Saving For a Deposit

Hello

Today I'm going to talk about how to save for a deposit. I'm sure this will be helpful to a lot of people as getting the deposit together is the hardest part of buying a property. Particularly at the moment with youth employment low, low wages, a high cost of living and an over inflated property market. It has never been harder to get on the property ladder than it is now. If you're reading this post hoping that I'm going to give you quick easy ways to save or make money, then you are going to be disappointed. It is NOT easy, unless you are in the fortunate position to have some inheritance or other big source of funds.

Before I get into the tips for saving I want to give you a bit of my back story, just to highlight that it is possible. It has always been my goal to own my own house. My parents own their own home and they have always encouraged me to be sensible with my money. To me I would rather be paying off a mortgage where at the end of it I will have a large sum of money contained within my house, than pay rent, making someone else richer, with nothing to show at the end of it. Renting now costs more per month than a mortgage (comparing like for like, depending on where you live) so if you can get on the property ladder you will benefit. Of course I am aware that this is not an achievable goal for everyone and I know I am incredibly lucky that I can get a mortgage. I also would not have been able to do it on my own, its only because I have a partner to halve everything with that it is possible. Achieving this goal is a lot about personal circumstances, but also about committing to that goal. You will have to go without a lot of luxuries for several years, but it is possible.

I have been saving up my deposit since I was about 16. I had my first job at 18 and since then I have never worked full time (not through choice) or earned much money. But what I have earned has been carefully saved. Again going back to circumstances, I have been lucky that my parents have never charged me rent, so that money I saved was put into a savings account. My parents appreciate how hard it is financially for young adults so helped me out in this sense. If I had been careless with my money then they might have started charging me rent. This has helped me greatly but I've also been smart with my money. I haven't had expensive holiday or a new car. I don't own loads of clothes or possessions and I try to save money wherever possible.

Ok, so on to the tips;

1. Make a packed lunch rather than eating out at lunchtime.

This might seem like an odd one but it is surprising how much you spend on lunches, drinks and snacks at work. My philosophy is that I have come to work to make money not spend it. Bringing a packed lunch will save you a lot of money as you can make the most of buying in bulk. E.g. A can of fizzy drink will cost you at least 80p in a shop singularly. If you buy a multipack of 8 they will cost you 44p each.

What led me to this was my own spending at work. In a typical week I would have a drink and cake at a coffee shop (£3.50) on a Monday, then on a Thursday I would have a McDonalds Meal (£3.99). So over the course of a month that amounts to £29.96. That may not sound like much, but over a year that is £359.52!!! On stuff that I didn't need to buy, and thats just two days of the week. If you get lunch and a coffee everyday then that figure will be a lot higher.

CHALLENGE- Work out how much you spend at work in a year on food and drink.

2. Choose your savings accounts carefully.

Shop around to find the accounts offering the best interest rates. At the moment the best you are going to get is about 3% as interests rates are at an all time low (0.5%). ISA's are a good option as they are tax free, but don't discount other types of account. Bonds are an excellent savings option as you lock away the money for a set amount of time (the longer the better) which means you get higher interest rates. They also have the added advantage that you can't access the money, which is good if you like to spend! I would estimate that over 5 years I earned £1000 just in interest and putting my money in the right accounts.

Once you have a decent amount saved I would suggest moving the bulk of it into a bond and tying it up in there for as long as you can. But keep £1000-2000 in an instant access savings account so that you've got some money for emergencies. This is also the account that you keep adding to. You can't add more funds to a Bond once it is set up.

CHALLENGE- Set up a savings account or bond

3. Keep your goal in sight.

Again this might seem like an odd tip, but as I've already mentioned you are in for a tough few years. There are times when it will make you miserable and you will want to splurge on something with your savings. When you feel like this you need to think about your ultimate goal. Look at houses online, look at interior design magazines or homeware shops and start planning in your mind your dream home. This will get you excited again and refocus your mind on whats really important.

4. The 52 Week Challenge.

Someone at work told me about this and I am currently doing it to save up for house things. The challenge is to save money every week for a year starting in week one with £1, week 2 save £2, week 3 save £3, etc until you get to week 52 where you save £52. I have changed this slightly as saving over £200 in the last month can be quite difficult. Instead I have written all the amounts out and I pick one each week and tick it off. So if I'm feeling flush I'll pick a high amount but if I'm feeling poor I can save a low amount. Over the course of a year, without interest, you will save £1,378.

