First time buyers should Beg, Borrow and Steal
I met up with some clients a few days ago and they are going to buy the house they are renting. This is a really positive thing for them and they are really pleased to get off the renting ladder and onto the homeowner one!
My advice to those that are thinking of renting. If you want to be a home owner in the long term, beware of falling into the trap of renting something that will not leave you any spare income to save. Better still do you even need to rent? If you consider that a rental average in Norwich is lets say £700 per month. You could save £8400 per year by staying at home…
2 Years is a very long time, its over a 100 weekends! But in the long run once you have bought your first home you are on your way. Property prices in the long term go in one direction and that’s up! Last year we saw somewhere between 6 and 7% growth in the market, now that is a lot and it was surprisingly a growth year, but if you put that into context… it is hard to save as quickly as prices were rising.
This is where the Beg Borrow and Steal bit comes in…
Often these days, offspring are lucky enough that the bank of mum and dad can help, that’s the BEG.
The BORROW is on the basis that banks are so cheap to borrow from right now… 10% deposits are back and interest rates are low. There are even some good deals out there for long term mortgages like 5 and 10 years if you want absolute stability.
Finally STEAL. Obviously I wouldn’t say go out and commit a crime to get some money! But you really should steal the moment to get on the ladder. Looking back to my youth, I had friends that didn’t buy early on and it took them such a long hard struggle to finally get on the ladder with huge mortgages later in life.
If you would like to talk about your first purchase then give us a call on 01603 432000.
