The starting point for land and buildings transaction tax is to rise to £250,000, the finance secretary announces. Read More Housing market – BBC News
On 8th July, the government brought in a temporary stamp duty holiday. Check how this affects your costs and what the rules are.
With the Help to Buy ISA discontinued, let’s take a look at the options for First Time Buyers.
I bought a 1-bedroom leasehold apartment in a lovely part of Birmingham close to work and only a 10 minute drive into the city. I was a first time buyer forced into buying due to problems with a rented flat that had flooded within my first month of being there. The landlords were so slow in sorting the problem, I’d been left homeless and renting had been much more expensive than buying would be. So I decided the only way to having a bit more security was to buy. I had never imagined I would be buying on my own, so I was a little scared at taking on the sole responsibility of a mortgage. With hindsight, it’s the best thing I ever did and it’s worked out fine. I wish I hadn’t been so hesitant and had done it years earlier!
My partner and I felt like we were looking for the impossible. After all, we wanted a 3 bedroom house, possibly semi detached, possibly 1930s, definitely with a driveway, a garage and having a garden was a must. We had a limited budget for all we wished for. Hence, it took us a while to find our forever home! We persevered… and eventually found exactly what we wanted. Although needless to say, we had to make a few compromises: firstly on the location, secondly on the state of the property. Eventually we settled on a 4 bedroom 1930s semi-detached house that needed a lot of decorating and renovating a few miles away from our preferred location.
I bought a semi-detached house just outside of the city I work in, as it was slightly better value than the nearby suburbs. It was my first house, and I had previously lived in a fully-furnished, rented flat. I decided to buy as another increase in rent was on the cards, and I opted for a house because flats tend to be leasehold with exaggerated service charges. I know a lot of people who have bought houses, so got a lot of varied and sometimes contradictory advice. I think that every house and experience is unique. The buying process for me was relatively painless, unfortunately I just haven’t been able to settle in. If the rental system in England wasn’t so biased towards landlords I would have waited longer before buying somewhere.
Me and my husband bought a three-storey terraced town house in a semi-rural area that we chose for affordability and a reasonable length of commute to both of our jobs. We did not know anything about how to buy a house and hence had to learn a lot of things the hard way, especially with respect to unexpected repairs once we had moved into the house. Overall, we have loved making the house our home and it is now exactly how we want it to be. We enjoy living there, although issues with the area and neighbours have somewhat dampened the experience.
I’m new to the whole house buying thing and wasn’t sure where to start. The book helpfully starts with the basics when you have nothing (like me) and then becomes more advanced once you get the ball rolling – so I’m gradually reading through the chapters that are relevant to where I am in the moment. It’s full of useful tips and – best of all – practical examples and calculations, way more than your standard guide off the web. I realised that before this book I used to have a very basic understanding on some matters, such as what to take into account when saving for a deposit (more nuanced than I thought). Long story short, I took the first steps to owning my own place someday after reading!
Whilst currently saving for a Mortgage deposit, I looked for a book that could help me out, give me advice and explain everything involved as I realised I wasn’t that knowledgeable about where to go and what to do when I reach my deposit goal!! This book if full of helpful tips and advice. It’s a lot of information to take in, so I have read parts several times, making notes and highlighting parts as I go along! Would highly recommend to anyone looking to buy and wanting more advice!!
This is the first book that I have found that offers a clear and concise explanation of how to buy your first property. Although much of this information is readily available on the internet, it is more often than not scattered across several different articles and easy to miss; I’m grateful to have all the information in one place! I thought I was in a good position and understood the process before I bought this, but I feel significantly more prepared having read this book. I can’t wait to put my new found knowledge to the test and buy my first home!
This really is one amazing book. Very well researched and well written. Very clear guide to buying a house in England. Highly recommended to first time buyers and those moving house. I especially like the links to online resources such as a map of noise in England and land registry. Clear estimated costs of things like solicitors/conveyancing are discussed too.
Very highly recommended.
This is a fantastic book. It provides a very thoughtful and thorough guide for those who are in the process of buying a house or for those thinking about it.
The authors take a very friendly and exhaustive approach to explain everything you need to know before becoming a homeowner, from the moment you start to think about up until you actually move into your new house.
I particularly liked the tools found in the book to help you plan your finances and to keep track of the conveyance process.
Highly recommended to help you navigate this very difficult process!
Fantastic book. Incredibly detailed and a must have for anyone looking at buying a house. Particularly liked the illustrations by Ben Jones
This is an ideal book for first-time home buyers who envisage to buy a property in the UK. It is well-written, well-structured, comprehensive and covers all aspects of the using process. I can highly recommend this book.
If you’ve never moved house before, it’s a minefield: there is SO MUCH to take in and understand. This book does a great job of making things much clearer. Thank you!
This book in insanely helpful. It helps anyone to navigate the entire process of buying a house, and is especially useful for people, like me, who are buying for the first time.
Copyright © 2020 Sandra Starke
Illustrations by Ben Jones (Pen Jones Cartoons): https://penjones.co.uk/