CHALLENGE- Start the challenge with £1

5. Set up a monthly or weekly standing order into your savings account.

This is essential, particularly if you find saving difficult. If you set it to go out at the beginning of the month you won't get caught short at the end and can manage whats left over better. Its best to first of all do a budget of all your spending and find out whats left over. Then divide whats left after bills into two. One half is for spending on treats and the other half you set up as a standing order.

6. Make sure to change your accounts each year (or at the end of the ISA Term).

You may not be aware, but unless stated otherwise, the advertised interest rates on any account only last for the first year. After this year they go down to a much lower rate, unless you change your accounts. So each year I go into my bank and update my accounts to ensure I am getting the maximum interest.

CHALLENGE- Check your account interest rates and change them if you are on the low rate.

7. Downgrade your car.

This can be very painful to do, depending on how important your car is to you. I have downgraded from a 1.6L car to a 1.2L and it depresses me every single day that my car has no power. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that I am saving £150 a year on tax, at least £40 a month on fuel and a few hundred pounds on insurance. Depending on your current car the savings could be huge. At the end of the day a car is a mode of transport, I don't want to pay anymore for that than I have to. Cars are hugely expensive as it it.

8. Question Every Purchase.

Before you buy anything just take a moment to think do I really NEED this or do I simply WANT it. If the answer is you want it (maybe really really badly) consider walking away and putting that money you would have spent into your savings. This links with tip 3.

9. Treat yourself occasionally.

Despite what I have said above I do think it is important to occasionally treat yourself to a little something. We all work very hard for our money and we need to feel that it is for more than just bills. Having said that be sensible. Don't blow £500 on a pair of designer shoes or a handbag, maybe just £50 instead. A good treat is to buy something for your house e.g a case or a picture so that your end goal is still in sight.

10. Get into the mind set that "Every penny counts".

Some of my tips may seem incredibly particular, but as the saying goes "If you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves". Spending just £1 on unnecessary items each day amounts to £365 a year. Saving these small amount into a jar is a good way to demonstrate this.

CHALLENGE- Set up a change jar.

11. Be disciplined with your savings.

This is aimed particularly at spenders. If you are one of those people where money burns a hole in your pocket, then saving is incredibly difficult. If this is you then make sure that you have a savings account that you can't access. This will stop the temptation to spend it when you reach a few hundred pounds, as you simply won't be able to get to it. The tip of setting up a standing order will also help you.

12. Get savvy with coupons.

You can make some good saving by using coupons, but you need to make sure the coupons are for things you actually buy. After all companies offer these incentives to encourage you to buy things you wouldn't normally. In which case you are wasting money, not saving it.

I really hope these tips are useful to you. It's not going to be easy but I wish you all the best with reaching your goal. It will be worth it in the end. Remember, the more you save the lower your mortgage payments will be and the more disposable income you will have when you finally get in your home.

TTFN!

Ombudsman Complaint Conclusion

Hello

In a previous post I talked about how we felt let down by a mortgage advisor we used at a very well known estate agents. So much so that we put a complaint in with the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO). I have yet to write what the outcome of this was. So here goes...

The response letter arrived the day we picked up the keys to the house, which was awful timing (also Friday 13th). We opened it before we left and quickly skimmed over it. The news was not good. The response was that they were siding with the estate agent. According to them 'as with any large purchase we would expect the consumer to do their own research'. I quite agree and we did do our own research, but it was a case of finding what we wanted to find and not feeling the need to research further than that. We had trust in the mortgage advisor that she would advise us on the best purchase for our needs. She had asked us about why we wanted to buy our own place and what we were looking for. To a lay person this would give the impression she was advising us on more than just the mortgage.

