When you’re buying your first house, it pays to listen to the voice of experience. Here’s what these homeowners learned first time around – and how it helped them to buy their very first home.
Accept the trade-offs – the rewards are worth it
“It took me a long time to accept I wouldn’t be able to maintain the carefree lifestyle I enjoyed when I was renting,” says John Andrews, 34, an insurance broker from Haslemere in Surrey. “I bought my first home two years ago when I was 32. I play a lot of sport, which invariably results in a few beers afterwards, and it got to the point where my social life was sending me into the red every month. I just didn’t have the same sort of disposable income. For a while, I was quite blasé – you only live once and all that – but then I realised I was in a very fortunate position and needed to grow up a bit. If the trade-off for having my own place was missing a couple of nights down the pub every week, so be it.”
Focus on what’s most important to you
For some people, it’s a bigger property. For others, it’s location. “Personally, I knew that I didn’t want to commute for more than an hour a day,” says Rebecca West, 36, who bought her first flat in south London in 2017. “For me, an hour’s commute is as much as I was prepared to do, because as a nurse I do really long hours as it is. I compromised on the size of my flat so I could live closer to work. I do get frustrated at the lack of space but I’ve learned to focus on the longer-term benefits, such as the fact it will probably increase in value, rather than what I don’t have now.’’
Put in the groundwork so you’re ahead of any issues
If you’re moving into a block of privately owned flats, there may be an annual communal maintenance charge to cover décor of common areas and building insurance. “If one person repeatedly hasn’t paid their share, they may receive a county court judgment, or CCJ, which may put off potential buyers if you ever want to sell your property and move on,” says sales manager Kevin Ansell, 35, who experienced this when he bought his first flat in Brighton in 2016. “It impacts all the properties in the block, not just theirs. Speak to as many of your potential neighbours as you can, and find out from the estate agent exactly what fees are owed and whether there have been any issues with these in the past. The whole experience made me much less trusting of people, sadly, although at least I’ll never make that mistake again.” You can check the building on the Register of Judgments.
Leave no stone unturned or curtain untwitched
Don’t be embarrassed about looking under carpets, in cupboards (especially if they’re not easily accessible – what are they trying to hide?) and behind curtains for evidence of damp or mould. “I saw some beautiful flats but on closer inspection they turned out to be a disaster waiting to happen,” says Tanya Cook, a hairdresser, 28, who bought her home in Oxford in 2017. “People will hide all sorts of things to get a sale, like damp walls or musty cupboards. At first I got depressed about it but then I just got smarter and less emotionally attached. In this market particularly, your first home is an investment, and it has to work for you. My top tip is to turn on the taps and shower in the bathroom. Discovering the water pressure is really low is expensive to fix and very frustrating.”
Keep an emergency fund for unexpected expenses
Once you move in you’ll find there are always things that need replacing or updating that you hadn’t anticipated, says illustrator Caroline Potter, 38, who bought her first flat in north London in 2015. “I thought I could live with the crumbling window sills and flaky paintwork on the front door,” she says. “But actually I felt hugely depressed by both every time I came home. I dipped into my very meagre savings to have both professionally restored and painted as I couldn’t afford to replace them. I thought I was being shallow, but in fact it made a huge difference to the look of the property and how happy I felt to be living thereI realised it’s OK to want things to look nice, and that a sense of pride in your surroundings really matters.”
Family may want to step in to help you buy your first property, should you need a helping hand financially. A Post Office Family Link™mortgage, provided by the Bank of Ireland UK, means you could secure 10% of the value of your dream home against your parents’ (or close family member’s) home, as long as they are mortgage-free, to use as your deposit. The remaining 90% is loaned to you. Find out more here.