What You Really Need To Know About Mortgage Advisers

Can't live with one, can't live without one. The only statement that really sums up what your relationship with a mortgage adviser of any kind will be. They'll provide you with seriously invaluable information that you would literally die without being a first time home buyer, but you do have to remember that they're working off commission, and they'll say anything to get you signing on the dotted lines. 

First time buyers are easy, fresh meat for mortgage advisers as they know that you probably know nothing, or very little. Well I didn't at least. As my house buying process happened so quickly, I ended up choosing a mortgage adviser out of ease that was the in house one at the estate agents. Luckily, she was incredibly nice and we got on really well, but it was certainly an eye opener and I learnt a lot along the way.

First time buying is scary and you do need an advocate to be there for you, it's just something you can't do alone, especially the first time. If I was back to square one again, I would definitely have liked to know these bits about a mortgage adviser and I'm sure some of you will find really helpful, and help to save you time and money!

What Is A Mortgage Adviser?

Imagine a mortgage adviser as being your right hand man. They provide completely free advice before you choose them to write your mortgage for your chosen property at which stage they will start charging fees for both writing your mortgage and on the day that you exchange.

A mortgage adviser is a well of information, they'll discuss all your incoming and out going money each month and give you an idea of how much money you can borrow on a house. They'll give you lots of handy packs of information in the early stages to help you save and know how to prepare yourself.

When you get to the stage of applying for a mortgage, they'll do your mortgage in principle for you (this is needed when you put an offer in on a house) and they'll find the best deal for you, most mortgage advisers also claim to have 'special' deals with certain banks that can't be obtained elsewhere.

Once you've applied for your mortgage you can sit back and (nervously) wait for the response whilst your mortgage adviser will do all the running around and chasing the lender for you. 

Having a mortgage adviser will not only help to guide you through the whole buying process start to finish, they'll seal the deal for you in finding the right mortgage for you and they'll fight your corner if your case is a little tricky. 

How Much Do They Cost

This is probably the most varying aspect of a mortgage adviser as I'm sure their services are more expensive in certain parts of the country, and independent advisers are probably going to be cheaper than those that work in house.

I had a mortgage adviser who worked for Countrywide, I think they offer set rates around the country, all together mine came to £400. This included the fee for writing the mortgage and on exchanging the mortgage. I *think* this is probably average, I didn't do any real research beforehand as again it all happened so quickly that I just took the easiest option at the time which was the in house mortgage adviser at the agents who were selling the property I bought.

As I've said before, their advice before you start making them put your mortgage together is completely free. If you have the time before you begin looking at houses I would recommend seeing a few different ones from different agencies, this will give you an idea of the difference in what they charge. I think it's also a big factor that you get on well with them, so it's worth scoping them out before you buy!

Do You Need One?

No. If you have the know-how, a little bit of spare time and know what you're looking for then you can fix your own mortgage up without having to spare another £400 + of money, why wouldn't you?

As a first time buyer, the whole mortgage process was incredibly daunting, and without her advice I would have been an even more stressed/nervous wreck, if that's possible! As my mortgage became a bit trickier as details of the property unfolded, I needed her guidance and the ability for her to back my corner. Albeit, I also had to spend a lot of time researching the lending issues surrounding the property and rang round a lot of banks myself, but if it wasn't without her help I probably wouldn't have got a mortgage for my dream property.

Remember that a mortgage advisers advice is completely FREE up until they start writing the mortgage, so use them for their information and do it by yourself if you have the spare time to do further research and arrange the whole process directly with the bank. Plenty of people do it by themselves and now that I know what I'm doing I will 100% be doing it by myself when I purchase another property or remortgage in 2 years time.

What To Watch Out For

I was naive in thinking that a mortgage adviser, literally is just a mortgage adviser. But, No. Once they've got you in hook, line and sinker, they'll also start pushing contents insurance, critical illness, redundancy etc at you. If you're anything like me they'll see you coming and they can guarantee you'll say yes to the £20 plus insurance x 3 because it's the easiest option, they set it all up for you. 

I reluctantly went for it because I didn't want to faff around researching all the add ons when it could be done so simply for me. It wasn't until afterwards that I did a quick comparison online that I found I was paying over the odds for all of my policies, sometimes £10 more a month. In hindsight I should have taken the extra time to research, but when everything happened so quickly I literally wanted the easiest option. Luckily, these policies are a 12 month contract so I can change my provider in 12 months time to a much cheaper option, hurrah! I've definitely learnt my lesson from it and wouldn't want anyone else to be caught out by being a little bit lazy like me!