The news did put a dampener on our moving day, but I can honestly say I don't regret pulling out of purchasing the flat. Even though we lost over £1000 it was worth it to not end up in a property that within a few months we would have hated. As the saying goes 'you live and learn' and my goodness we learnt a lot. Over friendly mortgage advisors aren't always what they seem. If they are getting a hefty commission for signing you up they won't have your best interests at heart. I had so much more faith in our next advisor who was not charging us for his services. We have gone on to recommend him to 7 or 8 people. On the other hand we will forever slate the well known estate agents and tell others to avoid them at all costs. We have since found out from someone who was selling a house with them that they have some very small print that says they will take a percentage of the original listing price rather than the actual selling price. So they could put your house on the market for £220,000, but it sells for £200,000, they will get commission on £220,000. Says it all really!

We could have contested the FSO's decision, but with moving we forgot and missed the deadline. I don't really think it would have done any good anyway. At least now we are happy in our new home where we don't pay an extortionate service charge, we have a garden and stairs and we are allowed pets.

TTFN

The Cost of Buying a Property

Hello

Today I've decided to write a post about the costs associated with buying a property. When we were looking at buying a house I found it very difficult to find consolidated figures on how much it was likely to cost. It is such a monumental amount of money that you really need to know well in advance roughly how much it will cost. I remember thinking 'Oh good I think I've got enough money for a deposit now' only to realise that we would need an extra £2-3,000 on top of that amount! Most disheartening when its taken years to get the deposit. To make matters worse we paid out half of this for the flat purchase, which fell through. This is a massive thing to take into consideration too. Whilst it was, in this instance, our choice (to a point) you do always have the risk that the seller may pull out of the purchase. So some of the things you have paid out for will need to be paid for again e.g searches, depending how far along the process you were. Make sure your conveyancer offer a "no purchase, no fee" arrangement, just in case.

So here are the costs you will incur. I will divide them into those you pay upfront or before completion, those that you pay on completion and extras. Where possible I will give a likely price range.

Before Completion

• Mortgage Broker Fees- £0-399+

When purchasing the flat we went to a corporate estate agents (and oh how we regret it). The 'lifetime broker fee' was £399 (grr!) which was supposed to mean that you could use this company for all future purchases and sales without having to pay fees ever again. Sounds great until they mess you about and you lose faith. We will NEVER use them again, so they did well out of us there. Anyway I digress, when we found the house we used an independent estate agents and they charged us nothing for setting up the mortgage. The service was excellent and we could be sure the service we were getting was based on the commission the person would receive. I would definitely recommend an independent estate agents as their fees are likely to be lower than corporates or as in our case non existent.

• Mortgage Booking Fee approx £300

This is a lovely charge the mortgage company adds for giving you a mortgage. Isn't that nice of them. This is sometimes added to the mortgage amount, rather than being an upfront cost.

• Valuation Fee- approx £150-200

This is the cost incurred by the mortgage company to send someone to the property to value it. They do this to insure the property is worth the price you are paying, incase they have to repossess it.

• Structural Survey- approx £150-£450

These vary in price based on how extensive the survey is. It is recommended that you have a full structural survey done. However this is the most expensive option, so you do have to weigh it up. The bank won't lend on a house that looks like it is about to fall down, so their survey is useful. But they don't tend to go in the property. If you are buying a very old house for example there are potentially a lot of structural problems that should be looked at. What you need to consider is that if you don't have a full survey and there is a problem with the house once you move in, you will have to pay for it. If it is discovered before you buy it, you can make it a condition of sale that the seller rectifies it before they leave.

• Searches £350

These are the first things your conveyancer will do. I have explained more about them here.

Upon Completion

• Conveyancing Fees £700+ (less search cost)

This is what you pay the solicitor for the legal aspects of the purchase. For example changing the deeds, searches, boundary and access issues.

• Stamp Duty

This is the killer. Up until recently stamp duty wasn't applied on properties under £250,000. But our lovely government have reduced it right down to £125,000. So now anything other than a small flat qualifies for stamp duty.
- For houses £125,000-£250,00 stamp duty is 1%. So for a house worth £150,000 you will pay £1,500 in stamp duty

- For houses worth £250,000-£500,000 its 3%. So for a house worth £300,000 you will pay £9000.

- For houses worth £500,000-£1 million its 4%. So for a house worth £1 million you will pay £40,000. Ouch!

- For houses worth over £2 million its 7%. So for a house worth £2 million you will pay £100,000. 

And apparently we have a budget deficit!

