Mortages

[Donkey]

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy our first home ( south east England ), between us our annual salary is about 45,000.. Anybody know any mortgage lenders that we could get a house worth around 200,000 and if so how much deposit would I have to put down to get this ( minimum ) and how much money should I have saved for stamp duty , solicitors fees etc.. Thanks

[Oneeyedvic]

Most lenders would consider your application - you are only looking at slightly over 4x dual salary. (this is on the basis that you can afford it).

Stamp duty on that price of house will be 1% - �2000.

Solicitors fees including searches - budget on �750

Deposit - ideally 5% or you may get extra charges

 

See a broker (most will not charge you) for more details. Eg: There are certain lenders who will lend you more on a fixed rate mortgage as opposed to a variable rate etc.

Hope this helps

[Mrs_Pegasus]

I live in a cheaper area of the country and shopped around for a solicitor and on a �100,000 house I was quoted �650 so maybe you should budget higher.

Lenders are getting a little nervous and are more likely to offer you a better rate if you can raise a 10% deposit or they may ask for an indemnity insurance which would ensure they would get 75% of the mortgage back should you default.  On a �100k property this was about �1500.

Dont forget the arrangement fee - around �400.

Searches can cost another �300 but this depends on the local authority.

Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch and whatever the offer you will end up paying for it in the long run.  Take a look at www.moneysupermarket.co.uk they give a true cost of a mortgage over the mortgage length and can be very enlightening.

Best thing to look at is how much you can comfortably afford each month, looking at your fixed costs such as council tax, and then look at how much you can borrow.  The lenders will offer you plenty but can you actually afford it and always work out what a 1/4% hike in rates would do to your monthly payments, keep adding the hikes and see if you would still be able to pay.

Good luck