r/FirstTimeBuyersUK

Good afternoon all,

I need some advice please!

Has anyone’s mortgage been rejected because the property is near the river? I’m buying a flat and I have been told that there is a flood risk so my mortgage application has been rejected. However, the property is a considerable distance from the river and there’s a retail park between the property and the river.

I also checked the flood risk in the area on the gov website and it says it’s low. Should I find a new lender or let the property go?

thanks in advance!

I’m looking for a bit of emotional support or perhaps a reality check?

Me and my partner started the house buying process about a month ago, we spoke to a mortgage advisor and he gave us a AIP. We started viewing houses the following week, I work a lot of weekends so we decided to cram in a lot. Every house we viewed seemed so bland.

Then we saw a cottage style house we liked the look of, I viewed it alone and it was the first house I could picture living in, I loved it! I told my partner and after lots of deliberation we decided to view again together, he loved it too.

The issue is we didn’t expect to find “the house” so soon into viewing. We have a 5% deposit and not really any other savings. I’m currently in my overdraft and was hoping to have time to get my credit card debt down.

The house has no chain so the process could be too speedy for us and we won’t have enough saved. I’m so scared of buying and moving into a house and being left with £0. However I’m even more nervous that if this house sells we will not find another like it for ages. We are both living with my parents and don’t want to wait much longer.

So feel free to tell me off for falling in love, or not having enough saved. Perhaps somebody else has experienced something similar?

I’ve finally had an offer accepted on a flat (first-time buyer average pricing is sitting around £228k in my area). My broker has come back with a 2-year fix at roughly 5.18% and a 5-year fix at around 4.89% with Nationwide. Given that the Bank of England is keeping the base rate at 3.75% due to global energy uncertainties, what is everyone’s strategy? Is it safer to take the lower 5-year rate for absolute monthly security, or take the hit on the 2-year fix in the hope that inflation cools down and rates drop closer to 4% by 2028?

I was suppose to exchange on Monday and complete tomorrow (Friday) but there was an issue with the forward purchase, something about their sellers wanting to see evidence that funds will be released. My solicitor said this isn’t uncommon but it is now the day before supposed completion and we still haven’t exchanged.

I know it’s not ideal but has anyone else been in this position and it resolved itself? Everything is ready on my end to go. Has anyone exchanged and completed on the same day and it worked out for them?

We (FTB) had our offer accepted at the end of March and are at the stage of discussing completion dates.

We are currently renting, and our landlord is asking for 8 weeks notice, as they can under the Renters Rights Bill.

This would mean we’d only be able to end our tenancy (and cease paying rent) end of July. We want to avoid rent/mortgage overlapping as much as possible.

Our sellers are not happy with this and are viewing it as an unacceptable delay to complete the sale.

Are we being unreasonable in this scenario? It has only been 2 months since the offer was accepted.

My first go at trying to buy a house and it's been one thing after the other. First purchase fell through as buyers pulled out after 4 months of them not looking for a forward purchase. Offer accepted on a new one (fixer upper) but just received a call from my broker saying I failed the soft check from Nationwide. I checked my score on Clearscore and it's gone down to 368 compared to when I got my first mortgage offer in Feb and it was at 850. So now I'm concerned that I won't get a mortgage from anyone.

I DEFINITELY have no debt no CCJs no missed payments no outstanding anything on my file. The only thing that's changed is my previous lender had to do a hard check before they approved me for a mortgage (which they did).

I feel absolutely fucking hopeless like it'll never work out for me. Has anyone ever been through this.

I'm a first-time buyer, currently based in London but looking to relocate to Sheffield. I viewed a Victorian terrace on Monday and honestly, I haven't stopped thinking about it. I had no plans on viewing any properties before the end of the year but I came across it just after it was posted on Rightmove and it grabbed me so much that I felt compelled to go for a viewing even though I only have a 5% deposit in place.

The owners have clearly put their heart into it - bespoke kitchen, original flooring, a loft conversion with an en-suite, and the most beautiful attention to detail (the kitchen is amongst the best I've seen) I work in property, so I've seen a lot of renovations, and this one genuinely stood out. It felt like a home, not just a house.