Extras to Consider

• House and Contents Insurance £300+

Contents insurance isn't essential, but in my opinion you would be extremely foolish not to get it. House insurance is usually a condition of the mortgage and you will have to provide evidence that you have got it to your conveyancer.

• Will Writing- £200-300

It is recommend that you write a will when you purchase a house as it greatly increases your estate should you die. It is important that you have a legal document to say where you would like the estate to go should you die. It isn't an essential requirement, but something you should do soon after you move in, if possible.

• Life Cover, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection £30+ a month for all 3

These insurances have different names depending on the insurer. I found deciding on these very difficult as you have to think about your own mortality and the financial commitment you are making. If you are buying with someone else you have to think about how they will pay the mortgage without your income. Life Cover pays out a lump sum should you die before the mortgage term ends. You take out cover for the full mortgage amount. Critical illness pays a lump sum should you be diagnosed with a range of serious medical conditions. It can pay for private health care or pay the bills whilst you recover. Income protection pays a monthly amount for a maximum of two years should you be unable to work due to unemployment or illness. You don't have to have all three, it depends on your budget and circumstances. But it is something you should seriously consider.

I think that is everything! If I think of anything else I will update this post. In short our costs were about £2300 for a house worth £155,000 to give you a rough idea. But it will vary based on the companies you use, the price of the property and what type of survey you have.

TTFN!

Moving

Hello

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I have had a very hectic two weeks moving into my new home! As you would expect it wasn't a fun experience. Even the prospect of it being OUR home didn't reduce the stress and exhaustion. But we are in and unpacked now. Phew!

We had been told we could pick up the keys on friday so we got up early and packed our remaining stuff and filled both cars up with as many boxes as we could. We then got a call saying the keys could be picked up at 11am. Which was brilliant as I have heard horror stories of people waiting all day in their removal vans to be able to pick up the keys. The estate agent was only a minute away from the house, so we didn't have to wait much longer to see out new home.

The first thing we did was look around everywhere properly. I had a lovely surprise when I opened the cupboard in the bedroom, to find a wardrobe large enough for all my clothes and shoes. This frees up space and also means I can sell my old wardrobe for some much needed cash! We unpacked the car, then my boyfriend went to get more stuff. We had decided it would be easier to paint the living room before we brought all the large furniture over. So while he was getting more smaller boxes I started decorating. In hindsight this might not have been the best idea as it made the whole process more drawn out and exhausting. We had chosen a colour called 'Roasted Red' which on the label looked like a nice darkish red. To go with it I had chosen a light grey. This idea may sound whacky but I had seen it in one of the paint swatch books you can get in DIY shops and it looked lovely. So I started painting and immediately hated the 'red'. It wasn't actually a red, but more of a burnt orange. I hate orange! Stupidly we hadn't bought testers first, but went straight to the big pots. So that was £18 wasted! Anyhoo I carried on with the grey and resolved to go to Homebase the next day and get a 'proper' red.

The next day we moved over some smaller boxes and I went to Homebase to get another red paint. This time I got tester and found the perfect true bright red (crazy I know but wait until you see it finished). So I carried on painting with some help from my sister. After painting 3 walls and leaving the other grey, we decided that that didn't work either so I painted over that in red. Another pot of paint wasted! The finished look is really nice and very cosy. All the big stuff had been moved by this point so this was our first night sleeping in our new home.

Unfortunately we didn't have an oven and had a lot of trouble finding one that would be delivered quickly (there's only so long you can eat hot food purely from a microwave). We wanted to get an electric cooker but the wiring was not in place to have it fitted so we have had to get a gas oven. I'm gutted about this as I hate gas. I think is so dangerous and its much more temperamental getting the temperature right. But at least we now have everything we need to live comfortably.

A month later we have one room decorated and have nearly finished another room, and everything is unpacked. I've also done some work in the garden and bought some pots. Each day we do a bit more work and it gets a bit more like the home we want it to be.

TTFN!

Finally! Some Good News!

Hello

Yesterday we finally received the news we have been waiting two and a half months for. We have got a moving date! Yippee! Next week we will be picking up the keys to our new home. I cannot tell you how awful the wait has been. We have been trying to save money so that we can decorate and buy new furniture so we have barely been out anywhere. I started packing a couple of weeks ago so our flat is full of boxes. The worst part has been knowing that life is going to be very busy and stressful while we move, but not know when it is going to be happening. So it just prolongs the stress even more. But it will all be worth it when we pick up the keys.

