Buying your first home can seem like an absolute maze but with guidance from fully trained professionals it doesn’t have to be an impossible task.
My first tip is when you first start considering buying a house in the future make the most of your savings by setting up a help to buy ISA. These ISA’s offer a 25% tax free (you don’t see them two words together often) government top up on your savings when you come to purchase a property. The rules are; you have to be a first time buyer, aged 16 or over, and you can save up to £12,000 (meaning you get a £3,000 top up) and if you’re a couple you can both have one which means £6,000 of free money. Most banks and building societies have these on offer now, so go round them all and see who has the best interest rate.
My next tip is to check you are on the electoral roll at your home address, you should receive voter’s slips every time there’s an election but if you’re not sure give the council a ring and make sure this is sorted. If not get them to add you on as soon as possible because it can take up to 12 weeks for this to show up on your credit report which could be an issue if you’re looking to buy your dream home soon. This is such a small thing but it can affect the credit check part of a mortgage application if they can’t find you at your address.
It is also a good idea to check your credit report on one of the online credit reference agencies, however once you are signed up you don’t need to stay as a member! The idea of a credit “score” is something which the companies get you to buy into so you keep checking if it’s moved up from 789 to 790 and they keep getting your monthly direct debit. Really all the lenders will be searching for when you do apply for a mortgage is the actual information on your credit report e.g; missed payments, county court judgements, bankruptcy, debt management plans and payday loans. If you have had any of these don’t worry the games not necessarily over, your independent mortgage advisor just needs to be fully aware of your circumstances to select the most appropriate mortgage for you.
So your moneys in the bank, credit report in hand, what next? Make an appointment with an independent financial advisor and take along your latest payslips or if you’re self employed your latest accounts or SA302’s which can be requested from HMRC. With this we can work out what you can afford to borrow and then finally send you off to start the fun part – house hunting.
Sammy McCann BSc Hons, Cert CII (MP)
23rd May 2016
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