I've offered £335k (which is 10k over the top of guide but honestly the lower end seemed like a bit of a trick to entice people and it was clear from the outset that interest was very high). I'm chain-free, mortgage in principle ready, and I've submitted all my paperwork - bank statements, gifted deposit letter etc to the agent immediately when requested and told the sellers wife who actually did the viewing themselves that I work in property so knew how to progress quickly as the seller is chain free also. I even wrote the seller a handwritten letter which I dropped through the letterbox not long after viewing, no sob stories just outlined my strong position and willingness to act quickly.

The estate agent has been professional but vague. They say there are multiple offers, including another at £335k, which could well not be true but it's hard to judge as the property is special. They say that the seller will decide at the "end of next week" after all viewings are tied up.

For those who have been through this - how did you cope with the wait? Did you chase the agent, or just sit on your hands? And when you finally got the call, how did you handle it - whether it was good news or bad

Really intrigued to hear other people’s experiences buying their first home because honestly… I’m finding it such an emotional rollercoaster already, and we’ve only been seriously looking for the last few months.

My boyfriend and I are hoping to buy together and currently still live separately at our family homes. We’re really excited to have our own space and start this new chapter, but wow — everything is SO expensive. It also feels like the number of properties being listed has really slowed down over the last few weeks?

We keep telling ourselves there’s no rush because staying at home means we can save more, but at the same time it’s frustrating feeling a bit stuck. We’ve done a few viewings so far. The first one nearly became an offer situation, but after loads of back and forth it fell through, and since then it’s just been viewing after viewing without anything feeling right.

I also want to say we do feel really lucky to even be in a position to look at buying at all, because we know a lot of people our age can only realistically rent or move much further away to afford somewhere. Staying at home gives us more time to save, which we’re grateful for — but even so, the whole process still feels incredibly tough and overwhelming at times.

We also don’t really want to rent because London rental prices are insane and we’d rather keep putting money towards a deposit instead.

I’ll admit I’m probably a bit picky too. There are certain things I really want — enough space to future-proof for eventually starting a family, being near family, and being close to a station because I commute. I know some of those things can be compromised on, but it’s hard when this is SUCH a massive financial decision.

Everyone keeps saying “the right property will come along” and “don’t rush,” which I know is true. And we genuinely don’t want to rush. But between deposits, stamp duty, solicitor fees etc… how is our generation actually meant to get on the property ladder 😭 The mortgage itself almost feels like the least scary part at this point. I’m turning 30 this year and just feel a bit stuck..

Would genuinely love to hear other people’s experiences — whether you’ve already bought, are currently looking, or felt the same way during the process.

FTB here buying a 1-bed leasehold flat with 50% share of freehold for £280k in London and I’ve just had the solicitor quote through.

I’m trying to work out whether these fees are normal or whether I’m being rinsed.

Main quote:
- Legal fees: £1,750
- VAT: £350
- Bank transfer fee: £30 + VAT
- SDLT submission form: £75 + VAT (even though I’m paying £0 stamp duty as a first time buyer?)
- Electronic ID fee: £20.34
- Searches: £450
- Bankruptcy search: £6
- Official search fee: £7
- Land Registry fee: £100
- LMS fee: £42

Quoted total so far:
£2,851.34

BUT they also have additional charges including:
- £150 + VAT if obtaining a gifted deposit
- £150 + VAT if there is more than one title number
- £50 + VAT per restriction
- £25 + VAT for indemnity insurance
- extra management company / leasehold related fees TBC

With the gifted deposit fee added my total becomes:
£3,031.34

The thing is, they actually have very good reviews online with hardly any negatives, and the legal assistant dealing with my file has been really responsive and helpful so far, which I know isn’t always the case with conveyancers.

So I’m torn between “this is expensive” and “maybe this is just what decent conveyancing costs now for leasehold/share of freehold in London?”

Would appreciate opinions from anyone who’s bought recently.

Just need some external advice/points of view as we have been given 3 mortgage deal options and we have decision fatigue from too many choices🤣

1. 5.14% with no product fee. Monthly payments £1,282.83

2. 4.97% with £1,499 product fee paid upfront. Monthly payments £1,253.35

3. 4.97% with £1,499 product fee added to mortgage. Monthly payments £1,260.55

Context:

• All are over 40 year terms

• Locking in for 5 years

• Our priority has always been to have as low monthly payments as possible, but with only £30 in it it’s not really an issue. Whichever we go with, we will be overpaying each month anyway

• Paying the £1,499 upfront would mean this comes out of our savings, which is entirely our deposit. We would need to replace this money in the next month before we move, which isn’t possible, so would be borrowing from family and having to repay over time anyway. Because of this I’m thinking of going with option 1 because it would put us out more to try and source this additional income

• If we pay the fee and then change mortgage (ie if the rates come down and there is no fee) we get it refunded, but this is a big IF

• Lots of people advising NOT to add it to the mortgage as you pay interest over 40 years, which is fair enough, but present day me doesn’t know if she cares about that? Will 67 year old me will regret adding it?

