How to Buy Your First Home

I thought I’d share with you my story on how I purchased my first home as it’s something I spent a lot of time researching when I first started out. I wanted to see a timeline of exactly where I should start looking first, and steps on how things should go. My partner and I both purchased our first property at the age of 20, with the average UK first time buyer being aged 34, I am pretty proud to say the least. 

All I wanted when getting onto the property ladder was to be able to understand the stages of purchasing a house, such as saving for a deposit and understanding the process of how to buy a house, how a mortgage works, what a mortgage broker is, not to mention interest rates etc. Unfortunately there is nothing quite like it out there, you aren’t taught things like ‘how to buy a house’ or ‘how to open a savings account’ at school, college or university and to be quite honest I really think we should! 

I really could have done with a handy blog post to tell me just that and therefore I will try my hardest to spread my knowledge and help others, as it really is one of the most daunting things that I have accomplished so far. 

So where do I begin. Buying your first home is pretty scary, and one of the things that made me reluctant to start house hunting is that I thought it was going to be an almost impossible process. I’d heard many horror stories about how difficult finding the perfect home can be, and how the whole mortgage application process can be a nightmare. There’s also the risk of things falling through, gazumping, and losing money on all of the fees you’ve paid out to solicitors etc. 

What I found most helpful was the First Time Buyers Guide on the Money Saving Expert website. You can view it online or you can also order a free copy to be posted to you.. it makes good bedtime reading! Although to be honest, there is no exact timeline. Things happen at different stages for everyone, but I thought I’d share my version!

First of all you need to save your hard earned pennies. My partner and I both decided from a young age to dedicate all of our earnings to save for a deposit. It was something we had always been passionate about and didn’t wish to go travelling or spend our money elsewhere, therefore we were both solely dedicated to buying our first house. I must also add that we were both fortunate enough to both be living at home with my parents at the time for saving for our deposit, therefore we had little to no outgoings (I of course understand that not everyone will be so lucky). 

First things first, I would suggest taking the time to have a good think over the following questions:

– Where is it that you would like to live?

– How much is the house going to cost?

– How much of a deposit would you like to put down?

After you have answered all of the above, start a plan of how much you are able to save each month, this will help you visualise your plan and give yourself a goal to work towards. 

As a very rough example say you are looking at purchasing a £300,000 house and you are looking to put down a 10% deposit (This is the minimum deposit amount allowed, unless buying a new build) and for the sake of this calculation say you and your partner both earn £20,000 a year. 

£40,000 combined income before tax 

£17,242 roughly each after tax = £34,484 combined income

£2,873pcm combined 

£200 food

£200 petrol 

£400 clothes 

£200 miscellaneous 

£1,500 rent and bills 

Total spent = £2,500

Meaning £373 left to save and put towards your deposit!

Using the above calculation you would have £373 to save each month totalling £4,476 per year saved. Fast forward 5 years and you would be able to afford a £22,380 deposit! And just think if you were still living at home with both food and accommodation paid for:

£40,000 combined income before tax 

£17,242 roughly each after tax = £34,484 combined income

£2,873pcm combined 

£200 petrol 

£400 clothes 

£200 miscellaneous 

Total spent = £800

Meaning £2,073 left 

Using the above calculation you would have £2,073 to save each month totalling £24,876 per year saved. That is just for one year! You could buy a house in just ONE year!! 

Just a quick side note, when thinking about saving for a house, why not cut down on the takeaways, coffees, the lunchtime meal deals and unnecessary clothes. They all add up TRUST me!

Well you’ve now hit your savings target (woohoo), now what?

Step 1. Time to find the right mortgage broker, this part is optional however I would highly recommend as applying and finding a mortgage is complicated! I couldn’t thank the Oxford Mortgage Company enough for their help and support that they gave to both Flynn and I as first time buyers, not to mention being self-employed with only one years of accounts (Probably not their favourite client) Let’s just say that they worked a miracle. 

Step 2. Now it’s time to get a decision in principle (DIP) a decision in principle is a written estimate or statement made by a lender to say how much money they would lend you if you were to buy a property. It is basically an estimate of how much they think you will be able to borrow. This then gives yourself an idea on what properties to be looking for. Just a note to keep in mind that some estate agents may also ask for proof of a DIP before booking yourself in for a property viewing.

Step 3. The fun part! You can start looking for your dream home. Sites such as Zoopla, RightMove and On The Market are the best places to look and have a wide variety of properties available. Make sure to view a variation of properties and a little top tip is to always remember to look slightly above your price range as you can always make a cheeky offer! 

Step 4. After spending hours down the rabbit hole which is Zoopla and you have found a few houses which you would like to view; it is time to ring the estate agent advertising the property and ask them to get you booked in for a viewing and away you go! I myself found our property advertised with a local estate agent called DOMVS. They were incredibly patient and an absolute pleasure to work with, I would highly recommend. 

Step 5. Now that you have viewed the property and have fallen in love, it is time to make an offer. Talk with your mortgage broker and show them the figures. They will be able to tell you how much to offer and what would work with the amount of money you will have saved for your down payment. Usually you will need a 10% deposit at the very least. As soon as your finances have been sorted and confirmed, time to contact the estate agent (EXITING!).

Step 6. The best feeling in the world your offer has been accepted (Pinch me moment). Next up you will need to provide the estate agents with photo ID, bank statements, proof of decision in principle, and wage slips. This is just so that they can see that the offer is genuine and affordable for the buyer, and that you aren’t just a time waster! 

Step 7. Now to find a solicitor. Usually your estate agents will recommend a handful, I would suggest not just going for the cheapest solicitor and to find one that is local to you. That way you can feel like you ‘know’ them and you can just pop over if you have any issues. Well all I can say is make sure you do your research! Check out reviews, ask your friends and family who they have used, and try and get genuine recommendations.

Step 8. Getting your mortgage application approved… After providing lots more paperwork, bank statements, and wage slips, your mortgage will hopefully be officially approved! In an ideal world you will be offered the full amount that you need, so along with your deposit you will be able to afford the property you wanted. The whole mortgage application process can be easier than you think when using a broker, as it means that they will do all of the hard work for you!

Step 8. Trying to arrange a completion date and exchange contracts. Until you exchange contracts, neither side has any legal obligation to buy or sell the property, and both can pull out without any penalty. So by this stage after being so far into the process, the last thing you want is for anything to go wrong. Completion can vary in time and really depends on your personal circumstances however a rough ballpark figure is that there is usually 14-28 days before completion. This is also the part where you will need to pay your deposit to your solicitor in preparation to complete..

Step 9. Picking up the keys! You are now officially a homeowner, congratulations! Once the deal is complete the estate agent will ring you to arrange a suitable time for key collection. Super exciting and a day you will remember forever. It is one of the most rewarding feelings and is quite unbelievable, you should be super proud. 

I would love to hear other people’s house buying experiences and welcome any helpful points on the process of buying your first home. It would be great to hear whether this blog post has helped and inspired you to start saving for yours! 

Mortgage Broker – https://oxfordmortgagecompany.co.uk 

Estate Agents – https://www.domvs.co.uk 

Zoopla – https://www.zoopla.co.uk 

Rightmove – https://www.rightmove.co.uk 

On the market – https://www.onthemarket.com