New Year, New Home: Getting on the property ladder in 2020

Find a home to call your own this New Year!

As we bid farewell to 2019, it’s likely that people are starting to look to the future and have been busy setting themselves new year’s resolutions. For many, that dream is to finally buy a home to call their own.

If you’re one of these people, we at Share to Buy have taken a look at some of the best ways to get on the property ladder in 2020!

Options

Increasing house prices and huge deposits can leave first time buyers feeling like they’ll never get on the ladder, but that doesn’t have to be the case. While you may not be able to afford to buy a home on the open market, take some time to look into the alternative ways of buying through schemes such as Shared Ownership and Help to Buy.

Shared Ownership, for example, enables you to purchase a share of a property; paying a mortgage on the share you own, and a below-market-value rent on the remainder. The deposits on Shared Ownership properties are also often much lower than those on outright sale homes as you’re generally only required to save a deposit of 5% of the share that you are buying, not on the full value of the property.

Affordability

Many first time buyers will think that looking for a mortgage comes right down the line, but it’s a good idea to speak with an adviser as early as possible in your search for your ideal home! A mortgage adviser will be able to look at your financial situation and make an assessment on how much you can borrow. You should also be able to get an all important mortgage offer in principle which proves to sellers that you can afford what’s on the table!

Why not check out the firms on Share to Buy’s Mortgage Broker Panel or get an initial idea of what kind of mortgage you can afford by using our Mortgage Calculator.

Finances

Did you know that disposable income in the UK was up by £400 per household in 2019 compared to the previous year? According to recent data, the median annual income per household is around £29,400, yet average weekly household expenditure was around £572.60 a week, or over £29,700 a year – £300 more than what we bring in!

Taking control of your finances is vital when saving for a home, and understanding where your money goes is one of the first steps towards this. Make sure to review your spending habits well in advance of trying to buy a home in order to get a clear view of where your hard-earned cash is going and where you can start making cutbacks to help you save.

Paperwork

If you’re keen to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible once your offer has been accepted, then one of the biggest time savers is to ensure you have all of your paperwork ready to go!

Generally, lenders will require a number of supporting documents to accompany your mortgage application, including copies of your ID, proof of address and bank statements. Check out our full list of the paperwork needed for a mortgage application for everything you’ll need.

Awareness

Research is going to be a huge factor in the process of buying your own home so it’s vital that you dedicate time to it, and we’re not just talking about skimming through property listings. Look into your finances and discuss them with a professional, compare house prices in different areas and look into alternative homebuying schemes!

It’s also important that you keep up to date with new homes in your area as they’re often in high demand. For example, on Share to Buy’s portal, you can narrow down your search by using a number of filters (including number of bedrooms, search radius and deposit amount) and then register to receive alerts when new homes that fit your criteria are announced by email!

Prepare

When saving to purchase a home, budding buyers will factor in money for the obvious costs such as reservation fees and deposits. However, it’s vital that you’re aware of every expense that could come your way including legal fees, moving costs and valuation fees. Make sure to do your research beforehand and prepare your finances accordingly.

If you’re interested in purchasing a part buy/part rent home, for example, we’d recommend checking out our page on the costs involved in buying through Shared Ownership!

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