a quick list of some things to look for when you are viewing properties:

Damp: I saw a few properties that had visible damp and damage from previous damp. And to be told that “all old properties will have damp” is utter baloney! A house that has been cared for will stand the test of time. Plus the fact that mortgage lenders will have a hissyfit if they discover damp when they carry out their viewing prior to offering you the money. I have friends who bought a property which had a damp issue and had to pay in excess of £2000 to get it fixed before the lender would give them the full amount they asked for.
Space: Sounds simple enough but check the kitchen for cupboards/drawers, the living room for putting sofa, chairs, tv unit in, bedroom for bed, wardrobe, drawers/dresser.
Interior: Check for cracks in the walls and windowframes. If it’s double glazed (and I hope it is) is there condensation in between the glass, this could show that the insulation has blown. Check that taps work at a good pressure and the hot heats up quickly, to show a working boiler.
Area: Try to view the property a few times to get a feel for the area. Is there a lot of traffic? Is it near a pub with a late licence? And try to go at different times so that you can see how much light the property gets in the morning/afternoon, if the weatherman is friendly then you may be able to see it in rain (check for leaks/damp/flooding) & wind and in the sunshine.

Now that my house buying was picking up speed and I was looking at more properties I decided to go and see a mortgage advisor. This is someone who will basically do the hard work for you (albeit for a fee) and guide you through what is essentialy just a lot of jargon and effort as you approach mortgage lenders and try to get the money needed for a property.
The person I spoke to asked me a lot of questions with regards to my incomings and outgoings to get an idea of how much I would be able to afford and fed this into a database. He then applied the same info onto lenders websites to see what offer they would potentially return with. It turned out that I was looking at a pretty measly sum of money, in the grand scheme of things (60k would be a lovely Lotto win!), even with a fairly nice chunk for a deposit.

So I headed back to the drawing board with an idea of the sort of house prices I could look at.
This is when I started looking into the fairly new concept of Shared Ownership. A scheme aimed at helping people who will struggle to get onto the property ladder whilst not having to fall into the renting trap.
Basically, you buy a portion of the property, usually in 25% increments, and pay rent on the rest. Making it more affordable on the mortgage as you only have to borrow a smaller amount, although you must remember that lenders will take into account the rent portion as an essential outgoing which affects your finances and the amount you will be offered.

With this new tactic in place, the hunt was back on…

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