Mortgages.... Looking for ny first

[BrewDan]

Hello all,

I am finally going to be speaking to a broker on Monday next week with regards to looking into what size mortgage i can get.

I have used a lot of the calculators online for the last year or so, while keeping an eye on the market to try and get a rough idea... However the figures are all over the place... I thought I had a fairly good idea of what to expect, now I have none.

As this will be my first meeting talking to.someone about this, do any of you have any suggestions on what to ask?

I will be asking what he thinks I could get on my current wage and also if I went joint, but after looking online I now have no idea what's a good deal vs a bad one.

I am hoping all goes well, as I am looking forward to having my own/extra brewing space! And I can finally get around to making my brew fridge and getting my kits going .

As I said, first time speaking to somone so I don't know if I need to go in prepared with any questions, or if I just go and see what happens

Cheers all

 

[The Goatreich]

The only bit of advice I can really give is don't borrow to your maximum. Interest rates are pretty low at the moment, if and when they go up your payments will too (unless you're on fixed rate, but that won't be forever). Give yourself a bit of headroom.

 

[Smudge]

Hello all,

I am finally going to be speaking to a broker on Monday next week with regards to looking into what size mortgage i can get.

I have used a lot of the calculators online for the last year or so, while keeping an eye on the market to try and get a rough idea... However the figures are all over the place... I thought I had a fairly good idea of what to expect, now I have none.

As this will be my first meeting talking to.someone about this, do any of you have any suggestions on what to ask?

I will be asking what he thinks I could get on my current wage and also if I went joint, but after looking online I now have no idea what's a good deal vs a bad one.

I am hoping all goes well, as I am looking forward to having my own/extra brewing space! And I can finally get around to making my brew fridge and getting my kits going .

As I said, first time speaking to somone so I don't know if I need to go in prepared with any questions, or if I just go and see what happens

Cheers all

Dan

Most importantly don't let the advisor charge you for his time there are plenty who do and plenty that don't. They will charge between £250-500 ish but they get a commission from your lenders. So don't be fooled! They tried it on me but I mentioned this and they backed down quite quickly. Make them aware of a fictitious company that do it free that you are seeing after your meet with them and they will back down.

Depending on what deposit you put down is dependent on your rate. I put £78000 deposit down and got 3.79% for £75000 mortgage. But a friend got closer to 6% for the same mortgage with just 10% deposit. It makes a big difference.

Also don't let the advisor force you to go with anyone specific regarding insurance. You WILL get a better deal than they quote. Trust me I know!

Hope this helps

Smudge

 

[graysalchemy]

As above you are better of on the property ladder with a smaller house than falling off in a few years because you over stretched. We have had the same house for 16 yrs far to small for our needs but we have a very small affordable mortgage and we don't have the stresses and strains a lot of other people have.

Also go to various lenders you will get to understand the market and products available and more likely to find a product which actually suites you and not suites the broker.

 

[Mike1981]

The only bit of advice I can really give is don't borrow to your maximum. Interest rates are pretty low at the moment, if and when they go up your payments will too (unless you're on fixed rate, but that won't be forever). Give yourself a bit of headroom.

Totally agree with this, Interest rates are only going to go in one direction, yes they are low at the moment but it wont last forever. The first time i got a mortgage they calculated it on earnings, i.e 2.5 times my wage. The mortgage i got in 2007 went on affordability, basically if i could prove i could afford the house i wanted, it was mine. As quoted above give yourself room to breath for WHEN your payments go up :thumb:

 

[The Goatreich]

Oh and also, brokers can be very good, but don't necessarily place all of your trust with them, do a little research yourself too. My broker got me a decent deal on my house with a tracker mortgage which meant my payments went very low when the base rate fell, however when the tracker mortgage deal ended he recommended that I went "on a fixed rate now as interest rates were going to rise any minute now".

I decided that the base rate wasn't going to go up too much anytime soon, so ignored his advice and went with a variable mortgage that my existing lender was offering me. Doing so has meant that the last 3 years I've been paying approximately £200 less a month and minus any extra fees that would have happened if I'd taken the broker's advice.

