These days, there aren’t many young adults buying houses compared to five or ten years ago. Back then young adults would have had lots of people around them talking about how they went about buying their first home. These days, most young people haven’t been able to buy a house, and for those that are able to, they are in a vast minority and so it all seems very alien to them and like something that only the older generation did.
If you’re in the age group 18 – 25, you have probably only noticed what’s going on in the world since the economic crisis began, and perhaps all you know is that mortgages are hard to get, and houses aren’t being sold. For yourself, the house buying process could seem like a very daunting prospect indeed, and you may not know what to do or where to turn.
The fact is, even though there’s not as many people buying houses, there are still lots of people who can help.
Although most research is now is done on the internet, I think it’s best to stay away from it when it comes to buying a house. There is a lot of information on the internet that won’t apply to your circumstances, and trying to pick out what is relevant to you would be a nightmare. I believe speaking to a real person would be much more beneficial. They can assess your needs with you and speak to you about where to go and what to do. My advice would be to speak to a mortgage advisor as soon as you start thinking about buying a house, so they can guide you through the process, based on your own circumstances. It’s not the best idea just searching on Google for things like ‘best mortgages’, because you’ll get too many different things come up which don’t apply to you, are outdated, or have a bias to each mortgage lender’s own products.
If you want to speak with somebody who you know first, make sure it is somebody that you can trust and knows what they are talking about, and not somebody who likes to just think they know what they are talking about, it will only make things harder and confuse you. Also, remember when you’re listening to others, what was right for them, may not be right for you. A lot may have changed since they last got a mortgage, and you may need to approach things in a different way.
If you don’t feel you’re quite ready yet, but you want to start moving and flee the nest, you may be better renting a property first. The two smaller steps of leaving the family home to renting, then renting to buying a house is sometimes a lot better than leaping straight into buying your own home. At least if you rent somewhere and you find you can’t cope living on your own, doing your own washing and ironing, and cooking your own tea every night, it’s a lot easier to move back home for a while until you are ready.
Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers who specialise in mortgages. Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or visit www.kieronbassett.com.
Jason Hinde DipPFS
20th February 2012
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