deposit

I am 22 years of age and would love to buy my own property. 

copyright: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Captain_Bligh_House_London.jpgBeing a first-time buyer usually means forking out rent, saving for a deposit and playing catch-up with ever-rising house prices all at the same time! 

London is the ideal place to buy a house or an apartment for me. It is a great place to live in, but it can be expensive if you are a first time buyer.

Not only are properties expensive to buy (average price in the borough of Redbridge is £446,581) but I will also need at least 20% deposit + stamp duty costs + legal fees on top of that.

Based on my salary, it would be impossible to apply for a mortgage based on the average property prices in London. My own research shows that there are two solutions for purchasing a property.

– Buy a property out of London as it is a lot cheaper, therefore, affordable for me.

– ‘Help to Buy Scheme’ 

The scheme requires a minimum 5% deposit of the property value with the Government offering an interest-free loan of a further 20%. The remaining 75% is covered by a standard mortgage.

As an example, if you want to buy a £200,000 property under the Equity Loan scheme, you would need a minimum deposit of £10,000 and to qualify for a £150,000 mortgage. The Government then provides an equity loan of £40,000.

Another option would be to buy jointly, either with friends or family.  I think this is my preferred option, so far. 🙂

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