You’ve heard that you need a small fortune as a deposit and a salary five rungs up the ladder from you to buy a house yet everyone else seems to be doing it. But how? Here are our top tips to actually getting on the property ladder.
- Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, we all move at different rates so what might be achievable for someone else might not be in your price range yet but it doesn’t mean it’ll never be.
Getting on the ladder is a huge achievement so you should be really excited that you’re even considering it so close instagram and open your calculator and let’s get started.
- Work forwards, not backwards, when seeing what your money can get you. Instead of jumping on a search engine and browsing the nicest flats in the hottest area, let’s start from a realistic perspective. Use our handy mortgage calculator to see how much you can borrow. The general rule of thumb is you can borrow around 4-5 times your salary so that’s a good place to start.
Once you have an idea of what you can borrow, resist the temptation to jump back on Rightmove until we’ve got through a couple more steps!
- Now you’ve worked out how much you can borrow let’s see how much you’d need to save. Saving for a property can seem really really daunting, especially if you haven’t even got started yet but there are lots of beneficial schemes to help you save and to reduce the amount you need.
You will need to save between 5% and 25% of the total house price, depending on your mortgage, your lender and if you take part in a government scheme. Read up on all the different schemes, what they mean and how they can help you here.
- Start saving! We have so many different and wonderful ways to save money for first time buyers, we are so lucky to have so many options available. If you find yourself really squeezed for spare cash then signing up to a bank account that has a savings account attached to it and they round up any spare change left over from your card payments so you don’t even notice you’re saving.
Granted, saving for a house in penny increments will take a while so look into ones with high interest rates or you can open a deposit account or take a look at our tips on how to save.
- Now you’ve got your deposit on it’s way and you know how much you can borrow, you can start the really fun bit – setting your non-negotiables. These are your hard nos when it comes to the property you want as a home and will help you to narrow down your search.
Think about the things that are really important to you and the things you’re happy to compromise on. For example, you might be adamant you want outside space but would be happy with a balcony or shared courtyard over a private garden. You might be desperate to be close to a tube station but happy to live a bit further from a park. If you have a pet or are thinking about getting one, include their needs in your choices too – do they need daily walks or runs? If you have, or are planning to have children soon, then factoring in your catchment area is an important step.
- Start looking!! Use a search tool like Rightmove or Zoopla and plug in your parameters. Our advice is start with a broad location setting as you might be surprised how much your money gets you in an area you hadn’t considered before.
- If you’re looking in a few different areas, you’ll be speaking with a lot of different estate agents about a number of different properties so keep track of everything with a spreadsheet.
- When you’re on viewings, take into consideration what that place will be like at different times of the day or year. For example, you’re viewing the place after work but during the weekend it might be a busy thoroughfare; is the area known for flooding or are there big developments planned that could create congestion?
Think about your commute – even if you’re not going into work everyday anymore, map how you get to your parents or best friends house. If it’s a long walk from the station, is it a nice walk? Do you have shelter in case of heavy rain? All these things will affect your day to day life in your new property so worth thinking about. Now will be a good time to review your non-negotiables.
- You will come across a lot of jargon you haven’t heard before so get brushed up on the jargon!
- Once you’ve found your dream home, it’s time to put in an offer – eeeek! Make sure you offer within your budget and don’t over stretch yourself. Buying a home costs more than the price of the property. If you think you’ll find yourself in a bidding war or the owners might push back on your offer then start below your maximum budget so you have a bit of room to work in.
- Congratulations! You’ve had an offer accepted! If you did the steps before, you will have a broker already but if not, speak to a broker. Now you’ll need a solicitor and surveyor to make sure the contracts are in place and the house is structurally sound. These things can take a couple of weeks to go through but don’t be alarmed, this is totally normal.
- Once your survey is complete you can decide on a date for exchange and completion which is when the place is officially yours! We recommend getting home insurance, try comparing them here, and booking in your removals nice and early.
Using our First Time Buyers package, you’ll have access to a property expert to give advice on the types of properties you’re looking at, to help you with negotiations so you get the best price and an introduction to all our recommended partners. You can see the full list of what we offer here