Buying a Home

Buying a home or a share in a home is a big step and a big financial commitment – probably the biggest most of us will take. It’s an exciting time too, but remember to take it one step at a time, always keeping an eye on what you can safely afford. After all, your home could be repossessed by your lender if you don’t make your mortgage repayments.

What will it cost?

• Your earnings and any savings will dictate the size of mortgage you can apply for. The bigger the mortgage, the higher your monthly repayments. But the bigger deposit you can pay the less your mortgage could be. Remember that mortgage rates can vary and the cost of your repayments could go up or down.
• You will have to pay for a survey on the property, or a mortgage valuation and there will be legal fees and stamp duty land tax (SDLT) to pay (if the cost of the property exceeds £125,000).
• If you are a first-time buyer the threshold for when you start to pay SDLT is £250,000. This is only if you have never owned a house or flat in the UK or anywhere else in the world. If you are buying with someone else they must never have owned property before either. This higher threshold applies to purchases made on or after 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012.
• There could be removal costs and connection charges for gas and electricity supplies.

What are the monthly costs?

Every month you will need to pay:

• mortgage repayment to your mortgage lender
• rent to the housing association – if you have bought through Newbuild HomeBuy
• any service charge or management fee for services to communal areas that are often charged for flats. These might include caretaking to communal areas
• bills such as water rates, gas, electricity and council tax.
• buildings insurance.

How do I buy a home?

The list covers the main stages of buying a house in England and Wales which can take about 12 weeks.

We advise you to seek the help of an Independant Financial Advisor (IFA) before you consider buying a home.

1. Work out how much you can afford – If you are buying through a HomeBuy Scheme we will calculate the amount you should be looking to borrow, which is affordable.
2. Get a mortgage agreement – your lender should give you an idea of what they are able to lend you
3. Choose your home – making a list of exactly what you’re looking for can help
4. Engage a solicitor – this is necessary for carrying out searches to ensure the land belong to who the owner says it does or whether any building work is planned nearby
5. Make an offer to the vendor
6. Ask your lender to arrange a valuation and organize a survey to check the price is fair and the house isn’t hiding any nasty surprises like damp or subsidence
7. Instruct your solicitor to begin the legal work
8. Arrange any necessary insurances
9. Finalise your mortgage offer with your lender
10. Exchange contracts and any deposits
11. Organise your move
12. Sign the contract – and the house is yours!

Warning!

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
If you pay a deposit to a seller (or developer) this is at your own risk.