TTFN!

House Buying Terminology

Hello

In this post I'm going to explain some of the terminology you will encounter when buying a house. Some of the terms might be really obvious to some of you, but they weren't to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one!

"No Chain"- this one might be obvious but when we were looking for our house we only understood what it meant when an estate agent mentioned it. A property that has "No onward chain" is the best scenario to have as it means the seller is not dependent on another house purchase to move out. So they might be going into rented accommodation, they are selling a buy-to-let, or moving in with family for example. When there is a chain it can make the whole process very lengthy (8months plus in some cases) and unstable. Each person in the chain has to find somewhere else to buy, which can take a while. There is also the chance that one part of the chain falls through, delaying things further. Obviously you aren't going to buy a house purely on this basis, but if you had two houses you couldn't decide between and one was no chain then that would probably influence your decision. First time buyers are also not in a chain which makes them very desirable to sellers. If you are a first time buyer you can use this to your advantage. As you can move quickly the seller is more likely to accept your offer ;)

"Leasehold"- I have covered this in more detail in this post but will do a brief definition here. Leasehold means that you are in an agreement with the owner (freeholder) that you can occupy the property for a period of time (usually about 100 years maximum).

"Freehold"- Again I went into a lot of detail about what freehold means in this post. Freehold means you own the property and land it sits on 'absolutely'. So you are free to do with it what you want (subject to planning permission).

"Conveyancing"- We had no idea what this was before we started our purchase. Unfortunately those that work in the industry assume that you know what this means so don't explain it unless you ask. Conveyancing is concerned with all the legal documentation that is required to purchase a house. As I understand it you could do this yourself, but it is much easier and more sensible to employ someone who knows what they are doing (although it is not cheaper!). You can employ a conveyancer or a solicitor that specialises in conveyancing. It costs an awful lot of money for what seems like not a lot. But it is very important. They will liase with the sellers solicitor/conveyancer, obtain information on the cost of running the property, check planning permission, conduct 'searches' (explained more below), sort out boundary or rights of way issues. This is all done so that you can make an informed decision about whether to go through with the purchase.

"Searches"- This was another thing that we didn't understand, yet had to pay £250 for! As the name suggests they are searches of databases and records. But what are they searching for you may ask. They check to see if the property is built on a coal mining area, radon area (some dangerous gas), to see if you might have to pay for the upkeep of a church (this is called a Chancel check/search), bankruptcy search and a Land Registry search, amongst others.

"Exchange of Contracts"- this is the point at which you become legally responsible for the property and can no longer pull out of the purchase without serious ramifications (you will have to pay compensation to the seller and vice versa if they pull out at this stage). Buildings insurance needs to be arranged for this date.

"Completion"- yey you finally own the property and can pick up the keys!! This is the day you have spent months waiting for. It should take place one to two weeks after you have exchanged contracts.

"Stamp Duty"- Or Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to give it its full title. This is that horrible and hugely costly tax that the lovely people in government want you to hand over (as if you haven't spent enough money already). I will be doing another blog post which will explain this in more detail. But basically if you purchase a property costing £125,000 or more you will have to pay stamp duty.

I hope this is useful, TTFN!

Still Waiting To Move.....

Hello

I'm feeling very grumpy at the moment as we still haven't moved into our new home and its all because a piece of paper wasn't signed by the seller and neither of our solicitors actually noticed it *sigh*. We got the big pack of paper to read about the house three weeks ago. I read it all, signed everything and returned it to the solicitor two weeks ago, pointing out the missed signature. You would have thought this would be long enough to return the signed piece of paper, but no, we still haven't exchanged contracts or arranged a completion date. Argh!! To make matters worse, it is a bank holiday on Monday so we will lose another day.

I can't bear being so close, yet its still feels like so far away. I just want to be in my new home, making it look all pretty!!

End of Rant.

Hopefully I will have some exciting news soon.

