First time buyer

[matt21]

As a first time buyer I am looking to buy a house in the near future - it seems a very good time!

Got an agreement in principle and ready to start looking and haggling.

With a 25% deposit Nationwide are doing it for 4.88% fixed rate over a 3yr term with 299 quid in fees. Is this any good as its the best I have got so far?

Thinking of a 25yr mortgage and over pay where possible to get it down.

As I am new to this what other fees etc must a buyer pay. ie typically on top of all of this how much should be expected to be added to the price prior to moving in ( i mean stamp duty, surveys and so on)

thanks

[bobt]

Wait a year and the property will cost less and you'll get cheaper mortgage.

[anonymous-user]

bobt said:

Wait a year and the property will cost less and you'll get cheaper mortgage.

Alternatively, you could miss the bottom of the market and be paying more in a year and miss out on some great rates being offered providing you have sufficient deposit.


why do people who have no clue but what the media tells them feel qualified to comment?

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 23 January 18:29

[matt21]

agree done a bit of research and with the excellent deals out there I think anytime in the next 6mths - 12mths will be a good time to buy. You can never predict the best time and again all depends if the right house comes available.

[BoRED S2upid]

Some very good mortgage deals to be had at the moment, yours still seems a bit high and why fix it for 3 years in the current climate hardly likely to hike interest rates soon so you might still be better with a variable rate?.

Solicitor fees and land registry etc... budget a grand.

[miniman]

BoRED S2upid said:

Some very good mortgage deals to be had at the moment, yours still seems a bit high and why fix it for 3 years in the current climate hardly likely to hike interest rates soon so you might still be better with a variable rate?.

Solicitor fees and land registry etc... budget a grand.

According to LTSB this week there are hardly any variable rate mortgages out there at the moment.

[m4tt]

C&G and NatWest seem to have some of the best rates around at the moment. Natwest having a 2yr fixed @ 3.49% Not sure of the fee think about £700.

Not many variable rates at the moment, be looking about 2.5-3% Over Base Rate in the main.

Whether to fix or not is a personal thing, however if you are a first time buyer having fixed monthly expenditure while you're building a home and the inevitable expenditure this entails may be no bad thing. Personlly I think I will always stay on a fixed rate as I like to know whats coming.

Good luck with the purchase. If you are looking at the purchase as a home over the next 3-5years - does it really matter if you buy at the bottom? You're unlikely to guess it right anyway. Just buy a home that you want and can afford.

[Fittster]

I'd personally want fixed rate, anything could happen with the economy of the next 3 years. These are dramatic times.

[lauda]

Sounds like quite a good deal to me.

I've just agreed a 2 year fixed deal with NatWest at 6.39% as I only have a 10% deposit and the house that I'm buying is a new-build (didn't know this before but most lenders have different lending critera if you're buying a new-build, ie minimum 15-20% deposit).

There are some really good deals out there at the moment but they rely on your either having a big deposit (>40%) or being an existing customer. Most first-time buyers are pretty limited in what's available to them and something in the 4-5% region seems about right.

Good luck - hope you enjoy your new pad!

[miniman]

Fittster said:

I'd personally want fixed rate, anything could happen with the economy of the next 3 years. These are dramatic times.

That's what I've gone for, but banks don't seem to be offering anything like as low rates as you might assume from looking at the base rate (obviously because they are working on the LIBOR rate) - I've just fixed at 6.04% with LTSB. They are also being much more strict with enforcing the rules. For example a year ago, if your borrowing came out at 76% LTV you could almost certainly have negotiated the 75% LTV rate. Now they are absolutely firm on what they will offer. As an aside, I couldn't shop around without stumping up £6k to get out of my existing fixed rate.

[matt21]

thanks for the advise chaps.

just an interesting one, see if it can get answered here rather than a new thread.

I am in a fortunate position of having a large deposit. My friend, whilst earning well has 5k tops. I would be happy to pay as much deposit as possible to make the amount borrowed less.

How would this would if say I paid 3/4 of the deposit to his 1/4 to ensure I (or he) didnt lose out if property either increased or decreased.

Thanks

[ATG]

digimeistter said:

bobt said:

Wait a year and the property will cost less and you'll get cheaper mortgage.

Alternatively, you could miss the bottom of the market and be paying more in a year and miss out on some great rates being offered providing you have sufficient deposit.


why do people who have no clue but what the media tells them feel qualified to comment?

Edited by digimeistter on Friday 23 January 18:29

Mildly ironic.

FWIW if you look at the trajectory of the last major property market slump, it seems to bottom out then recover rather slowly, so the risk of missing the bottom is probabaly not something to be that worried about. Personally if I were taking out a mortgage now I'd be thinking more about my job security than anything else in the short term. A new mortgage is a heck of a long term financial commitment so worth having a think about all the scenarios ... long term slump, dose of inflation plus higher rates a few years down the line, blah, blah, blah