Buying your first home

Buying your first home

Buying your first home is an exciting time and likely to involve some of the most important financial decisions you'll ever make. However, we're here to help and the process doesn't have to be difficult. Getting the right information and meaningful advice is critical.

You need to know your finances

You need to know your finances

You might want to think of a few questions before looking at properties as the days when lenders offered mortgages to anyone are long gone. Getting the best mortgage deal doesn't just need a decent deposit, you now need a good credit score too, some questions to think about are:

  • Is a mortgage right for me?
  • Have you got a big enough deposit?
  • What type of mortgage to choose?
  • Will the lender lend on your property?
  • What paperwork will you need to get together?
  • How long should you get your mortgage to run for?

Make sure when you do the sums, you add the full costs of buying a house and mortgaging. You need to consider mortgage fees, lawyers' fees etc for starters.

You need a coach when it comes to offering

You need a coach when it comes to offering

  • We will help you in making the right offer for a property - so you don't overpay
  • You need expert advice so you fully understand all aspects of the Home Report. We will protect you with any offer we make so you can withdraw if the seller does not produce the information we need.
  • You need to have the confidence to ask sellers important questions like what price they hope to achieve. The biggest mistake first-time buyers make is they guess at what price they should offer the seller
  • Remember not all sellers accept the highest offer for their property. First Time Buyers have nothing to sell which is attractive to sellers who need to move quickly.
Learn more about our Professional Buying Department
Before looking at properties, you need to save for a deposit.

Before looking at properties, you need to save for a deposit.

Generally, you need to try to save at least 5% to 20% of the cost of the home you would like.

For example, if you want to buy a home costing £150,000, you’ll need to save at least £7,500 (5%).

Saving more than 5% will give you access to a wider range of cheaper mortgages available on the market.

We highly recommend downloading the Home Saving & Investing app - Nude.

More First Time buyer questions?

More First Time buyer questions?

Don't hesitate to get in touch, call us on 0131 524 9797

McEwan Fraser Legal has an extensive range of properties on the market to suit all budgets. If you cannot find a property that matches your requirements, visit our buying a property page, and fill out the form and we will notify you if a property comes on the market that satisfies your requirements.

We can get access to properties that never go to market for various reasons and can normally be available at a fixed price and somewhat under market value.

Are you a first time buyer