TTFN

Leasehold Vs Freehold

Hello

I wanted to write a post about what leasehold and freehold mean. We came massively unstuck because we didn't do enough research on this before going ahead with our flat purchase. DISCLAIMER I am writing this as I understand it from reading the leasehold contract for the flat we were buying. Each contract might be slightly different. This blog post is written to provide you with a basis for doing your own research. Please feel free to add comments (politely) if you feel I have got something wrong. So here goes;

Leasehold

- Leasehold means that you own the right to live in the property for a set period of time (the length of the lease). When we were looking to purchase the flat we did some research that suggested it meant that you own a small box (flat) inside a larger box (whole building). This is not the case. The person who owns the freehold owns the land, building and each flat.

- The length of the lease determines how long you can stay in the property. Leases are usually 100+ years to begin with. As the length of the lease that remains gets smaller the value of the property reduces. Once you get down to 70-80years left the flat will be unsellable as no mortgage lender will lend on a lease this short. You can pay to extend the lease but this may cost upwards of £15,000!

- Leasehold applies to virtually all flats in the UK. Those that are freehold are difficult to get a mortgage for.

- You pay off a mortgage.

- Buildings insurance may be set up by the freeholder, rather than you having to arrange it. But it may not be the best or best value insurance.

- There are restrictions on hanging your washing out on balconies and getting your own satellite dish. There should be a satellite dish on the building that all leaseholders can use.

- You cannot make structural changes to the property.

- You will most likely need to get permission for pets and wooden floors.

- There are rules on how late you can play loud music (this is one of the few advantages of a leasehold)

- You will have to pay ground rent (approx £100+/year)

- You will have to pay service charges for the maintenance of communal areas. This is the killer. There are no guidelines or protection for tenants* with regards to how much can be charged for these services. The flat we looked at had a service charge of £130/month. This was basic, if the accumulated funds weren't enough for the work done that year they could ask for additional money from each tenant. You have no option but to pay these charges. if you do not pay you will be charged interest until you do.

- If you do not follow the rules set out in the contract you could be evicted.

- You may need to get permission to decorate your home.

- Structural issues to the building as a whole will not be your responsibility, but you will have to pay a share of the cost.

- You might be subject to inspections and the freeholder can enter the property if they so choose.

Freehold

- Freehold means that you own the building and the land that it sits on (once you have paid off the mortgage).

- Most houses in the UK are freehold.

- You pay off a mortgage

- Buildings insurance is arranged by you. It may be an essential condition of your mortgage if you have one.

- You can make structural changes as long as you get the correct planning permission and follow building regulations.

- You do not have to pay ground rent or services charges, but you will be responsible for maintaining the whole property.

- You cannot be evicted from the property.

*An organisation called the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal will look at disputes, but from my research they are not very helpful.

I hope you find this helpful if you are unsure whether to go for a leasehold or freehold property.

Property Purchase Part 2

Hello

So what happened next?

Pulling out of buying the flat meant that we would only be looking at houses. All along we had wanted a house and a garden so we haven't regretted our decision at all. Once you factor in the service charges, the mortgage on a flat isn't much less than a mortgage on a house, so we felt we could afford it. We immediately started looking at properties and viewed about 10 in total. Most of them were pretty terrible but we did view two that we really liked. One was a three bedroom house with massive rooms, but a tiny garden. The other was a Victorian terraced house with two bedrooms and a large garden. I fell in love with the Victorian one and my boyfriend preferred the 3 bedroom one simply because of the space. Although he did like the Victorian one. Problem.

We viewed both of them again but the 3 bedroom just didn't feel right to me, luckily the boyfriend agreed that the Victorian one was lovely. Yes! I truly believe that for the big decisions in life you should follow your gut feeling. The Victorian house just felt RIGHT. So we put in a (low) offer, which was rejected, but it started negotiations. We put in a higher (more reasonable) offer, which again was rejected but the estate agent asked what was the most we could offer. We said we could add another £500 but that was as high as we could go. After a very tense few minutes he phoned back to say the seller had accepted! Yippee!

That was 6 weeks ago. The waiting is terrible, but we are nearly there (I think). I CANNOT wait to move. I've got plans for a lovely log burner, a vegetable patch and gorgeous bird cage wallpaper.

Property Purchase Part 1

Hello

For my first proper blog post I thought it would make sense to tell you about my house buying experience so far. I'm going to do it in two parts as its a long story. So here goes...

