If you are a first time buyer and you want to find and obtain the right mortgage in these difficult times, then here are a few tips to help you along the way.
1) Make a careful assessment of what you can comfortably afford. You should thoroughly assess your monthly expenditures against your regular monthly income in order to establish a true and realistic figure for your monthly disposable income. Your new mortgage should not overstretch you at all, and affordability should be your primary focus.
2) You need to decide whether to take out a fixed or variable rate mortgage. Do you think interest rates are going to go up or down? Do you want the stability of payments offered by a fixed rate mortgage, or would you prefer to take a gamble on interest rates? Could you afford your mortgage if interest rates go up and you have taken out a variable rate mortgage?
3) Visit your bank or building society first. As they already know you, and you are already a customer of theirs, this is always a sensible place to start. See what they have to offer you.
4) Once you have been to your bank, seek advice from a whole of market independent mortgage adviser. He or she should be able to research the whole market for you and provide you with advice and recommendation. You can establish whether you are better to proceed direct with your bank or with a mortgage deal recommended by an independent mortgage adviser.
5) It is good to get a range of advice and quotes, but try not to have too many credit searches. One or two is fine, but more than 2 in a short space of time could be negative for your credit rating.
Hopefully this has been helpful for you. Whatever you do, make informed sensible decisions which remain focused around affordability. Affordability should always be the most important thing, as failing to pay your mortgage can lead to property repossession.
First Buyer Mortgages offers further useful information and links to advice for those looking for first time buyer mortgages in the UK.