Any advice welcome, thank you☺️

Good evening!

I feel as though I am posting a lot but I truly appreciate the support and advice we have received during this time!

We had our offer accepted on our property today, and the estate agent has asked for all the usual details including proof of funds. We are choosing a 0% deposit mortgage so we have informed them of that. Now, all of a sudden she is saying that is a concern and she will have to pass it on to the vendors. After speaking with her on the phone we have reiterated to her that we have our mortgage in principle and the 0% deposit acts no differently for the sellers as a traditional 5-10% would. She still continued to lightly argue and kept attempting to spin it in a negative light because the property is old. There is nothing else we can do until the estate agent talks to the seller tomorrow, but this really feels like the estate agent is overstepping. We followed up with an email reiterating that the 0% deposit mortgage is reputable and recognised and has no concerns or additional risks to the buyer and that the reason we are doing this is because the property requires modernisation, which we would need money for.

We are concerned that she may spin this negatively to the sellers who then decide not to proceed with the offer. Particularly as they had another higher offer (2k more) but decided to choose ours due to no chain.

It’s very disheartening as what has turned from a happy day has now filed with those anxieties again. We also have our mortgage advisor appointment to proceed in 2 days and I am aware Skipton has a fast turn around, so it is unlikely it would even be an issue and we could have our mortgage in place by mid next week.

Minor Update 20/5:

We have spoken to the mortgage company today. They said that if the property gets down valued, there is the option for us to ‘top up’ with a deposit (of less than 5%) to hit that mark and mitigate the down value. So say our offer was 300k and the valuation was 295k, we could put 5k down to make up the difference as such. Hopefully this (and the fact we are willing to do so as long as it wouldn’t get down valued massively) is enough to remove at least some of the risk of the 0% deposit.

Second update 20/5:

Sellers happy to proceed!

First time buyers here so please be kind as we genuinely don’t fully understand how all of this works yet 😅

Our offer has been accepted and we’ve provided proof of funds + have a mortgage in principle, but the sellers are buying a new build and initially said they want a 4–8 week timeline (12 weeks at a push). Is that normal/realistic?

We haven’t even started with solicitors, surveys or searches yet, so it feels really fast to us. We thought we’d have a bit more time to save the remaining costs like stamp duty/solicitor fees etc. We can probably save it, but my partner is freelance/self-employed and his income dipped at the worst possible time. The stamp duty alone is around £10k which obviously isn’t a tiny amount.

They’re also already pushing us to hand notice in on our flat, but everything online says to wait until exchange so you don’t risk being homeless if things get delayed. We need to give 2 months notice so we’re feeling a bit stressed/confused.

Are we able to ask for a bit more time without giving the impression we can’t actually afford the house? We’re worried about raising concerns unnecessarily.

Did anyone else have timelines like this as FTBs? Did it actually move that quickly? What is the best thing to do.

We also don’t have anyone reaaaally that can lend us the money. We are young professionals from working class backgrounds living in an expensive area down south and saving for the deposit has been tough as it is!

Many thanks.

Recently I made an offer on a house at the asking price of £230,000. After some negotiation we agreed to a sale price of £236,000. have a deposit of £90,000 and made a mortgage application for the remaining £146,000. The mortgage has been accepted, however, the lender has valued the house at £226,000.

I can cover this £10,000 shortfall with my deposit, however, I ideally don't want to overpay for the house as I know it would cause issues if I ever wanted to sell it in future.

I want to try negotiating the price down in light of this down valuation and I'm willing to meet them in the middle at £231,000 which would still be over the seller's original asking price. However, I'm worried that they won't agree to this since the estate agent knows I can cover this shortfall (they requested proof of funds for the purchase when the sale price was agreed).

