Levene Chartered Surveyors Property Tips and Advice

First Time Buyers

Over the past few years, the property market has been moving very fast and has led to significant increases in property prices. This has made it very difficult for many people to afford to buy a home. This is a problem particularly faced by first time buyers, as although they may be able to raise a mortgage, this will often fall far short of the cost of a property.

It is, however, still possible for first time buyers to get onto the property ladder and there are actually some advantages to being a first time buyer:

  • Interest rates are at their lowest for more than 30 years, although they have crept up slightly of late.
  • First time buyers are more appealing to sellers because they are not in a property chain.
  • First time buyers are much sought after by mortgage lenders

Buy a Property with a Friend or Partner

The obvious advantage of buying with someone else is that it allows you to buy a bigger and possibly better home in the area of your choice. However, it's always advisable to rent together first for at least six months first; if there are too many disagreements, it's much easier to walk away from a tenancy agreement than a joint mortgage.

No matter how well you get on with your co-owner, there are risks to be considered. If one of you can't meet your obligations, it will fall upon the other(s) to make up the balance of mortgage payments. You must also consider what you'd do if either of you couldn't work due to illness, lost their job, wanted to move out, or died.

You should seriously consider taking out private health insurance or critical illness cover. It is also worth drawing up a legal contract to cover any eventuality.

Make Money From Home

If you have a spare room in your home, currently you are allowed to rent it out to earn tax-free rental of up to £4,250 a year. Any rent over that limit will be liable to tax. Some lenders enable you to take this rental income into account when working out how much you can borrow.

Look at Buying a New Home

You may be better off going for a new property. The property will usually come with a new bathroom and fitted kitchen and be low on maintenance. Many building companies offer generous deals to first-timers.

We like to help first time buyers as much as we can as we know how difficult that first step is. Please give our friendly staff a call on 0208 977 6886 or use our contact page and see how we could possibly help you.


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