My boyfriend and I were getting fed up with renting for several reasons;

1. Its dead money. Only the landlord is benefiting from it.
2. We weren't allowed pets.
3. We were being inspected every 3 months, which we felt was a big invasion of our privacy.
4. We couldn't decorate the place.
5. Most importantly we could be evicted at any time. We had been in a nice little flat for only six months when the owner decided they wanted to sell so we had to leave. Then my sister was renting somewhere for a few months when the same thing happened to her. It is horrible to have to leave your home when it isn't your choice.

With all this in mind we decided the time had come to start looking for our own home. We had quite a good deposit saved up so we took the plunge. After some thought we decided that a flat would probably be the best option, as at the time we didn't think we would be able to afford a house, and the mortgage payments would be lower so we would have more disposable income. We weren't searching for long when we found a really nice flat. It had two bedrooms, an ensuite, was in a really nice area on the outskirts of a town and it was only 7 years old so very modern inside. After a couple of viewings we put an offer in which was accepted almost immediately (the owner had found a previous buyer, but we were told it fell through because the buyer's circumstances changed). We were encouraged to see the mortgage advisor at the estate agents that were advertising the property. We were happy with this as she was a really nice girl and seemed very knowledgable and efficient. On our first meeting she showed us this glossy book about the house buying process and said she would be there to help us every step of the way. 'Great' we thought!

So she arranges us a good mortgage,  for which we were accepted and put us in contact with their associated conveyancer. Lovely job. Everything was going smoothly. At this point we also paid their 'lifetime broker fee' of £349 which meant for any subsequent house sale or purchase were could use the estate agents services for free. This is when things started to change. On our next meeting with the mortgage advisor we talked about insurances. The standard ones offered are life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. All of which are designed to protect you if something happens and you can't work/die (and therefore can't pay the mortgage). This is when our mortgage advisor started the hard sell. What a change in character that was!

In between all this we had emailed her with a question. The reply we got was very different to precious exchanges. She was quite blunt and basically said 'This isn't something to be asking me, go to your conveyancer'. Again this was quite a character change. It seemed like once she had our money the service dropped. Aside from all this the flat purchase was going well. We had paid the conveyancer for the searches and the mortgage company for their valuation.

After a few weeks we got 'the stack' containing the contracts, results of the searchers and any other information required about the property. This is where it all fell apart...

As you may be aware most flats are leasehold. Those that are not are very difficult to get a mortgage on. What we didn't realise was that you don't actually own the flat. You own the right to live there for an extended period. With this comes a whole set of other potential problems (I will be doing a separate blog post on this). Subsequently after reading 'the stack' we realised that a leasehold was not what we wanted. After much agonising and at great expense (£1300 in fees) we pulled out of the sale. We were also angry at out mortgage advisor as we felt she should have explained leasehold and freehold to us at the very beginning. Had we know we wouldn't have gone for the flat. As first time buyers we were naive and thought she would advise us, especially as we had explained our frustration with renting. But it seems she was only thinking about her commission.

As a result we lodged a complaint with the company in the hope of getting at least some of our money back. After a month of investigation they sent us a letter stating that our mortgage advisor had done a fantastic job- she had set us up with a mortgage. End of. They wouldn't be giving us our money back. We have since referred our complaint to the Financial Ombudsman and our awaiting their decision. I'll do an update blog with the result of this. Keep your fingers crossed :)

Welcome to My Blog

Hello and welcome to my blog,

I have decided to start writing a blog as I am in the process of buying my first home with my boyfriend, and wanted to share what I have learnt (and am still learning). It has been a long and stressful process with some pitfalls along the way, which could have been prevented with a bit more information. I thought it would be useful to share my experiences from first time buyer to first time buyer. As it can sometimes be difficult to get impartial, easy to understand advice from those involved in the process (such as mortgage advisors/solicitors). 

I want to explain some of the house buying jargon as I understand it (as a lay person), pass on any tips I have learnt, share my journey from agreeing a sale to moving in and decorating our new home, review homewares that I have bought and share shops/websites I have found that stock beautiful things for your home.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog,

Jemma

DISCLAIMER- I am no house buying or legal expert. What I write in this blog is based on my personal experience. If you have issues with your own house purchase always go to your solicitor that is what you pay them a lot of money for! :)