First time buyers

First Time Buyers

I have recently decided that it's time for me to get a place of my own. I've always lived with my parents, and to tell you the truth, I have quite enjoyed it. It's been a luxury really. However, my parents have been gently hinting lately that they're getting sick of me being under their feet all the time, walking in at all hours of the morning, eating all the food and leaving my bedroom in a mess - even at my age. So, actually it was more their decision for me to move out, rather than my own. But I am, surprisingly, looking forward to being able to do my own thing; to be totally independent (no doubt I'll still be sending my washing round to my mums – don't want to mix colours and all that – it's all too technical for me). But something I'm sure that I am capable of doing independently is shopping for my dream pad – or at least something that I can afford!

But where do I start? Things have changed so much since my mum and dad last bought property, so they're no help to me now. After doing some research I realized that the first thing I must do is create a wish list; what do I want in a home? A home at all would be nice at the moment! I haven't really got the finances to be picky. Then I must establish what I need in a home? Well that's simple really.

A Bedroom a bathroom and a microwave please! I was told that an agent would want me to be a little more specific though. So, I started to think about the finer things in life. I started to think about how I could get these things into my home. An indoors aqua park is hardly going to happen, so I had to relate these finer things to my financial situation. The only 'fine thing' I'll be able to afford, once my mortgage comes through is a bath pillow I think. So I'm hoping to get as much as I can included in the price. After all, I was buying the darn thing, so why not get exactly what I want and a bit more chucked in?

I decided to opt for a two bedroom flat. House prices would just suck my finances dry. I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance at buying one on my own really. A flat would be big enough for me. I also decided on getting two bedrooms. That way, my friends had a place to sleep when they stayed, and I would have a choice on beds for when they didn't. I wanted a nice bathroom (no lime scale stained taps or dirty toilet seats thanks) and I would need a reasonable sized kitchen for all those take aways. Preferably a fire place in the living area, and central heating would be an essential for those cold nights when my pajamas are in the wash at my mums house. I also decided that I wanted to be in an attractive looking building.

Nice and modern. As petty as it sounds, its an important factor for me. I don't want my friends to be scared to visit because my flat has broken windows, a dead dog on the stone doorstep and a homeless drunk living in the broken down lift. Some flats just look hideous these days –especially the older buildings. Most look like they're made out of Lego blocks and have 100 floors in each block. After all I'm not planning on leaving the country or having a big family just yet, so I'm aiming to find somewhere that I can see myself settling into for the long run.

Choosing to buy a flat, limited the things that I would have considered normally if buying a house. For example, I couldn't have my own garage next door, my own picket fence, a pool or a even a pond; the chances of me having a garden at all were pretty slim in fact. I would settle for a nice view at least. I wanted it to be nicely decorated with little for me to have to change. Come on, I can't even use a washing machine, how do you expect me to decorate? All these little points were added to my wish list, then all that was left to do was to hand it over to an agent, sit back, relax, and just pray that such a place existed.

Yes OK. I was gullible to even suggest that it was going to be that simple. I didn't realise that I had to research even the agent I was going with. There were so many different brokers to choose from. How was I to know which was best? I could do it through a building society, a bank or through one of the smaller local companies. Then I had to choose between doing it face to face, on the phone, or over the Internet. Taking out a mortgage and buying property would probably be the biggest financial agreement I would ever make. Therefore, like so many other people I'm sure, I done what I considered to be the safest bet, and opted for a face to face procedure. I wanted the security of knowing the person who was going to do all this for me. I also wanted a face to point out to my dad and five of his big, butch mates, just in case anything went wrong. Hopefully it won't come to that though and things should run smoothly.
I was advised by a family friend that my best bet was to pay a little bit extra and go with a specialised mortgage broker. 'They are the experts' she said. Apparently they work more one to one with you compared to other places and work quickly to find the best deal to suit your circumstances. That is definitely what I needed; an expert who's going to do most of the work. So I found a broker who seemed very nice and asked him to help.

The next stage in my buying process was to total up my income and calculate my existing outgoings in order to work out how much I could actually afford to pay back in a mortgage. I didn't have any deposit saved so I was told that I was looking for a 100 per cent mortgage. I was then made aware of the many additional upfront costs that most home buyers do not take into consideration when buying their property. For example, the legal costs; solicitors fees, Stamp Duty, survey fees and perhaps arrangement and completion fees for when you actually accept the loan. Then there's the Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee ( MIG) which is a an insurance for the lender – that we must also pay for! What a surprise. And I was worried about paying for the delivery van? Dream home and independence can all go out the window, if I've got to pay all this I'm moving back in with mum!

There were two ways in which I could repay my mortgage. I was told I could have a repayment, which guarantees the loan being paid off in full at the end of the agreed term. Or I could do it the Interest only way, which allowed me to pay back only the interest to my lender during the loan period, then pay back the outstanding debt afterwards. The repayment way, although substantially higher in cost each month, would give me the reassurance of knowing that I was actually reducing my debt every month. I would be guaranteed to have paid off my debt by the end of the mortgage term. However, an Interest Only repayment (also known as Endowment) is done in the hope is that, after paying it off, people will be left with an extra lump sum. I could do with that lump sum now to tell you the truth, but as that isn't possible, and I don't feel like waiting five years for it, I've decided to go for the simple repayment option. I could do with some stability during this time after all. Knowing exactly what I have going out and how long I've got left, would help me considerably.

I won't lie. It is an extremely daunting and scary experience as a first time buyer (and thats when it all runs smoothly as well). It can almost put you off buying at all. But I knew that It was a step that I had to take one time or another. Besides I knew that once the house warming parties and the sleepovers began, I would forget about the hassle it took to get to that point. The thing taking my mind of it now is the fact that now I can begin to shop for my property.
It's strange walking through someone else's house and eying up everything they own. You try so hard not to act too cynical. Trying to act happy about the wood chip covered walls, stained carpets and the leaky roof was difficult. You feel rude acknowledging it. 'Lovely' I would say, when the old lady shows me her beautiful gold basin with clumps of her hair clogged in the plughole. The nice broker man always told me to look beyond what you see, and to try and envision what you could make it. Impossible I would say to him if he was here now. It's only until I visited this one house that I could see exactly what he meant. The decor wasn't exactly to my taste, but it was presentable at least. The other houses should not even invite relatives round, let alone strangers.

They're houses are health hazards. But Oh no, this one was perfect. It needed a few touch ups to become my own. All the rooms were of a reasonable size, the kitchen was clean and well furnished, the bath tub was huge and free from dead hair, and best of all, it had both central heating and a coal fire! As I stood in the living area, I could just picture all my friends relaxing in front of the T.V on big fluffy bean bags, and eating Chinese. The view was pleasant; it had grass and trees and flowers and a little church in the distance. The current owners looked clean, which was a huge plus. It just all looked so cozy.

I truly believe that moving here would be like moving from home to home (only without the mother/slave included). It would be mine. Perfect!

Like a demon, I sprinted to my nice broker man's ofice and insisted that this house couldn't get snatched by anyone but me! Think he got a bit scared – but hey, thats what property buying does to you I'm afraid, and I'm sure he was used to it anyway. It's just you spend so long looking for the right everything and when you find it all rolled into one, the thought of anyone else placing a 'welcome home' doormat on that step, makes your blood boil. I never thought it would have this effect on me. The strange thing is, is that I suddenly felt willing to double the cost of it in order to get it. Property buying is a dangerous business.

Created by Rachel O'Rourke

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