FIRST TIME BUYER

Buying a home for the first time can be daunting when you don't have the right kind of help.  Our first time buyers’ advice is structured around the issues that you're likely to face and contains valuable information, including your mortgage, finding legal services and planning your move.

Taking the first step
Let's face it, when it comes to the crunch, getting enough money together to buy your first home can be tough. So the first step usually starts with figuring out how much it will cost and whether you can afford it.
Top of the list is working out what size of mortgage you can afford. You can use our Mortgage calculator to estimate the mortgage costs on a property of your choice.

Mortgage Advice
We advise seeking independent financial advice when arranging a mortgage as all Mortgages are not the same and our experience shows that there are significant variations. We have excellent relations with several reputable lenders and we would be delighted to put you in contact with them if necessary. We highly recommend arranging a mortgage “Agreement in Principle”, before making an offer on a property.

Agreement in Principle
There are three good reasons to arrange an Agreement in Principle:

• When making an offer on a property, you'll have the confidence that you can realistically put your money where your mouth is. Just bear in mind that the Agreement in Principle is likely to be dependent on the information you supply being correct and on a satisfactory valuation of the property.
• It proves to estate agents and vendors that you are serious about buying.
• You'll know if you have any issues with your credit, before you make an offer on a property. Many people don't realise they have a credit problem until their full mortgage application is turned down.

Your deposit
If you are like most first time buyers, you'll be trying to save up the deposit required to buy your first home. After all, it can be expensive enough just paying for your day to day living expenses. The minimum deposit depends on who you arrange your mortgage with. It's usually between 5% and 10% of the property's value. While there are some lenders who don't ask for a deposit (often called 100% mortgages), the interest rate you will be charged can be higher, as lenders consider it a greater risk.
If you can put down a bigger deposit, you might find you are offered a better rate of interest. Plus you could avoid paying a higher lending charge (this is the fee charged by some lenders to protect them in case you can't keep up the repayments on your mortgage).
On the subject of fees, don't forget all the other upfront costs involved in moving when you work out the size of deposit you can afford.

Making an offer
Brilliant, at last you have found the home you truly want.
Make your offer verbally, unless you are told to put it in writing, then hold tight.
Your offer will either be accepted, rejected or you'll have to wait until other potential buyers have made their offers. Be prepared to negotiate if they do. If a property has been on the market for some time, you might find your offer is accepted quickly.

Your offer hasn't been accepted?
If you can't afford to make a higher offer you may need to start your property search again. 

Your offer's accepted?
Well done! Now visit your bank or mortgage advisor to arrange your mortgage.
Remember your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Finding a Conveyancer
You'll need to find a conveyancer (a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer) to complete all the legal work for you. This is one person you can and should depend on throughout the whole process, so take your time finding someone you feel you can rely on. This trusty individual is the key person in making your purchase a reality.
Your conveyancer will check all aspects of the legal title to the property to make sure it is good and marketable.
This will include:

• Carrying out searches such as the local authority search and land registry search.
• Advice on the contract and raise enquiries with the seller's conveyancer with regard to legal aspects of the property.
• Looking into legal terms that affect the property.
• Complete all the legal work involved in the transfer of ownership, preparing the transfer document that you will sign.
• Advise you on the mortgage and prepare the mortgage deed.
  In many cases they act for the lender too, approving the legal title.
• All in all, your conveyancer will handle all legal work from the start, through the exchange of contracts to final completion. 

The contract
The contract contains all the terms of the transaction, it is prepared in duplicate and one copy is signed by the buyer and one by the seller. When both sides are ready, the two signed contracts are exchanged by each side's conveyancers. At the same time your conveyancer hands over the agreed deposit you've paid to them.  The contract usually provides for this to be 10% of the purchase price but it can be less if the seller agrees. The contract is not binding until the actual exchange has taken place. Once that happens, the agreed date for completion is set and the transaction can proceed towards that.

How long will it all take?
This depends on a number of factors that can vary considerably from case to case. A standard transaction, with no complications, will normally take about six to ten weeks. You should expect 6-8 weeks to get to exchange of contracts, at which point the transaction is legally binding and then another 2-4 weeks between exchange of contracts and completion.

Delays can arise for a number of reasons e.g. how long the chain of transactions is, problems getting mortgages agreed, waiting for information from the other sides lawyers etc. Generally speaking the longer the chain of buyers and sellers the more dependencies there are and the more likely that there will be a delay at some point.

We will always endeavour to move the transaction along on your instructions, as quickly as possible, but we cannot offer any guarantees on time scales and we would advise you to be cautious about anybody that does.

Costs of conveyancers
Costs can differ quite remarkably from one conveyancer to another, and depending on the price of your property. The best way to find a good one is through recommendation, so ask around and remember, sometimes it's worth paying a little bit more for the peace of mind it brings.

Insurance
Some conveyancers now offer an insurance policy with their work, which covers you financially should your offer fall through. It protects you from that bad (though uncommon) predicament known as gazumping. This is when you are out-bid by a rival buyer. As well as losing your desired home, you lose money already spent on the conveyancing process. It doesn't happen often and there is cover available to you. Ask your conveyancer for more details.
Whoever you choose, don't be afraid to chase them - especially to get your paperwork moving!

Getting Insurance
Buying and owning your own home are big commitments and it's very sensible to take precautions in case things go wrong. Make it a priority to arrange cover as soon as possible.
The main types of insurance you should consider when buying a property are:
Contents.
Buildings.
Mortgage payment protection.
Life cover and critical illness cover.
In the majority of cases, your mortgage provider will make it a condition of your mortgage offer that you take out buildings insurance. 
Remember that cheaper is not always better - make sure the cover is sufficient for what you need.

When do I get the keys?
The solicitors acting for the person that you are buying the property from cannot release the keys until they have received the money. On the day of completion the monies for the purchase are sent to the sellers solicitors via the Bank’s telegraphic transfer system, the money transfer normally takes 30 minutes but depending on the how busy the bank’s systems are on that particular day it can sometimes take up to 4 hours. We will always try to transfer the monies as early on completion day as possible.

Where do I collect the keys?
Normally the estate agent that is dealing for the seller will have the keys and will release them to you on instruction from the seller’s solicitor on the day of completion.

Moving In
There are lots of things you can do to make your move painless. From the simple things like getting handy boxes to transport your stuff, to trickier considerations like arranging who looks after your kids or pets if you have any.
On your final viewing of the property, remember to take a tape measure along. You'll thank yourself later, when you're looking at sofas or measuring curtains.
Start early and do a clear out. Your local charity shop assistant may become your new best friend!
When the big day approaches, make sure your estate agent has arranged for the keys to be available and always remember to take up-to-date meter readings on the day.

Co-Ownership Housing

Co-Ownership is a government funded way to get onto the property ladder if you could not afford to buy a home otherwise.

You choose the property, they purchase it for you and then share ownership with you, where you start off with as large a share as you can afford.

Mostly they help first time buyers, but people who have owned a home in the past can use Co-Ownership if their circumstances warrant.

Whatever your circumstances, they must be satisfied that you cannot afford to buy the property on the open market and that you will be able to keep up the financial commitments involved.

There are limits on the top price of Co-Ownership property in every council area. These limits are reviewed regularly.  All properties are subject to valuation.