Navigating the home buying process as a first-time buyer can be daunting. There are so many costly mistakes you could make and many go into it without support from anyone with the knowledge and experience for the process. But many of the most common first-time buyer mistakes can be avoided if you are aware of them or if you have someone to help you along the way. Here are a few major pitfalls and how to evade them.
This article does not constitute advice. Professional advice should be taken prior to acting on any part of it. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
Rejected mortgage application
One of the first steps you should take when deciding to buy a home is to get your finances in order. This includes checking your credit report and taking care of any issues you can fix easily.
You can ask to remove items that shouldn’t be on your report or ask for corrections if there are items that are no longer representative of your current situation. Anything you can do ahead of time to ensure your application won’t be rejected now will make the process easier.
Stick to your budget
Saving enough to put towards a deposit is usually the focus for home-buyers, but another common mistake people make is forgetting to save enough for all the fees associated with buying a home.
Don’t forget to budget for:
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), if you’re buying a property worth more than £300,000 in England or Northern Ireland (or Land and Buildings Tax in Scotland and Land Transaction Tax in Wales)
- Mortgage arrangement fees, which can cost thousands of pounds
- Solicitor or conveyancing fees
- Insurance, including buildings insurance (which is essential to secure a mortgage).
These incidentals can add up, so you need to ensure you’ve saved up enough to cover them all.
Going through the process by yourself
Most first-time buyers attempt to manage the whole mortgage and home-buying process on their own despite experts being readily available to help.
Working with a professional is one of the best decisions you can make. They can help you:
- understand how much you can afford to borrow and repay on a monthly basis based on your financial circumstances
- recommend certain mortgage providers and even specific deals based on what’s right for you
- help you create a plan to save a bigger deposit or money for extra fees
- help you budget to meet repayments in the event you secure your dream home.
Expert advice is particularly helpful for those in the medical field as many times there are special circumstances that require specialist lenders such as locum work or self-employment. Specialist financial advisers are connected to a professional network within the industry and they will be able to find products that aren’t available to the general public.
Often, the cost of professional help is offset by the money that can be saved by an expert during one of the most expensive purchases in your life.
Finding the right mortgage for you
Dental and Medical Financial Services have everything you need to make finding a mortgage a straightforward and easy process. For more information about how we can help you get on the property ladder, get in touch with us today.
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