The property market has been up and down in recent years. One of the groups which were worst affected by the economic recession were first time home buyers, and this has had a massively detrimental effect on the rest of the market.
One of the main causes behind there being a scarcity of first time buyers is the lack of affordable housing, coupled with a decrease in the amount of finance available for potential home owners. Nevertheless, if you’re thinking about buying a home then it’s a good idea to investigate what opportunities you can take to save, as well as looking into what financial help is available.
Saving for a Deposit
Fewer people are saving these days, but this doesn’t mean you can’t. If you haven’t already started, don’t let this fact demotivate you. Everyone has to start somewhere.
There are many avenues which you can explore for saving. High interest savings accounts, ISAs, stocks and bonds, and even investments, are also potentially lucrative forms of saving which can help you to maximise your money. Many people choose to split their savings between two or more methods, in order to fully capitalise upon every available opportunity.
Getting Some Help
If you find that saving for a deposit is simply beyond your means, it’s always worth asking your friends and family for help. Family, in particular, can often be a good source of both advice and financial support. If your family has such a property and are willing to help get you into your first home, this might be the perfect solution for bolstering the size of your deposit.
Negotiating your Needs
Whether you’ve exhausted your saving opportunities or not, shopping around for the right mortgage is a great way to potentially decrease the size of the deposit needed for you to buy your first home. First time buyer mortgages are one of the few financial lending products which have recently begun to bounce back, and some of them offer lending worth up to 95% of the total cost of your intended property. You’ll end up having more to pay back, but for people with a regular income, who just need a bit of help to get on the ladder, these types of mortgages are invaluable.
Look at Other Options
Buying a house isn’t the be-all and end-all. It’s important to remember this if you’re considering getting on the property ladder. If you’re not in a position to buy a house then now may simply not be the time for you. In addition, there are other ways to get on the ladder which don’t involve buying a property outright. Rent to Own is just one example; with this option a landlord will give you the opportunity to purchase a property you are already renting by combining rental payments with regular fixed contributions towards the cost of the property.
Before we buy our next home, we definitely want to save up for a larger down payment. We put hardly nothing down on our current home, and I don’t like it!
Michelle recently posted..The Costs Of Owning A Car – Are You Spending $7K to $11K each year?
We put 20% down on both of the homes we’ve bought…still owing the other 80% still stunk. 😉 Right now, retirement accounts are trumping extra principal payments on our current home, so we’re still in a 30 year loan. That makes me sad. I’m hoping to hit it hard at the end of this year and in 2015.
Crystal recently posted..Still Losing Weight – Down to a New Tier
Great tips. Also, you should consider how long you are likely to live in your new home before wanting to move. Mortgage products are long term financial instruments. If you keep moving homes you pay a lot more on interest and a lot less capital repayment. Try to buy a home you will like to stay for a while.