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First time buyer guide

You have decided to get yourself on the property ladder but what mortgage options are available to first time buyers.

Arranging a mortgage can be daunting when its your first time. We have arranged thousands of mortgages so we are in a great position to help you through the choices.

The home buying process:

Find out what you can borrow - Give us a call and we will confirm your borrowing limits
Get a Solicitor - Ask around for recommendations and then give them a call
Find a property - Get round to all the estate agents and make some friends. You now know what you can afford
Agree the price - Make your offer. Hooray!
Arrange the mortgage - Get back to us and we will help you with the paperwork
Advise your Solicitor - Let them know the details of the property
Paperwork time - Lots of mortgage and legal documents. Give us a call if you are unsure of anything
Mortgage offer - Official document stating the terms of the new loan (we will check this)
Contracts - Check these with your Solicitor to make sure all is well
Insurance - You need buildings insurance in place on exchange of contracts
Move in - On completion day the Solicitors transfer money between the parties and you get the house keys!

What are the costs?

The main costs of buying a home are:

Mortgage arrangement or administration fee - A fee levied by the mortgage company, sometimes this can be added to your mortgage.
Valuation fee - The cost of the mortgage company sending a Valuer to the property. Note this will not be a detailed survey and other options are available.
Stamp duty - A Government tax when you purchase property or land. The rate ranges from 1-4% depending on the property price.
Legal fees - The charges levied by your Solicitor or Conveyancer. This will be the conveyancing charge plus land registry fees and local search fees. The Solicitor will also collect and pay the Stamp Duty levy.
Broker fee - The fee charged by your mortgage broker for advising and arranging your mortgage
Removal costs - Don't forget to factor in the cost of a removal firm plus boxes, packaging and tape

Mortgage choices

There are lots of different mortgage types but we specialise in mortgages so we can help you to decide which one is best.

The basic mortgage types:

Variable rate - The standard variable rate (SVR). Your payments will increase or decrease inline with interest changes
Discounted rate - Normally the SVR less a discount percentage for a fixed period of time. Your payments will increase or decrease inline with interest changes
Tracker rate - This rate will follow the Bank of England Base Rate (BBR) or another clearing banks base rate. Sometimes a tracker will be combined with a discount. Your payments will increase or decrease inline with interest changes.
Fixed rate - As the name suggests your interest rate and payments are fixed for a set period.
Capped rate - This is not commonly available. This is a variable rate that will not go above a pre-determined ceiling rate (the cap).

You will also need to choose between a repayment or interest only mortgage (or a combination of both).

Other options

Other mortgage options to consider are:

Overpayments
Underpayments
Offset
Portability
Penalty free

So which mortgage is best?

It is impossible to say until we have discussed your current situation and what you want your new mortgage to do. Our advisers will discuss your options in detail and guide you to the most appropriate option.

Protection and insurance

You need to have buildings insurance in place if you have a mortgage. Other cover is optional and you should consider its importance according to your own needs:

For more information, please complete our enquiry form or call 0800 316 5756 and speak to an adviser today.

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