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The best tip I could give is get a GOOD solicitor working for you. You need to know that you've got someone who can drive the purchase along and be on 'your' side.

- deciding on which type of mortgage to go with is a minefield. Listen to your friends who own property and get their advice then go to the bank/building society/broker and make sure you understand what you're getting into.

- If you like houses/apartments in a particular area, visit that area at different times of the day and week so you can see the same property under different circumstances.

- If you're contemplating having children or already have kids, do your homework. Find out where the local creche/primary/secondary school is.

If I can think of anything else that we did when we were purchasing our house, I'll post it.

I agree with Charlies Angel about the solicitor. We got our mortgage through Rea and while it can appear more expensive to use a broker, they refund you the comission you get from the lender and do a special rate with a solicitor for you. The one they put us in touch with was fantastic, she went through all the contracts and stuff we had to sign and translated them from legalese into English! Came in very helpful as some people obviously didn't have this done and put up satellite dishes and were then forced to take them down as they were strictly against what was in the contract and the management agreement (these people are stuck with Sky subscriptions so that was an expensive lesson to learn about your solicitor!)

Hi,

Myself and DP are in the process of buying our first house together!

I bought my own house over 5 years ago so I am quite well up on mortgages etc.

However, the house I own now is 2nd hand - the new house that we are buying is BRAND new - its great and I cant wait to move into it! However, ive been told different things about buying a brand new house with regard to heating, floors etc. etc.

Just wondering if anyone out there has bought a newly built home and can give me any help or advice about moving in, buying for a new house, heating a new house etc. etc.

Any help would be great!

Thanks!

Yes definetely a good idea to have a decent solicitor, it can save a ton of time and hassle...

Hi Girls myslef and H2b have just put an offer on a house and it was accepted this morning OMG. what happens now???

we are getting a 100% mortgage and we are going through a broker, who tells us we will still need a 10% deposit which we will get back when the cheque is drawn. argh, the reason we are getting 100% is cos we don't have that kind of money right now.

also Mia -

Quote:

they refund you the comission you get from the lender

sorry to sound stupid - but what exactly do you mean.. we are both really new to this and it's all so scarey!! - :oops:

can someone calm me down.... h2b is in a job where he has no access to phone/pc etc.. so I have to do everything! - also how long realitically do you recon the whole process can take from acceptance of offer?

Any help would be great!! :? :?

My biggest piece of advice to anyone buying a new house is to SHOP AROUND!!!!!
1) shop around for a solicitor...it is crutial to have a good one, but this doesn't neccesarily mean paying big bucks for one. Ask for recommendations from others.
2) shop around with banks!!! we saved ourselves a full percentage by playing the banks off one another
3) be wary of mortgage brokers(not all).....we had a couple of bad experiences..one was only affiliated with (surprise surprise) the bank that he used to work with...and only applied to that bank. When we asked for quotes from other banks, he said we'd been refused..which was a complete lie as when I applied directly to them we got sanctions within 2 days with no hassles.
4) don't always go for the standard kitchens, fireplaces etc...assuming they'll be the cheapest. Sometimes they are not....so shop around. We saved a fortune buying the kitchen in B & Q and hiring someone to fit it....and it looks IDENTICAL to the one in the show house

just some of my tips :-)

Fairytale princess, ask your broker if you can draw down on the 10% now, alot of the lenders are doing this now, you will have to pay interest on the amount you take now, but if you haven't got the money you'd have no option but to borrow anyhow.

With regard to the broker fee that Mia is describing, it all depends on the broker you're using, some charge you a fee for their work and then refund the commission that they receive from your mortgage provider. Others don't charge you anything and keep the comission that they receive.

I take it this isn't a brand new house? The quickest the deal can be done is 6 weeks, but depending on both solicitors involved and how soon the people selling can move it can take any length of time. Ask your solicitor to get a completion date from the sellers, while it may vary at least you'll have a good idea of when you'll be in.

HTH if you need any more help ask away!

Thanks so much that's great advice.

My broker is actually free to us so that's no problem, also I have asked him to confirm a list of who he is applying to, he seems pretty trustworthy.

I didn't realise that there may be an option for the 10% drawdown in advance, that would be ideal.

The sellers are looking to move by the start of May so if everything goes according to plan it could work out well?!

One other point - is the fact that the mortgage is agreed in principle fairly reliable? (the broker is saying we won't have a problem, but there are so many stipulations to a 100%)


Thanks again

FP

Also remember that no broker deals with every lender in the market place..the cheapest provider of fixed rate mortgages is NIB (yes I do work there so check it yourself and don't take my word for it) NIB have no dealings with brokers...they also have the one of the cheapest trackers (the cheapest for loans of less than 60% of the house value) but again the broker will tell you that Ulster bank have....again not true.

I'm not saying that NIB are the Best, far from it, for First time buyers there are no doubt much better options out there, but don't rely on a broker to do all the wotk for you, get off your own behind and do a bit of research. Ever bank has a website, they have their rates quoted and it doesn't take alot of effort to figure out who has the best offer.


For those of you going to a fixed rate....... READ THIS
Questions to ask:
What rate will my loan go to when fixed rate is finished?
Do I have an option to move to a different rate without paying an admin charge?

If the answer to the first question is "Standard Variable" & the answer to the second question is you can't change with out paying..think twice about using that lender, it'll cost you ten's of thousands more in the lng run.

If you get confused don't hesitate to pm me, I do tend to use alot of Jargon myself but can be stopped!

My boyfriend of five years proposed to me at the weekend :o We've decided to buy a house in the next few months and start getting settled into our 'grown up' status. So, any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm already bamboozled by all the mortgage and legal jargon. And having to explain it to my (clueless!) fiance is doing my head in even more! This has really burst my newly engaged bubble! Help please! :cry:

i agree with the rest a good solicitor, we had a great broker that done everything and i mean everything for us. when we moved into the house i wasnt sure if we had contents cover but he had arranged everything cant reccommend him enough ifyou want his no pm me. hte other thing is i didnt know you had to keep every p60 etc abd had thrown out some so that took a bit of time to ring around tax office and past employers for documents, kepp all your documents!!!

Your broker might have done everything, but are you sure he got you the best deal?

Emilyj, I'm on holidays this week, but if you can wait you can pm me and I'll give you any help I can when I get back.