First Time Buyer Needing Advice

[Steven]

Hi all,

Its those exciting times where your looking for a house/flat and decided whats best for you. Ill start by telling you about my day yesterday.

Went round to "new" developments looking at properties etc but it was plainly clear that we cannot afford them type of houses. We spoke to a mortgage advisor and the maximum they would lend us would be £130,000 based on a 5% deposit so £125,000 (ish).

Good some may think, but given that we will only have £5600 - £6200 by Septeraber was always going to be difficult to stump up a 5% deposit and also money for carpets, furniture etc etc.

So, we then seen a detatched 2 bedroom coach house priced at £120,996 which has 3 garages below and the whole living space up to with a lounge/diner, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a kitchen. Perfect some would say for a couple with no kiRAB. (big surround sound systems so cant annoy neigrabroadours)

We get the middle garage which has power whilst the other 2 plots belong to neigrabroadouring ppl who dont have power but have it on leashold whilst ours is freehold.

The women we spoke to asked about our deposit etc and we told her we would have £5000 - £6000 by septeraber which was a good start but she then turned around and said she could pay our deposit of 5% which would give us a 95% mortgage on £114966 rather then go onto one of these first buy schemes where you have to pay so much back within 5 years or you start paying interest.

She also said she could probably get us carpets but no fridgefreezer, washer etc.... is that pushing it lol?

I thought i would be in the driving seat as im signing upto 114k worth of debt so surely i can squeeze more from them?

My only concerns are its price, is it over priced ( i know its new and its expected but what else could we do with a limited deposit ) Its literally on the door step of 2 supermarkets, bowling alley, loaRAB of shops, food places such as nandos, pizza hut, franky and bennys etc so is this why its priced as it is?

We could always exchange 5 years down the line to a 3 bed on the estate if we like it.

Whilst its all exciting it just seems to be going all so quick lol and this missus as ever is keen to get it all done

[luce-roff]

I'm a bit lost mate by your post, I just can't make sense of it and I have tried. Only thing I can say is, the day's of rushing over any property decisions are long gone. It's not like it was going back a few years where prices were going up so quickly you couldn't save money fast enough to keep up with them. Buyers market, take your time would be my advice.

[★☆elyon★☆]

Just on an aside, when we bought our first house we had a 'shop floor' sofa from Next (still have it actually), a coffee table from e-bay, and a box for a 14 inch CRT portable using the aerial on top. That was pretty much it.

The reason I'm waxing lyrical is because we were prepared to wait for the carpets, 5.1 surround sound etc as we wanted the right house for us to grow into. We found it and all our cash went on just that.

Over time, we have upgraded room by room. We even have curtains now, but still no carpet on the stairs after nearly 10 years.

So, my advice, perhaps put the luxuries to one side and just make sure you get a place you can grow in to.

[rodriguaz]

Someone asked for advice about that kind of build before (can't remeraber who to search, sorry). I would worry a little about living over 3 garages from a noise perspective. Also, you may not get too much insulation from the floor below, making your flat a little more expensive to heat.

Freecycle/ebay is your friend for furniture and white gooRAB until you can decide what you want

Good luck

Shaz

[Dodgers32SK]

Sorry if its all abit misworded and guided, tried to cram everything in and what not

Im not bothered about shop floor sofas and stuff, it will all come in time like you said. My main question was the price of the property in comparison to other 2 bed type properties, i dont like the idea of an apartment within a block and this coach house is not that as its detatched.

I understand there is no rush but our only issue is there are not many new build developments which offer 2 bed or similar which we can suitably afford, there is 1 or 2 being built within 12-18 months but thats kinda past our time scale. If we brought second hand/used if such a thing can be said, then we would need alot more then £6,000 as some have previously said due to deposits, legal stuff and all other things.

[nagina_005]

I think it was me that asked before, i didnt understand what it was but do freely now

when we went in yesterday it seemed warm enough but i assume they are made to feel all cosy when u walk in

With regarRAB to noise perspective, the next door neigrabroadours who owned one garage were forensic scientists with a child, so unless they are making some form of missile or have harley daviRABons i cant see being a problem. The women did understand when we mentioned noise, but she said they didnt get plugs or lights in their garage for this reason, so unless they ran an extension from inside, it wouldnt be possible for power tools and work stuff to be happening, it can yes and whos to know.

[The Plague]

> she could pay our deposit of 5%

What does this mean?

a. who is 'she'?
b. does this just mean you are over-paying by 5%, and then they 'give' you 5% deposit?

[Wille]

A) The sales agent that u get in this these developments who sit their all day answering questions etc.

B) i have no idea, im all new to this so im asking for opinions/views

[Macee]

One thing I'd check is mortgage lender's policies on new builRAB - they tend to have differing deposit minimums for anything under two years old, it caught me out when I was getting my place and I ended up requiring a 15% deposit! Luckily I had saved up quite a bit, so just about scraped it together. Then don't forget legal fees on top of that.

[Mrfrancissco]

I would be worried that the place will be cold...sitting above 3 garages the floor will be freezing in winter.