I'm looking to buy my first house with my girlfriend and just wondered who people have their mortgage with. In particular, I'd be interested in what any recent first time buyers out there have to say.

So, who are you with for your Mortgage?

Would you recommend them to anyone else?

Have you had a nightmare with any particular Bank / Building Society?

Thanks for your help! :thumbsup:

Just got my mortgage sorted about an hour ago!

Go with Northern rock! Great for first time buyers!

They will lend up too 125% of the mortgage! so if you are allowed 80k with most places, NR will lend you 100k!

Check out the website and do the together option under 'together'

http://www.northernrock.co.uk/html/mortgages/generic/mortgage_calculators.asp

Sounds like you are in a similar boat to us! We just started getting all this together!

My Misus is an estate agent so we got a brief glimpse into the live of real estate too... Its a cruel world out there...

The house prices usually rise by 5 - 15k above the asking price!

Would be nice to keep in touch, see how you get on! exchange good and bad news and tips along the way!

Originally posted by Lickable
Just got my mortgage sorted about an hour ago!

Go with Northern rock! Great for first time buyers!

They will lend up too 125% of the mortgage! so if you are allowed 80k with most places, NR will lend you 100k!

The house prices usually rise by 5 - 15k above the asking price!


It is certainly not wise to to borrow 125% of your mortgage in todays climate, interest rates are set to rise in the next five years. You may be able to afford the mortagage now, but if the interest rate rose by 5% in a period of a year would you be able to afford it?

The best mortgages that can be had by first time buyers, are those where you have put down a 10% deposit. A good site is http://www.charcolonline.co.uk/ for finding out about mortgages

Also it is not always true that house prices rise by £5-£10,000 above the asking price. Our house was below the asking price. You have to remember as a first time buyer you are in a good position as you are not in a chain. Therefore a seller maybe inclined to take your lower offer for a quick sell and no hassle.

You also have to remember that a mortgage that may suit one first time buyer may not be perfect for another.

Think about what you want out of the mortgage first before you shop around. Would you like to make overpayments? Would you like to make overpayments? Do you want a mortgage that tracks the base rate, or a fixed rate mortagage? A fixed rate may be worth considering, if interest rates are due to rise.

Skatie

Ours is a fixed rate and would still be affordable at 7% Its not expected to do what it did again in the 80s!!!

Its a fair point that you made regarding different mortgages suit different people! We have thought about this long and hard and believe that the mortgage we have taken is best for us!

Being a first time buyer these days doesnt seem to help that much as people are turning into very greedy people with this boom.

I just hope, that somehow... we all find the house of our dreams and are still secure!

Hi my partner & i seem to be in the same boat as you too!

We have heard northern rock is the best one, but are having a couple of independant advisors coming round next week to discuss our options. Its not costing us anything & i'll let you know what they say.

As first time buyers we're a bit confused about what to do first - some people say to get your mortgage approved, register with a solicitor etc then look for your house. Whilst others tell us the opposite! Plus with all the houses being snapped up so quickly, we think that if we hang around waiting to get everything approved etc we'll miss out!

Any advice would be great :)

Try looking at newly built houses. They'll accept your first offer before it's built, and the value is likely to double in the space of 2 years.

One house on the same new (well, 2 years ago) estate as my friend, the people have never lived in it, they just leave their car outside! They bought it for £120K and now it's worth over £200K. An £80K increase on a place you've barely spent any extra money on (except mortgage etc) is a hell of alot if you ask me.

Give these guys a call, they will sort you out the best option for you (fixed/discounted/flexible etc etc)

http://www.mortgagehouse.co.uk/index.html

They dont charge, just get a kick back from the mortgage company, they sort everything out. They deal with all lenders and know all the latest deals.

They have sorted me out twice now with mortgages.

Gurus predict the interest rate to go up this year so be careful, dont overstretch yourself, and make sure you get one with no tie in or penalties and switch after the term to the latest deal at the time.

You'll get some excellent advice written in a very easy to understand way from www.motleyfool.co.uk (http://)

I use this site for advice on ISAs, Insurance, Mortgages, etc. It's written simply so 'fools' can understand.

I'll second Motley Fool. Money Saving Expert (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/) is supposed to be good too, though I've never really looked at it myself. Also, in terms of finding what mortgages are available, try Money Supermarket (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/).

I'm with Northern Rock. They are by no means the cheapest, but they do seem to target those that are trying to get their foot on the ladder as already mentioned. I went with them because of my lack of credit history which put other lenders off me. If you have a good credit rating though, you will get much better deals than Northern Rock can offer.

Also, I've heard from a number of different sources to steer clear of The Woolwhich.

