First time buying

[Sugar_Kane]

Hi everyone

After 7 years of renting my boyfriend and I are desperate to buy a place of our own. We are both in secure jobs with good potential (earning 19k and 16.5k). We have no kids and no serious debts.

Having used a few online mortgage calculators I think we could get a mortgage for around 100-120k.

My question is this......is it absolutely essential to have a deposit? If so how much is this usually?

Also can anyone tell me roughly how much we would need in savings to cover the initial costs involved in buying (solicitors fees/charges/searches etc)

We're really keen to get on the property ladder but finding it all a bit daunting!

Thanks in advance :o)

[jake-the-peg]

The problem you face at the moment regarding buying without a deposit is that right now the proprty market in much of the country is looking a little uncertain.

I wouldn't expect a crash but it may be close to a peak which means that if you buy now with 100% mortgage you could be in the situation where your place is worth less than your mortgage - this is negative equity.

If you get into that position you'll find that you're stuck. You can't sell the place because you can't get enough to pay off the mortgage and if cou can't keep up the payments because one of you can't work it could get reposessed.

Remember in this process to ask yourselves what vested interests the people advising you have - are they hoping to sell you a mortgage/house/services etc. If so that doesn't mean what they say is untrue, they may just not give you negative information.

Good luck

[pingping]

if I were you I would keep an eye on the interest rates as the Bank of England (BoE) is meant to be dropping them in Feb in order to try and head off a recession. No point in getting a 'mortgage in principle' until the rates have steadied for a bit as it will make a big difference to what you can afford to buy.

whatever you do make sure you get a FIXED RATE mortgage and NOT a tracker rate as this will fluctuate from month to month following the BoE's rates.

You will need to pay stamp duty on your property if it costs more than �120,000. (see below for thresholds:

Up to �120,000 - nil
�120,001 to �250,000 - 1% of property value
�250,001 to �500,000 - 3%
More than �500,000 - 4%

solictors fees are around �400-500 pounds but vary. you should pay for a homebuyers survey which will tell you if anything is wrong with your property (go for the best one you can afford as there are several different types - the more expensive the more info they will tell you). expect to pay around �300 for a farily decent survey.

you will not have to pay estate agent fees as these are always paid by the seller of a property and not the buyer.

searches are really cheap (can't remember how much but about �30 for each one).

hope this helps and good luck, but bear in mind what jake-the-peg and I have said about the current market!

[leeandjoanne]

hi , we have brought for 2 and a half years now and the good news is most mortgage lenders will give you 100 % mortgage , its just a second mortgage you need a deposit for . also i advise you to see a independant financial advisor . Im sure when we took out ours all those extras got added to the mortgage to help us on our way . A independant finacial advisor will help you on this ours even filled out all of our paperwork ! if you have a bradleys in your area you should find one in there !! good luck

[parkesquay]

Really check on how much you have to pay up front in addition to the price of the property. You may find a solicitor that will only charge �500+vat for a purchase but you will still have to pay for a HIPs(can be as low as �250(check with your solicitors fees list)plus your mortgage lender will almost certainly require you to pay for a survey.
It may however, be worth you looking at 50/50 purchase through a new property builder such as Persimmon or Barratt etc.
3 x salary is the norm but is is possible to get higher than that.