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[AD] Getting A Mortgage For Our First Home

November 12, 2021

My wife and I had been together for 17 years when we decided to move in together. The only option available to us was rented accommodation. The possibly of buying our own home was a distant thought, but something that we always wanted to do.

Moving along for one reason or another we continued to rent for a considerable amount of time. That is until April of this year. It seemed that everything seemed to line up for us. The right sort of property that we were able to afford came up for sale and we had both worked hard to save enough money for a deposit. Our credit ratings were excellent and our earnings were of the right level to borrow enough for a mortgage to buy our very first home. It was just the perfect moment. Everything just seemed to fall into place.

We had never bought a house before so to say that we were a bit clueless would be an understatement. Even if you look online at mortgages there is so much information out there and quite honestly, we both found it very confusing. All we really needed was a step by step guide that explained the steps we needed to take to get a mortgage to enable us to buy our very first home.

That’s why I have teamed up with HSBC. They have recently released an infographic called 10 steps to buying your own home. It’s a simple step by step guide to help you through the process of buying your own home:

1. Know What You Can Afford

It’s very important to know what you can afford if you use an online calculator this will definitely help give you an idea what type of property and the location that you can afford.

2. Build Up Your Savings

The more you save will help get a better mortgage deal.

3. Check Your Credit Score

This can be done easily with a credit reference agency such as TransUnion.

4. Know What type of property you are looking for.

5. Get A Decision In Principle

This will give you a better idea of how much you can borrow.

6. Find The Right Home and Make an offer

7. Apply For A mortgage

This is done once your offer has been accepted and it could take a few weeks.

8. Carry Out The Legal Work

This is where you instruct a Solicitor and they will carry out all the legal work.

9. Carry Out Property Survey

This is done by a professional property surveyor to flag up any potential problems.

10. Exchange Contracts and Agree a Completion Date

When you exchange contracts you are then legally bound to buy the property. The completion date is when you will get the keys to your new home.

When we started the process of buying our very first home, this infographic from HSBC would have been so very useful as it shows the ten steps to buying your own home. There is no doubt that we didn’t always do things in order but it all worked out in the end.

We completed buying our first home in about 11 weeks which is a bit quicker than normal, but that is probably down to the fact that we didn’t have a chain and the vendors didn’t have a chain. We are now settled in our very own home and it is without a doubt the best feeling in the world and we quite often joke between ourselves that we are now homeowners which at times is hard to believe after all the years of renting.

Check out below the 10 Steps to Buying Your Own Home below.