Originally posted by katey_h23


As first time buyers we're a bit confused about what to do first - some people say to get your mortgage approved, register with a solicitor etc then look for your house. Whilst others tell us the opposite! Plus with all the houses being snapped up so quickly, we think that if we hang around waiting to get everything approved etc we'll miss out!

Any advice would be great :)

You need to get your mortgage aproved first, like you said the houses just get grabbed too quickly!

once you get a mortgage any good lender or estate agent will sort out the solicter too!

Then start looking at houses, bearing in mind that your mortgage approval is likley to run out in 3 months!

We looked around just to get a feel of the areas and prices before we got a mortgage... then we got one with northern rock. Now we are looking to buy!

Its a cruel world... Dont try and buy in the Hillsborough end! They are selling way over the asking prices!!!

Good Luck

Originally posted by Lickable
once you get a mortgage any good lender or estate agent will sort out the solicter too!


I wouldn't touch a solicitor that an estate agent recommended. Its not a good idea, as it probably won't be the best service or price and the estate agent may be getting a commision from it.

Look around for your own and find the cheapest.

I wouldn't worry about getting your mortagage sorted out beforehand too much. You can still have an offer accepted on a house without having set up a mortagage so your not going to miss out on anything.

Except you dont know how much u can lend...

An estate agent will be getting commission, as will the mortgage advisor!

Its a pretty nice payment to the estate agent, when a sale goes through with their help... ;)

Originally posted by Lickable
Except you dont know how much u can lend...

You don't need to decide on your mortagage company and apply to them to decide how much you will be allowed to borrow.

A rough guide is 2.5 times your salary. Most independant advisors will let you know that anyway. Whom it is normally customary to see when looking to purchase a house. Most estate agents will offer this service.

When you find out the amount you can roughly borrow there is no need to jump straight in and apply for a mortagage before you actually find a house and get an offer accepted on it.

What happens in 3 months time and you haven't found a house? You need to reapply again. Sounds like a waste of time to me. Just find the house first.

Skatie

This convo is turning 'Springer' :D

You could get a DIP, to let you know how much you are likley to get!

We went to see two mortgage advisors, both of which said we could borrow 10k more that we were actually allowed! As you may guess, we were highly dissapointed to find that we couldnt afford a house in the area we were previously looking!

At the end of the day... I think its up to the individual to hear everyones views, and then to make there own


Things to remember...

1) Too many credit checks, i.e mortgage quotes, will result in bad credit, or pointless charges to have it done again.

2) Work out what the mortgage you are taking would be at 7% or more, which its expected to rise too... Its already rising to 4% today!

3) 'Up and coming areas' are not garunteed. A new area was recently built in sheffied, cant remember where, claining to be a new 'up and coming area' and is now have a sewage works being built at the back of it

4) Mortgage advisors get various rates from various lenders. Make sure they are not trying to give you a mortgage they benifit from.


Happy house hunting!

Anybody know anyone willing to lend to students :rolleyes:

Didn't think so :P

Everyone we know with a mortgage pays less a month than we pay rent, so we'd have no problem with the repayments, it's the deposit we haven't got :(

The way prices are rising, by the time we've finished uni (doing masters then phd so long time to go yet) cardboard boxes are going to be 200k plus :rolleyes: :(

Originally posted by sarah_81

Everyone we know with a mortgage pays less a month than we pay rent, so we'd have no problem with the repayments, it's the deposit we haven't got :(


Bear in mind interest rates are on the up now, so monthly mortgage repayments will also go up.

Originally posted by Skatiechik
You may be able to afford the mortagage now, but if the interest rate rose by 5% in a period of a year would you be able to afford it?

Interest rate will not rise by 5% in one year. You will have more than half of UK not able to afford it. I think you mean to 5%.

Originally posted by Lickable
1) Too many credit checks, i.e mortgage quotes, will result in bad credit, or pointless charges to have it done again.

That is so true - shopping around for the best deal will probably get progressively worst if you do it too much. When they do a credit check on you over and over again, they think you were rejected by the last bank for some reason and your ratings goes go down instead of thinking you are in fact shopping around to getting a good deal. As a result banks think they are taking a risk and therefore charge you more.

Some of the replies to your question have highlighted that there's a lot of good and bad advice out there.

I have recently helped quite a few first time buyers get mortgages when they moved to Sheffield with their jobs. each one ended up with a different 'product' because everyone is different in their attitude and circumstances.

Its important you choose a mortgage advisor who listens to what is important to you and asks you a lot of questions before they start suggesting anything.

Find someone you feel comfortable with and who is on your wavelength not just a great salesperson with the gift of the gab.
Ask all the questions you want - if anyone makes you feel as if you're being stupid - go to someone else.

