Mortgage Information for First Time Home Buyers in the UK

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Mortgage Information for First Time Home Buyers in the UK

Buying a house is one of the most important purchases you will make, and buying a home for the first time will be an even more daunting prospect.

Add to this the vast array of mortgage products available from a wide range of sources, and you are left with a high-stress, confusing decision.

This site is intended to help you get to grips with how you go about searching for the right home, and how you can finance it.

To assist you, this section of the site has been broken down into a step-by-step guide, and should prove to be of great assistance as you decide on the correct choice of property and mortgage.

• A Guide to Property Chain - A broken chain is one of the phrases guaranteed to terrify anyone selling their home. But what is a broken chain? What is a chain in the first place? And how do you go about fixing a broken property chain?
• Buying a House vs Renting - Is purchasing a house the right decision for you?

• Borrowing Capacity - Before looking for a house, you have to understand how much you can spend on it. We begin by helping you work out how much you can afford.

• Searching for a House - We explain how you go about finding the right house, and what factors you should consider when deciding on a property.

• Paying for it! - As an independent mortgage broker, we can compare the range of mortgage products available from high street banks and financial institutions and find the best borrowing option for you.

• 10 Tips for the first time buyer - A few things to consider

• How do interest rates affect mortgage repayments? - As a first-time buyer, knowing as much as possible about interest rates and how they affect your mortgage repayments could help in securing the most competitive deal.
• Interest only or repayment mortgage? - First time buyers should be aware of the two types of repayments they can make on their mortgage.
• First time buyers - mortgage planning - It is essential that there is forward planning to ensure first time buyers can save enough for a deposit and meet mortgage repayments.
• First time buyer shared mortgages - With house prices increasing year on year, first time buyers are turning to shared mortgages to set foot on the property ladder.
• First Time Buyer FAQs - Common queries from first time buyers answered.

Mortgage Types

There are a variety of different mortgage types on the market. The following guides may help first-time buyers to choose the most suitable type of mortgage loan for their purposes. Mortgage types for first-time buyers:

• Fixed-rate mortgages
• Tracker mortgages
• Capped rate mortgages
• Variable rate mortgages
• Discount variable rate mortgages
• Offset mortgages
• Self certification mortgages
• Graduate mortgages
• Getting a mortgage with friends

Mortgage Costs and Expenses

To work out how much mortgage you can afford, please use our mortgage calculator.

As a first-time buyer, it is always essential to bear in mind that a mortgage loan comes with a variety of other costs. These can include mortgage fees, as well as any of the following:

• Stamp Duty
• Legal fees
• Land registry
• Mortgage indemnity guarantee
• Lender’s valuation
• Survey fee
• Buildings insurance
• Removal firm

Please see our PDF of additional first-time buyer extra mortgage costs.

Another important thing to remember when choosing a mortgage loan is the interest rate at which the lender will give you a mortgage. This will vary depending on the types of mortgage you choose. For instance, a fixed-rate mortgage will be set at a certain level of interest for a certain amount of time, whilst a tracker mortgage will go up and down with the Bank of England base interest rate.

First-time buyers often don’t consider having mortgage life insurance, home insurance or mortgage payment protection insurance an essential extra costs. However, insurance does provide peace of mind, and some mortgage lenders will insist that borrowers have certain types of insurance, including:

• Life insurance
• Home insurance
• Mortgage payment protection insurance

First-time buyers also need to know about home information packs.

For a regularly updated first-time buyer news archive, please click here.

Calculate your monthly mortgage payments with our mortgage calculator.

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