First Time Buyer

One of our friendly advisers will help you work out what you can afford, how much you can borrow, and advise you of the best mortgage deal based on your individual circumstances.

This will involve a review of your personal finances, for which you will need to provide some key documents, as lenders will need to see proof of your income and expenditure in order to generate an Agreement in Principle.

Once you know your budget you can begin your property search. We recommend registering directly with local estate agents, as this usually means you will receive new listing details before they hit sites such as Rightmove.

With an Agreement in Principle in place, you are in a position to make an offer on your chosen property. As a first time buyer you are chain free, which could be attractive to the seller, so don’t be afraid to use this as a negotiation tool.

Once you have agreed on a price, get back in touch with us to progress your formal mortgage application. You will also need to appoint a solicitor / conveyancer at this time.

Your adviser can now formally apply for a mortgage on your behalf. We will take care of all the paperwork, as well as talking you through your survey options.

The Mortgage Valuation Survey is arranged by your lender to confirm that the property is worth what you are planning to pay for it. In addition, it is recommended that you also obtain your own building survey to assess the condition of the property and detect any potential areas of concern. Depending on the results of a survey, they can also potentially be used to re-negotiate the final sale price.

Once they have processed your application and conducted a Mortgage Valuation, all being well the lender will issue you with a formal Mortgage Offer, a copy of which will also be sent to ourselves and your solicitor.

Taking on a mortgage is one of the biggest financial commitments you will make in your life, so at this point we will arrange a free Protection consultation. During this meeting we will discuss options for protecting your home and ensuring that your loved ones will remain financially secure and able to keep up with mortgage repayments in the event of your unemployment, ill health, or death.

Conveyancing is the process of moving legal ownership of property from one person to another. At this stage in the process your solicitor/conveyancer will draw up contracts for the purchase, as well as conducting searches with the Land Registry, local authorities and utility providers.

Assuming the results of the searches are satisfactory and that any outstanding enquiries between yourself and the seller are answered, you will be asked to sign the contract and agree upon Exchange and Completion dates.

This is the point at which your conveyancer physically swaps contracts with the seller’s conveyancer and the pre-agreed deposit is paid.

Although full funds are yet to be transferred, you are legally bound to purchase the property from this point. You should therefore ensure that your buildings insurance policy is active from the date of Exchange, as in the event of damage to the property between now and Completion you may find yourself liable.

If we are arranging your Protection (eg. life cover), it is also prudent to activate this from date of Exchange too.

On the day of Completion your conveyancer will transfer full funds to the seller’s conveyancer, including those from your mortgage lender. Once full funds are received you will be able to collect the keys to your new home!

Completion is usually set within 2 weeks of your Exchange date, but could even be on the same day if appropriate. Completion is the date from which your mortgage starts.

Once Completion has taken place you will receive a letter from your lender detailing when your first mortgage payment is due and the amount. Please note that depending upon your Completion date, your first payment may be a one off higher payment, but will regulate after that.

Congratulations - you’ve made it and are now officially a home owner!

We remain available should you have any queries, and will continue to support you for the full duration of your mortgage.

We will contact you just before your rate comes to an end to invite you for another free review, to ensure that you are always on the best deal possible.