YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE
Looking to buy your First Home?
When you look to buy your first home, you find yourself lovingly referred to as a ‘First Time Buyer’. Whatever your own situation, often unsolicited “helpful advice” is never far away from you. Whether it be your Dad’s retired accountant friend, or an “experienced” mate who has had their mortgage for the last 2 weeks, everyone will have some tips for you. Even the slightest mention of the term ‘First Time Buyer’ in a target driven bank will send the staff into an appointment booking frenzy trying to get you to speak to their banks adviser. You become just a number, a statistic. To top it all off you often have to wait ages for the appointment, take time off work to speak to them at least twice, sometimes 3 times, before finding out if the bank will even lend to you. What happens if they don’t want to lend to you? What if that late credit card bill or missed store card payment means that the adviser in the bank says nobody will lend to you? Could that mean the end of your property dream?
In short… Errr NO!
Buying your first home can be a real roller-coaster ride but it doesn’t have to be. It is true that it has never been more difficult to satisfy mortgage lenders that you are worth giving money to. To top it all, all the different mortgage lenders have slightly different guidelines as to who and what situations they will accept as a “good risk”. They will also all offer you different maximum amounts they will lend you!
What we do for you – ‘The First Time Buyer’
• We will collect and assess your personal information, identification and documentation to act as a ‘central processing unit’. This allows us to pre-check against different lenders requirements to ensure they will look at your case.
• Once we have discussed all relevant options with you we will then use the data we have to get your mortgage ‘Agreed In Principle’ (known as an ‘AIP’ or a ‘DIP’) with the chosen lender. Estate agents will often wish to see that funds are available before you offer on any property. The ‘Agreement in Principle’ or ‘Decision in Principle’ certificate is perfect for this.
• We will help you work out what costs you will incur throughout the process and when that is likely to be. We also have a working relationship with many different national legal conveyancers who we can put you in touch with.
• We will liaise with your Estate Agent to support you helping the transaction to run as smoothly as possible. We act as your champion at all times.
• Ensure your new home and mortgage is fully protected for when you move in. We do this by completing a free insurance and protection review after you exchange contracts.
Securing a mortgage in this climate is difficult and one of the most common questions we get is ‘how much deposit do I need?’ The answer to this can depend on many things, which include your credit profile, property type and employment situation. There are schemes available where a deposit isn’t required and many lenders do offer 5% deposit mortgages. However, these schemes are all subject to set terms and conditions so please do contact us so we can go through your situation and let you know the options available.
Leanne has been a mortgage adviser for over 20 years, so has experience in dealing with more complex cases and varied situations. She will guide you every step of the way and look out for your interests as if you were family/friends.
