Mortgage advice for first-time buyers
Buying your first home is one of the biggest and most exciting steps you will take, and it is completely normal to feel unsure about how it all works. How much can you borrow? How big a deposit do you need? What actually happens between making an offer and getting the keys?
We help first-time buyers across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire get onto the property ladder with confidence. We explain everything clearly, find a mortgage that suits your circumstances, and manage the process so you are never left wondering what happens next.
How much can you borrow?
What you can borrow depends on your income, your outgoings, your deposit and the lender’s criteria. Different lenders take very different views of the same set of facts, which is why using an adviser matters. We help you understand realistically what you can afford, and we match you with the lenders most likely to say yes to someone in your situation.
We offer a comprehensive range of first charge mortgages from across the market, which lenders make available to mortgage intermediaries, for which we will be paid a procuration fee by the lender. We do not consider products which are only offered directly to the public from a lender (direct deals).
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
How much deposit do you need?
First-time buyers typically need a deposit of at least five to ten percent of the property’s value, though a larger deposit usually gives you access to better rates. We help you understand how your deposit affects your options, and how schemes designed to help first-time buyers might work for you.
There are also lenders who will consider an application with no deposit at all, depending on availability, their criteria and how your application scores. The criteria are strict and these deals are not available to everyone, but it is worth knowing they exist before you assume you have to wait another two years to save.
Gifted deposits and other family support are common, and lenders treat them in different ways. If a parent or grandparent is helping, tell us early and we will make sure it is presented in a way your lender accepts.
What the process looks like
From getting a mortgage agreed in principle, through making an offer, to the legal work and finally completion, we guide you through each stage. We deal with the lender and the paperwork, we keep things moving, and we are on hand whenever you have a question.
Our aim is to make your first purchase feel far less daunting than you expected, and to make sure you always know what is happening and what comes next.
The legal work is separate and distinct to the services offered by St. James’s Place.
If rates fall before you complete, we do the work again
A mortgage offer is often made weeks, sometimes months, before you actually complete, and rates move in that time. Most brokers stop looking once your offer is issued. We keep watching the market right up to the day you complete, and if a better rate becomes available for you before then we will submit a fresh application to secure it.
There is no extra charge for that second application. It is part of the service for every client, because the point of the advice is to get you the right deal on the day it matters, not the day the paperwork happened to be signed.
Book a mortgage chat
If you are thinking about buying your first home, even if it is still months away, an early conversation helps you plan properly. No obligation, and you will come away knowing exactly where you stand.