Top tips for first-time buyers

By Mark Dickety on

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Top tips for first-time buyers

If you’re a first-time buyer and keen to get on the housing ladder, there are a number of steps you can take to help you secure the home of your dreams and take the stress out of the moving process.

Here are our top tips for first-time buyers:

1. Check your affordability.

Our mortgage affordability and mortgage repayment calculators will show you what your monthly costs are likely to be and what size mortgage you could be offered – be prepared!

2. Use your savings.

By pumping some or all of your savings into your deposit, you’ll reduce your loan to value (LTV) ratio (the amount you need to borrow in relation to the price of your new home) and increase your chances of getting a better interest rate.

3. Overpay your mortgage.

If you want to reduce the interest you pay on your mortgage and clear your loan more quickly, use any disposable income to make higher repayments. Make sure you check out whether you’ll be penalised before overpaying first, although most lenders will allow you to overpay up to a certain limit of your outstanding balance each year.

4. See if you qualify for help.

There are several options that might be open to you to help you secure your dream home. Research Help to Buy, shared ownership and starter homes schemes to see if they apply to your purchase.

5. Budget and plan ahead.

Your mortgage lender will want to know you can afford your mortgage repayments so try to boost your deposit and cut out any unnecessary expenditure and improve your credit score before you apply.

6. Talk to a mortgage expert.

If you’re a first-time buyer our team of local expert mortgage advisers can help – call us on 08454 500200 or click here to make an enquiry.

 

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend upon your circumstances.
The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is £595.

Mark Dickety
Mark is an experienced Mortgage and Protection Adviser who has been providing mortgage advice since 2010. He thrives on finding the right solution for each of his clients' requirements ensuring they have the best experience possible.
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I would recommend using Mortgage Decisions as they made the process of choosing my first mortgage so easy to understand . They were very knowledgeable on all the products available ,but mostly they were prompt . Thank you in-particular to Toby and Louis.

  • 5 star review on TrustPilotLindsay B

Thank you, Kevin, and Beccy for a proactive service securing a better than expected mortgage rate.

  • 5 star review on TrustPilotSarah T

As a first time buyer, I was in the dark on how the process worked but having the support Beccy and Mark throughout made our journey a lot easier. Both friendly, approachable and knowledgeable a broker. I would recommend.

  • 5 star review on TrustPilotJonathan P

Kevin and Beccy have been extremely helpful - firstly in exploring viable options to suit my situation and secondly keeping me in the loop and dealing with queries that arose along the way. This is my second mortgage with them, both of which had possibly unusual elements and they were able to navigate me through them and find me good mortgages.

  • 5 star review on TrustPilotThea E

Jack and Russell were absolutely amazing and helped me secure my first mortgage with no problems at all. As a first time and solo buyer it is all very daunting but they explained everything to me and I could trust that I was in good hands regarding the securing of my mortgage offer. Their communication was brilliant as I usually had a response to any questions within a day and my mortgage offer came through so fast. Thank you!

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