But don't do the opposite and not get insured on anything, home contents, house insurance, illness and redundancy cover are so important, hopefully you never need to use it, but it's nice having that peace of mind that there is protection there if you need to use it.

I hope this helps anyone who is about to embark their house buying journey, if you have any other questions about mortgage advisers just drop me a tweet or comment below and I'll get back to you! 

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6 Things To Help You Save For A House Deposit

Okay, so I may have lied a bit when I said I'd be back to normal blogging as soon as I got my broadband fitted, oooops. Life is just happening, but I also still have this urge to write so whilst I'm still waiting for an aerial to be fitted outside, TV-less, I thought I'd get cracking on more house buying/homeowner posts. My life has changed since I moved out and my life is probably consumed by about 80% home things at the moment, so there's that.

So many people have been asking me questions about the whole process, I'm by no means an expert but it's crazy to think how much I have learnt during the whole process and I wish I had something like this to read, with real, relatable advice from someone young who has actually done it. From house deposits, to getting a mortgage, I'll try to cover the less exciting bits BUT things you just have to know before you enter the buying process.

Buying a house is stressful and hard, but also exciting, but the house deposit really is that pivotal part that will hold it up, and gosh it isn't easy, but it's definitely doable with the right mindset and know how. I managed to get my deposit together pretty swiftly in just under 2 years, albeit it rather rushed in the last 6 months! Hopefully these 6 things I learnt along the way will also help you to get that house deposit together quicker than you thought...

1. Help To Buy ISA

GET ONE, GET ONE, GET ONE! If you don't already have one, why not? It's totally FREE money from the government. Despite the scaremongering news articles last year that claimed you didn't get the money from the government towards your deposit, it really was a load of BS. I received just over £1,000 from the government completely free towards my deposit, pretty amazing, huh?!

If you don't already know, the Help To Buy ISA was created to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder. Most banks offer this ISA, but I took mine out with Nationwide who were also offering a pretty desirable interest rate at the time, and I'm not talking about the standard 0.05% you get on your standard bank account. KA-CHING.

The account can be opened with an initial deposit of £1,200, you must then make further contributions to it of £200 each calendar month. As long as you stick to the rules which is pretty easy, you can claim 25% of your closing balance, I think it works out at £50 for every £200 you put in. The final sum is then claimed from your solicitors, it cost £50 for the account to be closed by my solicitor, so basically one months payment from the government. 

This additional money was an absolute godsend and its FREE, there's no catches so it's 100% worth doing. Who knows how long the scheme will be around for, so it's worth enrolling in it now even if you're not thinking of buying for a few years. £200 a month isn't a massive commitment, but it will slowly build up. Take a look at the Nationwide Help To Buy Isa page for more info!

2. Monthly Savings

There's no beating it around the bush. Saving for a house deposit isn't easy, neither is it a quick thing, unless you win the lottery, and if you do I'm v v jealous. The only way to start saving quickly is putting back chunks of money each month. It really is the only way to do it if you're serious about getting X amount together in a certain time frame.

The amount you can put back each month is dependent on your income and your current living situation, but it needs to be a good chunk if you want to move somewhere fast. But even if it is the £200 monthly direct debit to your ISA to start with then that is something. If you make regular payments each month you'll start to see the money go up, and this was the motivation that I needed to start putting even more back each month. 

You do have to be strict to yourself, but you also need to remember to live. I never sacrificed my social life in the process, but those weekly ASOS ordered certainly stopped, it's only a temporary thing though, and ASOS isn't going anywhere!

3. Live At Home

Unfortunately this isn't something that is possible for everyone. But living at home is 100% the main reason I could save so much money in a short period of time. I was very grateful to be able to do so, it meant I wasn't paying out £400 + rent money each month and could devote that to my savings instead, it definitely helped to keep me focused.

Even if it means having to move back home for a few months, a lot of people have to do this and it's nothing to be ashamed about. Living is so expensive nowadays, and the reality is that having a mortgage works out at a fraction of the price that your rent would, so despite the initial upfront cost, it does get better!

