First Time Buyer - 
Step by Step Guide

First Time Buyer

 The key to buying a home (especially your first one) is to be prepared. 
So what do you need to know?

How Much Deposit do you Need 5%, 10% or more?

Do You Need to Work on your Credit File?

What Kind of Mortgage do you Want?

Do You Need a Help to Buy ISA?

What's a Help to Buy Mortgage?

What's a Gifted deposit?

You need to plan ahead, so that you have all your ducks in a row. 

Probably the worst thing you can do is save up your deposit, start house hunting, think you're good to go, put an offer in and then find that either there is something wrong with your credit file, or that you can't borrow enough.
 
So even if you aren't going to be ready to buy in the next 12 months or longer, it still pays to go through the following steps.
STEP 1.

Check your credit file. We recommend Checkmyfile, as it looks at all 4 credit files. This is important to gauge which lenders we need to look at, but also to make sure there aren't any errors or omissions on your credit file. 
If there are issues on your credit file, then this needs to be sorted out as soon as possible, as often getting items removed can take quite a lot of time, having to liaise with the company to remove items, or getting yourself delinked from incorrect addresses etc...

You can view your credit file free for 30 days, then there is a monthly cost of £14.99. You can cancel at anytime and if you cancel within the first 30 days, then you pay nothing.
Try it FREE for 30 days, then £14.99 a month - cancel anytime
STEP 2.

Complete short factfind. This will allow us to highlight any potential issues, advise you how much you can borrow and give you an idea how much your mortgage will cost. 
At this stage depending on timescales, we may advise you how you can improve your credit file.
STEP 3.

If you are ready to start house hunting, then now is the time to get a decision in principle.
This is where we approach a lender with your details and they do a credit check. 
On the basis of this information, they will give you a decision as to whether they will lend and how much they will lend. At this stage, they will also give you an idea how much deposit you will need in percentage terms.  This will be determined by how good your credit file is.

It may be that you decide that you need to wait a little longer, build up some more deposit and also improve your credit score. We can help you with this.
STEP 4.

While you are getting organised to buy, you can still contact us for more information and advice. 
If you want to keep an eye out for what deals are out there, then use our free Mortgage Sourcing System, which will show you rates and monthly cost. We would also suggest that you try and budget as though you are running your home and put the money in your savings account. 
Maybe speak to us, or your parents about the cost of all the extra such as Council Tax, Gas, Electric, Food etc...
STEP 5.

It won't do you any harm to do a bit of homework about home buying. 
Take a look at our useful guides, which cover Help to Buy, Types of Surveys, The Conveyancing Process. 
So that when you are ready, you know what to expect.
STEP 6.

So you've got your deposit together, you know that your credit file is looking good and you're looking for a home. Now you need to come back to us so we can check through all your latest details. You may have had a wage rise, cleared a loan, or may have new loans. We can get you a decision in principle, give you an idea on latest rates.

Happy Househunting....
One final point that's worth mentioning. We are Fee Free Brokers. That means that all the advice and time we give you, will cost you nothing. That doesn't mean we work for nothing. It just means that we will only get paid a commission when we have sorted you out a mortgage. The money we receive will come from the lender, we do not charge you any additional broker fees. We haven't done for the last 28 years and we won't for the next 28 years. So up until the point that we get you into your home, were working for you completely free of charge.

Our 3 Promises to You

our promise to you

No Salesman Will Call

When you pick up the phone to speak to us. Yes, we will spend time with you to try and understand what it is you are trying to do. Yes we will have to gather some personal data to be able to do this. We will send you quotes if that is what you want and yes we do want your business. However, after we have provided the information you need at that point, the ball is then very much in your court. It will then be up to you to contact us. We will not phone you, we will not email you chasing up your decision. We believe, that as long as we have done our job at this stage, then you will come back to us when you're good and ready.

But we do get paid...

We do not charge Broker Fees, we never have done. Don't worry though, we do get paid. So how do we get paid? We get paid by the lender that we have placed you with. This is no different to Mortgage Brokers who do charge fees. The difference is that we feel that we receive a sufficient level of income simply accepting the fee paid to us by the lender. Bear in mind that we do also get paid on other products as well, such as Life Cover, Income Protection and Home Insurance, if you take them out with ourselves. You will receive our expertise and knowledge that we have gained over the last 28 years, but it will not come at a price!

It's Safe With Us

Any Information we have gathered from you, is information we need to be able to help and advise you. Regardless of whether you deal with us or not in the future. We do not share your data with anybody else. You will not receive any calls or emails from any other companies as a result of speaking with us.