First time buyer.. advice please?

[Guvna]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 31 May 2012 at 17:41

[Deva Link]

Guvna said:

Any words of advice or things to look out for?

Don't buy somewhere "cheap" because it looks like a bargain, but is in fact compomised in some way - dodgy area, no parking, noisy location etc. Think about who would buy it off you when you come to sell.

[bogie]

I think most people will have had the same concerns, whether it was 5, 10, or 25 years ago when they first bought into their first home

if you are not from a wealthy background, and no-one is helping you out get on ladder, and you are single, then it can be a big commitment

but worth it in the long term...and usually once youve got used to paying the mortgage/household bills and budgeting for them, it gets easier

every 5 years you delay, is another 5 years gone, and you could wake up at 35 wondering where all your money went, and "if only I got on the ladder 10 years ago"

do it, whilst you can afford it, no-one knows the future, but you will always need somewhere to live.....

[andyjo1982]

hmmm, i dont think i'd be looking to spend £200k on my first house. But it depends on your needs, salary and area your looking to buy. I bought my first house 4 years ago with my missus and we love the independance. However, there have been some tough times, it was a bit of a struggle when she was out of work for 5 months.

Anyway, think about how long you'd be spending in the house a day. Is it gonna be somewhere just to put your head down at the end of the day? Do you work long hours or weekends? Also £1000 a month is a massive commitment. Are you secure in your job? Likely to get further pay rises in the future? Will you still have enough money left to do things you want, after you've paid bills like leccy, gas, council tax, food, water? We put aside around £500 a month to cover those extra bills. Do you have a nice car or rather an expensive to run car? Could you still aford to keep that or are you ok with giving that up? Also think about your own life, have you had enough 'lads holidays' or do you have any hobbies you may have to give up in order to keep your house?

Have you had any mortgage consultations yet? What sort of responses have you been getting? Although you'd have 20% it still may take some convincing of the banks to lend you that sort of money.

I hope i haven't sounded patronising, but there are an awful lot of things that you dont always think of when you buy your first house. Hope i've helped.