On this episode of the ReadytoBuy Podcast I will be having a conversation with one of my clients – Simone – who is a young first-time buyer that has, at the time of recording, just recently finished on obtaining her mortgage and just moved into her new home!
Time Stamps PART ONE 00:00 – Introduction 01:38 – Meet Our First-Time Buyer – One Week After Completion 02:09 – Interview with Simone: Part One 03:00 – Situation When Buying First Home 06:45 – Saving for Deposit 09:07 – Huge Sacrifice?
INTERMISSION 13:00 – ‘Definitely Not A Silly Question’ Segment 13:29 – Question 13:34 – Answer 14:20 – Contact Info for Questions 14:46 – Risk Warning PART TWO 15:24 – Interview with Simone: Part Two 15:24 – Describing the House Search 20:33 – Problems with New-Builds 21:40 – Feeling of Walking Into New Home 23:56 – Would You Do Anything Different?
26:31 – Conclusion –––––––––––––––––––– Notes (00:00 – 01:37) Introduction Introducing the podcast and providing details for listeners on where to contact. Website: https://my.captivate.fm/www.mhcmortgages.co.uk (mhcmortgages.co.uk)
(02:09 – 12:59) Interview with Simone – Part One (Note: Points in brackets are mentioned by me) Situation when buying first home Was living at home and saving. Decided to contact a broker to see what affordability was and what schemes were available or if potentially could buy property outright. Bit of a minefield when looking at government schemes and found that talking to a broker in person was the best option. (Everybody would rather buy through the standard channels, but sometimes we all need a little help.) Originally wanted a two-bedroom property, but realised that it wasn’t affordable and had to change expectations. (Was a bit of a challenge, living in London.)
Saving for deposit Whilst at home, was paying minimal rent to mum. This enabled saving for the deposit. Started properly saving in 2016 upon opening a Help To Buy ISA with NatWest and also opened a secondary Stocks & Shares ISA with Vanguard and split money between the two. This made it difficult to extract money and helped budget and save. New job after starting to save which brought more income. Still budgeted the same amount but increased amount being put into savings. Really challenging because there’s always things to spend money on, but restraint helped and it paid off.
Did it feel like a huge sacrifice or was it manageable? It was manageable whilst still being able to do enjoyable things. Shopping habits changed to buy second-hand things as a cheaper alternative which was better for lifestyle. (For people living at home they are in a good position to save because they are not having to worry about all the extra costs like tax, bills, contracts, as well as the monthly mortgage payments.) When you do have the mortgage and all the bills on top it adds up quickly, so best not spend loads of money on other things. (When you have an end goal helps to get focus and get there quicker.)
(13:00 – 15:23) Definitely Not A Silly Question Q – “Why do you do the job that you do?” A – I love being asked this and I reflect on it a lot! As somebody who has been in the mortgage industry for the past 20 years, working for myself in the last few has shown me what a difference it can make to the lifestyles of people buying their first home, their next home or saving money. The reason I do what I do is because I love helping people and making a difference and I see that every day! REMEMBER: 1) Always SEEK ADVICE for your own circumstances, and; 2) A mortgage is a loan secured on your home and may be REPOSSESSED if you don’t keep up mortgage payments
(15:24 – 26:30) Interview with Simone – Part Two Can you describe your house search? Looked at around 15-20 properties before finding the one currently residing in. Was sceptical of the ‘feeling’ of finding the right one until it came when viewing current home....