Search the Community

Hi everyone- some help, advice and reassurance please! My partner and I (first time buyers) have put an offer in on a house. We have got a mortgage in principle from Barclays for £152k based on having a 5% deposit of £8k for a £160k purchase. If our offer is accepted by the seller, then obviously we need to get started on a mortgage application. We are both in steady, permanent employment- I am a teacher earning £25,373 per year and he is a customer service advisor earning £17,500 per year plus bonuses. My only concern is that up until last month, I was living in my arranged, fee-free overdraft. I have never exceeded the arranged overdraft limit. I have just paid this off in full using savings. Other than this, I have never been charged fees on my account, neither of us have ever missed a direct debit payment, and we both have good credit scores. Will this recently used overdraft be a problem? As mentioned, it is now paid off in full, we have our deposit ready in a Lifetime ISA and I have just been paid so have a full wage in my bank account. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I've been listening to Rob & Rob from the beginning of lockdown, nearly worked my way through all the podcasts :) I have been interested in property for many years but haven't purchased anything yet. I want to make the most of the stamp duty break and take the leap before march '21 My circumstances: I am a first time buyer so is my Fiance. We are planning on moving in together in 12-18 months. We would like to individually buy two properties now and live in them until we get married and then potentially move into one property and rent the other out. I was hoping to make the most of being first time buyers separately and buy two properties as individuals now. I know we may be able to obtain consent to let depending on the lender when we decide to move in together. What challenges do you see with this? is this the best thing to do? Are we better off waiting and buying one property to live and a BTL when we are ready to move in together? In the long-term we want to grow a portfolio and build up a substantial passive income. Your help and advice is much appreciated Thanks Kev

Hello, we are buying our first home and have around 72k in the bank to do so. We are evaluating several options going back and forth and can't decide on the best strategy. Our goals are: 1) get on the property ladder now when prices are stable or declining, 2) build up equity to buy a more expensive house in 4-5years time. Our options are: a) Help to Buy, b) Second hand property with 10% deposit. We like option a because of how much money it saves us in interest (the mortgage rate comes down to around 1.68% - 1.84%) which means we can achieve higher equity. Our mortgage broker says we can remortgage and buy the gov out not to face any selling problems, or if price of the home declines it will make buying out the gov even cheaper. We don't like the stories we hear about new homes and snaggs that people need to deal with and worry about selling the property at a loss in 5 years time. Option b - we like the fact that second hand properties hold value better and maintainance problems can be anticipated to an extent. We don't like the high up front cost and high interest. The stamp duty discount for a property under 500k is great but there are not many nice houses at this price (our family is growing which we need to keep in mind). We like 550k homes but the up front cost would mean we need to part with all our savings. Affordability of mortgage payments is not an issue (I think we could purches a property that's around 680k). Any opinions on this, tips or personal experiences would be extremely helpful and much appreciated. I'll just add that we are in London and looking at areas like: Purley, Epsom, Borehamwood, Watford and Enfield.

Hi there - first time buyer here looking to begin a BTL portfolio (as a limited company) without buying a main residence first (plenty of detail as to why in the 'Newbie' section!). The main issue mortgage-wise appears to be access to the best rates as a FTB and first time landlord, as a SPV. Question: If I was to purchase a property with cash (via an SPV), let it out, then 'remortgage' (unencumbered remortgage?) after 6 months to release 60% the equity, would this effectively leave me in the same position as getting a 60% LTV mortgage at point of purchase, but open up more (and cheaper) mortgage options as we wouldn't be first time buyers or first time landlords after 6 months? Any thoughts here?

Hi I am a company director (LTD). It's been on the market for the last 5 years. Previous year was 9K profit and this year the profit is around 40K. My accountant completed the personal tax return for this year and my total income is around £40K where the £29K is dividends and £11K is salary. My wife is currently on maternity leave. Before that her salary was around £30K gross. I think she will be able to return and earn the same money shortly. The property we are looking at is around £550K. The deposit can be up to £150K Do you think I have a change to get a good deal ? What would you recommend ? Thanks.

We are a TV company making an internet based TV show. We are doing an article on first time buyers in the Midlands and are looking for people to chat to our hosts briefly about their experiences, and hopefully get some peer to peer advice on the day. We are filming on Tuesday 1st November, please get in touch if you would like to get involved. We are offering a small fee as a thank you.

Hi! My name is Gareth and I live in the little industrial town of Warrington! I work as a Business Analyst and I have a keen interest in property. I am new to all of this, not actually being a homeowner myself yet. However listening to the 'Property Podcast' and the 'Property Geek' podcast has really peaked my interest and my knowledge! I now have a clear goal to be on this Hub as a fellow investor ASAP. So I'd like to ask a question; If say I got a cheap house to get me started, between 60-70K and lived in it a few months whilst getting it ready to let....If I wanted to then move out to live with family or rent myself, how easy would it be to switch from a personal mortgage to a BTL? I know they would adjust the interest rate but would they also need 25% equity in the property? Any information on this would be great! Thank you all, look forward to chatting!