How should I word my email to the estate agent? Should I offer to meet in the middle straight away or just tell them about the valuation and that I would like to renegotiate? I have a mortgage advisor but so far all communication on the purchase has been between myself and the estate agent without the advisor getting involved.

Good afternoon everyone! I would love if someone could give us some honest feedback about our likelihood in our offer being accepted, I know it’s hard to say, but we really love this house.

The house was listed at 280k, us and another couple offered 260k. Both these offers were rejected. We then offered 268k, and the other couple offered 270k. The estate agent rang us back and asked us if we would be willing to match and we said no. Based on this, we obviously thought we would lose out, but it turns out the other couple are in a chain and have yet to find buyer for their property. The house we want to purchase is empty as it has just finished going through private and we were told the sellers wished for a quick sale.

For them, is it worth taking an offer 2k less based on us having no chain? Realistically the purchase would happen quicker with us and have a lot less chance of it falling through. We have the funds to go to 270k without an issue so will do so as our absolute last resort but it could be likely that the other couple would also increase their offer and we end up in the same position. There is also 4 people selling this house, so an extra 2k is actually only £500 each.

We are very anxiously waiting to hear back from the estate agent!

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer and have just had a level 3 survey done and was hoping to get some advice on some of the things that have cropped up. The house itself seems to be in generally fair condition, however, one of the things highlighted was the lack of building regulation sign offs.

In particular, there is a garage conversion and a timber framed extension that was done in 2008, including the removal of a stud wall between the kitchen and dining room. We have a statement from the seller 's previous seller where they've said "the property had a detached garage to the left rear. We converted thus garage into a bedroom, utility room and shower room and joined it to the house with an extension to the rear elevation that provides an additional lounge. At the same time we also took down a non-structural wall between the kitchen and dining room and constructed a detached timber shed/workshop in the back garden. All of these alterations fitted within permitted development. We did not however seek building regulations approval. There has been no issues with any of these alterations over the years "

The shed in question also did not have planning permission, which the surveyor said it would likely have needed (although he's also said it's very unlikely that we would need to demolish this as its been there since 2008 with no complaints). There was also no information around the gas boiler installation (a second one which was installed, although the sellers are going to provide a safety record for us), FENSA certificates, or NICEIC/equivalent for electrical installation. Our seller has offered an indemnity policy, which is what their previous seller also offered them.

Does this sound like something that is ok to proceed with? The surveyor states that the extension seems in generally good condition, and has advised that there may be little benefit of getting another structural survey done as the sellers likely won't be happy with anything invasive (so they'd only able to say what he's already told us).

The only other issue was some rainwater ingress in the roof of another separate garage due to poor securing of felt junctions, and some aging windows (including one non fire safety compliant window).

Any advice is welcome, thank you!

We have had our offer accepted!!

However I have just rang Skipton to go forward with the process and they have said they don’t have any appointments for over 10 days! Did anyone have any luck with cancellations? Will this delay our process any more with solicitors etc?

I’ve picked a solicitor that we want to use and are sorting our mortgage tomorrow with the mortgage advisor in the afternoon.

Should I contact the solicitor in the morning and instruct them or can I do that after seeing the mortgage advisor?

Is there a real order to do this?

Thinking back to when I was buying my first home, my “research” looked something like this:

Check all info in the Rightmove listing -> viewing -> look back through the photos/videos

Check Rightmove/Zoopla estimates

Glance at a few nearby sold prices, floor area, beds, extensions, etc.

Walk down the road looking for anything obvious dodgy

Read whatever Reddit/Mumsnet said about the area

Mostly trust whatever the estate agent told me

That was basically it. Then I committed to a mortgage I’ll be paying pretty much my whole life.

When I write it out like that it sounds mad. Some people do more research before buying a headset.

So I’m curious. Is it just me? What did you actually do as a FTB? Did you use any tools, data platforms, spreadsheets, AI, anything? Or was it pretty much vibes and the estate agent’s word?

Not talking about the post-offer stuff (surveys, conveyancing), I mean the honest research YOU did before deciding what to offer and whether to commit.

Asking because: Yesterday I responded to a question on this sub from an FTB who’d already offered £190k and was wondering if they’d overpaid. More mature me did a quick 5-minute check of nearby sold prices, showed them they’d gone £20–30k over and they agreed (of course there were points raised by other Redditors too).

(Originally posted in r/HousingUK. Posting here as this sub is FTB focused and does not allow crossposts)