4. Buy With Someone

So it's no secret that buying with someone will help you to get the money together twice as fast! Whether it's a partner, friend or family member, sometimes it's the only way to do it. It means the costs are all spread and a problem shared is a problem halved, right? 

It's a huge commitment to buy a property with someone so despite having this huge upside, you have to be realistic about it and not rush into something that isn't ready.

5. Visit A Mortgage Adviser

I would still recommend starting to save before you get to this stage, but visiting a mortgage adviser and using one was one of the best things I did. It's a must have place to go for free information if you literally don't have a clue. I didn't.

Visiting one started to make everything feel real, it gives you an idea as to how much money you can borrow, what you might need to save for a deposit, and they'll even help you to budget each month. 

I don't know what I would have done without mine at the start as the world of house buying is so scary and new when you've never done it before. I used Countrywide for mine, but there are soo many available with different agents and independent advisers so it's worth looking around to find one that suits your situation. I'll definitely be writing a full post about mortgage advisers and what you need to know in the next couple of weeks!

6. Have An End Goal

You may not know how much you can borrow yet, but as a general rule of thumb most properties need at least a 10% deposit, however I have heard of 5% deposits on new builds and even 7% deposits. 

Unfortunately I got dealt the card that I had to put down at least a 15% deposit as it was classed as a new build, despite being in a 200 year old house... That really did throw everything off. The moral is you really don't know until you start getting into the process sometimes. I always think it's better to save more than you need for a deposit anyway, as you still have legal fees, furniture and other fees to think about. 

Having an end figure is something to work towards and I set myself targets for the end of the year to reach and it definitely gives you a sense of achievement when you do hit them as saving for a house deposit certainly is no easy feat, especially if you're doing it by yourself!

Take a look at my tips on surviving a spending ban for more motivation! Do you have any other tips? Are you in the process of buying or have you just bought a property?

 

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10 Things That Happen When You Become A Homeowner

Congratulations, you're a home owner, or maybe you've moved out of home for the first time? 

Those first steps are always the hardest, but as you look back with pride on what you've achieved you can't help but feel it's the best decision of your life. The biggest purchase of your life. 

It's also life changing, my life has changed. I'm exhausted like ALL the time, I have to have a 30 minute call with my mum when I use the dishwasher the first time, oh and how do I actually cook? Can I iron? 

Anyway, homeowner or not, I'm sure you can relate to these 10 things... 

1. You're tired all the time. How do people work, cook, clean, buy food, socialise and exercise all whilst still living? CANNOT ADULT. 

2. With your newfound 'lack of time' you look for every life hack going. Food home delivery? The best thing since sliced bread. Eating out seems to become an almost daily occurrence.

3. You love Location, Location, Location, like love level that if you miss it you'll come this close to kicking off. Like when did this happen plz? It was always that show you used to detest when your mum watched it.

4. Clothes no longer interest you in the same way like a 99p bath mat from Primark. You get ALL the homeware, in every shop you gravitate towards the furniture, cutlery, home decor bits - you love nothing more.

5. Remember when you were younger and begged for more post? Now you get ALL the post. Bills, bank statements, bills, more bills - it's no laughing matter now, YOU have to deal with them.

6. You keep the Zoopla app. Yes, you've already bought your dream home, but when you got the home bug you love nothing more than nosing inside people's home and comparing your new said home with ones on the market.

7. Your ears prick up every time you hear someone purchasing a property or getting their first mortgage. You're practically a mortgage adviser/consultant, without the extortionate commission and lies. 

8. Those trivial stresses you used to have like your size shoes being out of stock or your nails chipping no longer matter. They're replaced by real adult stresses that consume you. Now it's, the washing machines leaking WHAT DO I DO? How was my water bill that expensive? Deffo did not have 10 showers in one week. WHERE IS MY DOMINOES DELIVERY?

9. You love inviting people round, but you're always on edge. Will they spill wine on the new carpet? Will they stain the sofa? What if they break something? STRESS. You'd now never throw a house party, regardless to it never being an after thought when you lived at your parents house...

10. Nothing stays nice forever. I hadn't been in my apartment for 2 minutes when I rubbed some white paint off the wall and scraped a plug along the wall. You try to preserve everything. Sitting on a rug on the sofa, putting a tea towel across the table. Practical? No. But your sanity remains intact until the next time.

Can you relate to any of these?

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