Best of luck, it's a big step, but much better than renting anywhere.

 

[Aleman]

The only bit of advice I can really give is don't borrow to your maximum. Interest rates are pretty low at the moment, if and when they go up your payments will too (unless you're on fixed rate, but that won't be forever). Give yourself a bit of headroom.

Oh Yeah Totally agree, Bought our house in 87 . . . when interest rates were around 9% . . . by 89 they hit 15.25% (very briefly) . . and even though we had spent only 2/3rds of what they were prepared to led us there was definitely one month when I though "I can't afford to keep this house" . . . Still 2 Years 5 months and the bloody thing is paid off :party: :party:

 

[BrewDan]

Thats very useful thank you all, I'd get you all a round if you were local:grin:

This broker I am told is free, my partners family all used him (parents, uncles,cousins) I'm told that I should expect to pay a fee of around 300 if I let him set anything up.

I will go in armed with some of the advice given, after I have seen him I'm going to have a chat with a few friends to see if I can arrange meetings with the brokers they used. Then I will have something to compare.

I just hope I get some good news, I'm not going to over stretch myself, if it means I need to carry on saving for most of the year then I will do that.

Thanks again everyone :drink:

 

[Hawks]

Agree with most people on here..

1 - don't overstretch - they are especially keen to let people go mad if you have a deposit these days
2 - don't pay a broker for anything, they will earn off the lender
3 - look yourself, I have beaten what brokers have offered before by looking - try moneysupermarket on tinterweb for good comparisons
4 - look at fees from the lenders - some good fixed rates have high fees - a small mortgage may end up paying more over a 3 or 4 year period than taking a higher rate with no fees.

I think there are probably more as well... good luck :thumb:

 

[SE10PAT]

Hi Dan,

First of all, good luck! It may seem like quite a daunting task but you will get the hang of it!

One thing I will say is that as a first time buyer, you will be the one to be royally fooked by the banks with regards to your mortgage rate. Banks see first time buyers as the biggest 'risk' and as such they charge an interest rate accordingly. We bought our first house two years ago and the rate was at 6%, base rate is 0.50% and that was for a 2yr fixed. Thankfully it converts to their Standard Variable rate next month :

If you are the kind of person that likes to know what their outgoings are then I would suggest a Fixed rate, if you do go for that, fix for the longest period possible as rates are only going to go up. Maybe not till the end of 2013 but they certainly wont go any lower!

With all the price comparison sites out there at the moment it is easy enough to get a rough idea of what rates are available given your available deposit, though 10% will be a minimum. it's then just as simple as ringing them up and having a chat, I managaged to get mine sorted within about a week. If you can get away with using a broker then do so, I dont think they really add anything and all the 'brokers' that I saw were about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Also, remember that you will have to have funds available for possible Stamp Duty (under £250k is zero), solictiors fees, valuations, moving costs etc. There will possibly also be an 'arranging fee' payable to your bank but this can generally be added onto the mortgage.

Just for illustration I did a quick search on HSBC and they have a first time buyer at 4.49%, £200k mortgage with a 10% depost comes out at about a grand a month.

If you need any more help mate feel free to drop me a PM

Cheers
Pat

 

[BrewDan]

Cheers Pat , I thought I had it all worked out until I was got all sorts of figures on different websites.

At this rate I might end up living in a fermenting bin :-|:shock: but we shall see Monday.

I aim only to go for a fixed rate as I will need to have a couple of years to get used to everything, if the rates rocket up at the end of that I may look into seeing if I can switch over to buy to let and rent out, but who knows, they are all just ideas at the moment... My other concern is the job I am in coming to an end just as I get on the ladder, but at the moment that is a risk anyone faces

I may be after more advice, and some of your homebrew !!

Cheers again

 

[BrewDan]

Cheers hawks just seen your reply, I have been looking on money supermarket too.

