Just bought a house as a first time buyer

Find a mortgage advisor/broker. They tend to be able to get you a better deal than you can. Albeit, they will most likely charge some sort of application fee/once lifetime fee. (Mine was £500.

Find a local solicitor that has good recommendations. Mine was recommended from a work colleague. Final completion fee for them was £1050.

I opted to have a full building survey(structural survey) done. Not recommended for houses unless close to 75-100 yrs old but i was worried about a few thing such as gable pointing, ridge tiles and external cracks in wall. Glad i got it done as i was right that these things need to be repaired but is not a result of subsidence. My mortgage lender offered the building survey discounted through them for £450. Usually £600-£1000 if done independently.

If your single/no dependants take out Income protection but not life insurance. You don't know what comes round the corner. And IP will pay 3/4 of your income usually meaning you can cover the mortgage.

If any of your deposit is made up of gifts from family members or friends and these gifts were transferred in the last 6 months you will need to declare these to your solicitor and mortgage lender. They will require you to sign a declaration which basically covers your ass and means the gifted deposit cannot be refunded to family member and they have no claim on your property.

Posted By: Basingstoke_Canary_J, Oct 22, 09:30:45