There are sharks about - but most of us are normal decent people who actually care about getting it right!

Good luck!

Originally posted by beck

Find someone you feel comfortable with and who is on your wavelength not just a great salesperson with the gift of the gab.


Someone with the 'gift of the gab' would put me off anyway. If I walk into a shop for example, to be greeted by some over enthusiastic, commission hungry sales assistant, the first thing I do is turn around and leave (after saying thanks but no thanks, of course).


Originally posted by beck

There are sharks about - but most of us are normal decent people who actually care about getting it right!


Especially where theres commission involved, ay?

Originally posted by John
That is so true - shopping around for the best deal will probably get progressively worst if you do it too much. When they do a credit check on you over and over again, they think you were rejected by the last bank for some reason and your ratings goes go down instead of thinking you are in fact shopping around to getting a good deal. As a result banks think they are taking a risk and therefore charge you more.

Something I am not quite getting, why do you need to go through a credit check when shopping around for the best mortgage. Just read what mortagage deal a bank/building society is offering?

I would have thought it was plain simple to read what the deal was, and if it would suit you.

Speak to a mortgage advisor, find out how much you would be allowed to borrow from a bank/building society. So you know you will be able to obtain a mortgage in principle. This is all the estate agents needs to know before accepting your offer on a house.

Once your offer has been accepted then do your on research into which mortgage is for you. Don't rely on Mortgage advisors, as the deal we went for the advisor didn't even know it existed. The web can be a very useful resource for this.

As with all first time buyers, (myself included at the time) knowledge of mortgages is limited. But it is worth learning and understanding them to be able to get the best deal rather than relying on someone else to find it for you.

Originally posted by Skatiechik
Something I am not quite getting, why do you need to go through a credit check when shopping around for the best mortgage.

...

Speak to a mortgage advisor, find out how much you would be allowed to borrow from a bank/building society.

You just answered your own question.

In order to find out how much they can lend you, they have to do a credit check.

Infact I didn't. The point I am getting at is

If you go through one credit check, and they tell you that you can borrow such and such. Therefore you have obtained a mortgage in principal.

What John and Lickable were suggesting is that you have to go through a credit check everytime you look at a deal whilst browsing for the best mortgage, which isn't correct.

If you have obtained a mortgage in principal there is no need to worry about rushing into a deal before you find the house of your dreams.

The estate agent now knows you are a credible prospective buyer. So there is no need to obtain a mortgage untill after your offer has been accepted on a house.

It work like this.

You go into Halifax and ask how much a mortgage for 80K is over 25 years is.

They ask for your details go away and phone the credit check people up for your ratings and history of debt and come back and give you the answer you seek.

You've got your information but you feel it is too much and you think you can get a better offer elsewhere, so you leave and go into HSBC instead and ask how much a mortgage is for 80K is over 25 years.

The procedure is the same but each time a credit check is made your rating is going down because they think Halifax rejected your application for some reason.

So shopping around may not be in your best interest after a certain point because the lower the rating the higher the risk you are deemed to be and therefore it cost more to have a mortgage.

See this explaination about searches (https://www.creditreporting.co.uk/checkmyfile/Samples/CRO/SRR.asp)

Sorry, didn't realise people were that bad at Mathematics.

Every Mortagage lender advertises what the interest rate will be on there Mortgage. It is simple maths to work out what your monthly repayments would be. If you can't manage to do it, then there are sites on the web which will do it for you. You do not need to talk to them and have a credit check to work out a monthly repayment.

You can preview all mortgages offered by lenders on the web, charcol is a good site for this. It gives you the information on interest rates, discounted periods, monthly repayment and what restrictions there are. There is no need at all to see the mortgage company until you decide which mortgage is for you

Skatie

Originally posted by Skatiechik
There is no need at all to see the mortgage company until you decide which mortgage is for you

I disagree. For me, it's not the cheapest one which we're going to go for. How helpful and professional the company is could really swing it for me. If I get some useless guy giving me the wrong advise, am I really going to get a mortgage off them? No. If I only get quotes online I wouldn't know anything about the people I'd have to deal with.

It's just a personal opinion I guess. If the only thing you're bothered about is price, then stick to the maths and don't see anyone until you have to.

OK, my example wasn't very good. It doesn't get away from my point of do NOT shop around too much for what ever reason you decided not to go for a particular lender.

You've found an approach that works for you but that doesn't necessary mean it work for someone else.

Originally posted by Skatiechik
I wouldn't touch a solicitor that an estate agent recommended. Its not a good idea, as it probably won't be the best service or price and the estate agent may be getting a commision from it.

