FIRST TIME BUYER MORTGAGES

Buying a house is one of the most important purchases you will make. Buying a home for the first time can be an even more daunting prospect. Although it will be exciting, it can also be stressful. There are so many factors to consider and it can be difficult to know where to begin when looking for a mortgage. Buying your first home is a real landmark, but learning about mortgages for the first time can be as confusing as it is exciting. It is important for first-time buyers to fully understand the mortgage process.
Getting a mortgage has become even more difficult for first-time buyers in recent years, thanks to rising house prices. Even now, with residential property values set to stabilize or even fall in some areas, first-time buyers are instead faced with more difficulties when trying to secure a mortgage. Perhaps you haven't managed to save a sufficient deposit yet, or maybe you're worried you might not be able to afford a mortgage on your income alone. Even if this is the case, there are options open to you. This includes sharing a mortgage, guarantor mortgages and even government schemes for key workers or first-time buyers facing affordability issues.Lenders adore first-time buyers, because once trapped, they hope to keep them as borrowers for years and also sell them larger mortgages. But, first-time buyers are becoming more shrewd. Today, more people are likely to shop around once any redemption penalties have been paid off. (Normally, this is about three years after taking the mortgage out.) First-time buyers remain tempting to mortgage lenders. This is why mortgages offered to first-time buyers tend to include competitive incentives. No matter how attractive owning rather than renting a property is, buyers should beware of becoming financially overstretched. No matter how attractive owning rather than renting a property is, buyers should beware of becoming financially overstretched. Some lenders will offer up to four times' salary and 95% of the property's value. However, the Financial Services Authority recommends that single people should borrow up to a total of three times' salary and two and a half times' salary for couples. Most first-time buyers will choose a repayment mortgage. First-time buyers with low deposits should be careful of mortgage indemnity guarantees (Migs). Many lenders force borrowers to buy these as a condition of the mortgage.