First-time buyers’ guide

1. Introduction

There’s a lot to take in when buying your first home. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, wading through an avalanche of online first-time buyer guides. It’s even easier to get distracted by adverts and pop-ups: rabbit holes down which you could do without disappearing.

Our first-time buyer guide is available for you here (PDF), in a safe, distraction-free environment.

View our first-time buyers’ PDF guide

We are FCA-accredited brokers. We don’t need (or want) to overload you with adverts for irrelevant products or send you to another website. You can get everything you need from our team. It’s just you, the guide and us.

With that said, we’ll leave you to get your head around buying your first home, from pre-application preparation to mortgage completion, and beyond. To make sure this guide is for you, here’s an overview of what we’ve included:

Make the right first impression on your prospective mortgage lender

As a first-time buyer, you must prepare for the journey to home ownership. This means thinking about your financial history, your creditworthiness, and post-mortgage preparation.

Utilise the options open to you

People new to mortgages assume that the bank with whom they have their current account, and maybe an overdraft and credit card, is the best option. ‘Your’ bank is appraised of your financial situation first-hand. So it makes sense, right? Not necessarily.

2. Factors to consider

A mortgage is the biggest financial commitment most of us will ever make. Both focusing your mindset and questioning your readiness will help you decide if it’s the right time for you to take out your first mortgage:

• Are you willing to do what it takes to repay your mortgage?
• Is it the right time for you to buy?
• The ‘worst-case scenario’ scenario
• What is “Loan-to-value” (LTV) and why is it important?
• Accepting the responsibility of your investment
• How much deposit do you need?

3. First mortgage preparedness: the Dos and Don’ts

It’s easy to be complacent about buying a home. But there are many factors, mostly surrounding your finances and credit score, that you need to get right before applying.

We consider everything, from getting on the electoral roll to leaving the new Smartphone upgrade until after your mortgage completes. Showing lenders your financial stability by comfortably living within your means will help you show them you’re serious about money, commitment and repaying debt.

4. Jargon Buster

Do you know your ERCs from AIPs? What’s the difference between the BEBR and SDLT? Do you know what all the fees you’ll be asked to pay are for?

We explain the most frequent terms used in the application process to help ensure you walk into the deal with your eyes open.

5. Mortgage types and repayment methods

Not only are there 1,000s of first-time buyer mortgages on the market, but the ways you can repay are numerous, too.

First, you’ll need to decide whether a capital & interest (repayment) mortgage works better for you than interest only.

Then, you’ll need to decide whether a fixed rate, tracker, discount, capped, offset or standard variable rate is right for you. And don’t forget cashback and 95% LTV mortgages, too.

We break down what each of them means to give you your full range of options.

6. Fees: what, why and when

In our ‘Jargon Buster’, you’ll have learnt what the fees mean. In this section, we put them in a timeline against your mortgage, as well as explaining who’s responsible for their execution.

7. Getting your mortgage

These are the action points, and what involvement you’ll play in actioning them.

First, we look at the benefits of getting your Agreement in Principle (AIP). Then we look at how a mortgage broker can help position you for success, including showing you in the best light to a potential lender.

You’ll learn:

• The documentation you need to support your application
• The mortgage term best suited to your circumstances
• Why a lender might refuse a mortgage based on the property type
• How joint mortgages work
• The possibilities of renting out your property once you’ve bought it

Summary

The intention of this first-time buyer’s guide is to highlight what you need to know to buy your first home without getting too technical.

If you use a mortgage broker, they’ll do the bulk of communication with the lender for you as well as interpreting anything overtly technical into layman’s terms.

We figure that, when buying your first home, you have enough to contend with without having to become a mortgage expert, to boot.

Download our first-time buyer’s guide, with no obligation on your part whatsoever. When you’ve got your ducks in a row, or if there’s anything you’re still unsure of, reach out to us. We’d love to help turn your dream of homeownership into reality.

No matter whether you have a permanent job or have specialised income, we’re ready to get our expertise behind you to help get you across the threshold. Be brave, and good luck!!

View our First Time Buyer PDF Guide