Look around for your own and find the cheapest.


I would agree with looking around for a solicitor yourself, but if the agent recommends one, ask which one it is and for a quote, thus eliminating at least one solicitor in the whole of Sheffield!!!

Estate agents dont get commision from recommending solicitors and instructing them, but if they are friendly with one in particular, they always get a slightly reduced quote, so the agent will keep recommending them.

good house hunting everyone!

Prices are still going high!

Just put a bid in for a house down near the peaks. This area was previously going at 2-4k above the asking price. Today we were refused a 6k above the asking price and the are starting a final offers secret bid today! Sigh!

We really had our hearts set on this house... Thought we were in for a chance with such a generous offer and the fact we are first time buyers...

Sigh! things are not looking good... :(

Originally posted by Lickable
Prices are still going high!

Just put a bid in for a house down near the peaks. This area was previously going at 2-4k above the asking price. Today we were refused a 6k above the asking price and the are starting a final offers secret bid today! Sigh!

We really had our hearts set on this house... Thought we were in for a chance with such a generous offer and the fact we are first time buyers...

Sigh! things are not looking good... :(

If you're that keen then you could do what the people who bought our last house did. They went into the estate agent's office around the time that bids were closing and sat at the desk where the bids were coming in. As it got close to the closing time they increased their bids to just above and were eventually the successful bidders.

Good luck.

Lickable I live Nr Crystal Peaks and when we bought our house (18 months ago) we paid 3k over the asking price.

We viewed the house which came on the market the previous day. We were second to view and went straight to the Estate Agents and asked them to call the vendor to see if they would take the house off the market if we gave £3k over the asking price.

The vendor wanted to see the proof of the mortgage, which we promtly took round. The same day the house had a 'sold' sign placed outside.

I think we were very lucky in out bid since we had been through the bidding wars before on other properties.
Our house was bought through Halifax estate agents.

Blundells like to keep the bidding wars going because that way they make more money. Good luck with the house buying lickable.

DB

Thanks people! I really do hope we manage to get this house! I am not one for suspence!

Well I have now heard of the concept of 100% loan mortgages, so no deposit is required.

Do these really exist? Sounds like it could be right up my street :P

Originally posted by sarah_81
Well I have now heard of the concept of 100% loan mortgages, so no deposit is required.

Do these really exist? Sounds like it could be right up my street :P

Yes these do exist. The deal's with these mortgages are obviously not as good as those that you have to stick down a 10% deposit for.

As skatie chik said the deals aint as good. You could end up paying a rather large amount of intrest back.

If its possible to lay down a deposit then do so... if not, then go for it. Just remember the intrest rate can creep up at any time.

www.northernrock.co.uk

These do a 125% mortgage if you are intrested. its good if you budget right. How it works is they work out the mortgage then take quarter of your 'joint' wage and add that to the amount of the mortgage... so if you could borrow 60 and your joint income was 24k they would let you borrow 66k, which can be nice.

this only applies to a joint income and the mortgage is worked out at 2.75 times the joint income.

The only thing is then... you want more of a house when you get more money... sigh!

Thanks people!

I have finally been accpeted on a house!

Just hope all the paper pushing stays on my side ;)

Anyone know of any good solicters?

Originally posted by Lickable
Anyone know of any good solicters?

See this thread: Can anyone recommend a good solicitor for conveyancing?
(http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?threadid=6827)

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer (if I can afford it!) and am looking for mortgage advice.

Does anyone know a decent adviser in Sheffield who won't charge the earth and seems genuinely honest?

I have heard some horror stories in paper, is it easier to just go to my bank?

Thanks

FiFi

I have used these a few times and found them very good.

They will find you whats good for you
Fixed
Discount
Flexible
etc
etc

they know all the latest deals and use most of the big banks, they just get a kickback commission for getting the sale.

http://www.mortgagehouse.co.uk/contactus.htm

ask for Marilyn

MOD: Similar threads merged

for great mortgage advice check out Simplicity financial services they are really friendly and professional. call 0114 2096264

I called Simplicity on Tuesday!!! Can confirm that, dead friendly and didn't try to sell me anything, just offered free advice-winner!

Caron,

I rang simpliicty yesterday.

Not met with them yet but they seemed to really want to help and have fun doing it.

I spoke to rob, have you seen him as he sounded nice?

I'll up date once I've met with them.

They said they didn't charge anyhting and they were independent.

Thanks

Fi

hi \friendly fi, yes I have met with Rob and Chris they are excellent guys, I would not hesitate in using them.
Sounds like they have the right idea on customer service and how they treat their team, let me know how you get on. xx