Getting Started – Initial Meeting
The first step with First Time Buyer Mortgages is to establish what your potential maximum loan amount may be. To do this you will need to inform us of your income plus details of any outstanding credit commitments such as personal loans/credit cards/car finance etc. By giving us this information, we can then go away and calculate your potential maximum loan amounts with the various UK lenders we work with.
Lenders take different factors into account when assessing First Time Buyer Mortgages affordability and so the amounts will vary from lender to lender which is why being an independent mortgage adviser works in our client’s favour as we can compare the various loan amounts being offered by each lender.
What’s next?
Once we have established a potential maximum loan amount, we can then pair this with any deposit you may have to give you an idea of what kind of purchase price you can go up to. We will also give a brief overview of mortgage products available on the market and an example of monthly cost. We will also advise you on legal fees, different types of surveys etc.
Now that you have an idea of what purchase price and property to look for you will need to book viewings via the estate agent in charge of the listing but before doing this a mortgage in principle will need to be put in place to show the estate agent that you are serious prospective buyers and have been vetted by a mortgage professional.
Mortgage in principle.
The mortgage in principle is a short application that comprises of us providing the prospective lender with your last 3 years’ address history, income, and expenditure information and then lastly a credit check will be carried out which usually comes back with an instant decision. The credit search is normally what is known as a soft search, which means only you will see that the lender has searched. This is important because too many normal credit searches that other people can see, could affect your credit score & rating.
If the application is successful, the lender will provide a mortgage in principle certificate/document that you can show the estate agent when attending property viewings. Many agents now require this before allowing you to view the property.
After finding a property and having an offer accepted by the seller the next stage is to submit a full mortgage application.
We will research the market again to ensure the lender meets your needs.
Before submitting your application, a full face-to-face consultation will be needed to:
- Discuss the various mortgage products available in detail and select the one best suited to you.
- Collect further information carrying on from the mortgage in principle stage.
- Various documents will need to be collected and provided to the lender to support your application.
- Answer any remaining questions you may have.
So now your full mortgage application has been submitted and we will keep you updated throughout at every stage.
Once your application has been fully assessed and approved by the lender your mortgage offer will be issued and it is now over to your solicitor to complete the purchase for you.
Tips For First Time Buyers:
- After you have found a property that you like. take someone such as parents or friends with you on subsequent viewings who have bought a property in the past and use their experience for things to look out for.
- View the property & the area multiple times at different times of the day even after an offer is accepted to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
- Stress to the agent and buyers that you are first-time buyers as many sellers will prefer selling to you as you don’t have a chain.
- You should consider having a more comprehensive property survey carried out as the lender will only have the property valued. We can advise you on your options.
- Don’t get too attached to a property until you have your mortgage offer & the solicitors have confirmed the legal work is in order.