Will see what sort if figures he comes up with, if I can find something better myself, maybe I will become a broker !

Cheers :drink:

 

[dennisking]

All I can say is hunt around and good bloody luck. Like Aleman I'm not far from the end, about 4 years. I don't envy anyone just starting out. I can remember being very daunted at the start but providing your one of the majority for whom it all goes well it will be the best move you ever make.

 

[oldbloke]

I've always had good advice from London&County, independent advisers. You can take the advice and do your own thing, or let them set it all up, when they get dosh from the other end, not you (and you don't pay indirectly by the price going up either)

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Buy an house in Barnsley, £26,000 for a mansion....... 2 up...2 darn whi a shared back yard full of dog *****.

 

[31bb3]

My 2 penneth is dont go for joint income for a couple of reasons 1 if you have a family with your partner their income may cease 2 if you split up you will be in a situation where you may have to buy her out or visa versa .I bought my house bak in 2000 only used my income and 5 years later she left me luckily enough she hadnt got any finantial hold over my house however a friend of mine got stung by his ex and ended up selling his house coming away with a pittence

 

[BrewDan]

Well as an update I am either ready now if we went joint or save a few more months and I should have a large enough deposit to get the size mortgage I was hoping for. The other option is not to wait as I only need a bit more of a deposit which I should be able to get together in the next few months, and if I find something I like , I could be saving the bit extra while waiting for completion as most places would take a small deposit to get the process going?He also said as I would be a first time buyer, look above what I want to spend at put in cheeky offers..

AIt was free but if I went through him he would charge a fee.... So I am going get a couple more opinions and start viewing soon.

Not sure if anyone would know the answer to this, but if we went joint to start, on say 2 year for example(if the right house came up) is there any reason why when two years end I couldn't switch it over to just myself? If this is an option, as long as it were only myself paying the mortgage those 2 years,does anyone know where that would leave me if the worse were to happen? Of we were to go joint we have spoken about drawing up a contract that states you only get out what you put in, don't know if that's realistic though.

Over all, the figures came out at what I had worked them out to be, so no nasty shocks, apart from the costs of what the legal fees involved would be.

Thanks for the help with this one, if all goes to plan, I will be brewing in my own home this christmas at the latest

 

[bluebell]

You would not have to switch from joint as it is only that they are taking both incomes in to account. IF your wages go up say you are newly qulified and in a couple of years expect to have had a good promotion or two you may well be able to afford what was originally a joint morgage on one wage.

My hint is to look at it the other way round - how much am I prepared to pay each month based on how I know I like to live and how likley I think I am to keep my job (im an interim so not long!). I also take in to account bills for council tax etc and see what sort of level of borrowing that would least allow then take off a bit to allow for a 1 to 2% interest rate increase. At east that way I have convinced myself that I will be able to do more than exsist on the money I have left.

Also bear in mind that there are a lot of people at teh moment in negative equity a proportion of whom are likley to have a 'forced' sale at some point over the next few years, which will both keep the market subdued and potentially offer some bargains....

Good luck

 

[SE10PAT]

Hi Dan,

if we went joint to start, on say 2 year for example(if the right house came up) is there any reason why when two years end I couldn't switch it over to just myself?

Yes you can mate but your lender would have to re-asses your finiancial situation and basically mean applying for a new mortgage again on your own income.

Being a first time buyer you are chain free so if people want a quick sale you are a prime candidate, just knock 5% or so off the asking price, they can only say no. Any decent estate agent should know what the house will sell for.

good luck

 

[big brew ejit]

Afternoon Dan,

Shop around for a solicitor as well, when we changed are mortgage over last year I thought our solicitors bill was a bit on the steep side.
I phone the bank man who I was dealing with and asked his opinion, he told us it was quite cheap. Worked out at about .65% which apparently was quite reasonable. From what I can gather is that some solicitors will charge as much as 2% of the mortgage as a fee.

All the best and be patient as anything with mortgages can often be am almighty pain in the ****.

Phil