When you’re first starting out on your home buying journey, between house viewings and bidding wars, it can get a little overwhelming. To help you navigate the process, we’ve teamed up with Virgin Media to bring you an insightful new short form content series called “Buyers Bootcamp”, which follows six couples who are all at different stages of the home buying process.

Episode 4 features Kate and Philip as they move from saving their deposit to house viewings and bidding for the house of their dreams. The couple are accompanied on their journey by TV Presenter Darren Kennedy as well as Buyers Agent Liz O’Kane who will hold their hand throughout the process. From figuring out how much they can borrow to going through the bidding process for their perfect home, there are plenty of helpful tips for First Time Buyers throughout the show.

What’s the Plan?

You’ve heard it before, but maybe you need to hear it again, life doesn’t always go to plan! That’s exactly where Kate and Philip find themselves in Episode 4 as they reveal how they thought they’d be married with a home of their own by now but instead find themselves living apart as they save to get the deposit together for their first home.

“They thought that by now they’d be married, have their first home and have started a family, but sometimes life doesn’t work out that way”.

And they’re not alone, for many First Time Buyers, one of the toughest parts of the process is accepting that things don’t always go to plan. Well, that’s ok as long as you get there eventually, it’s important to be patient with the process. From the outset if you can get a good understanding of the different steps of the mortgage journey and typical timelines then you can set your expectations accordingly.

Saving for your Deposit

Starting with the savings, when you’re tipping away at that deposit fund, be realistic in what you can save every month. You’ll need a minimum of 10% of the cost of your home as a deposit so sit down and map out your monthly incomings and outgoings, be sure to allow for the odd treat and holiday as you need to live a little too in the meantime.  Typically you can borrow three and half times your combined salary so this will give you an indication of the 10% deposit that you’ll need to save as a First Time Buyer. Get an idea of how long it will take you to get that deposit together and go from there.

 “We had planned to get the house first and then I accidentally bought a wedding dress, so we set the date”.

If like Kate and Philip you’re also saving for your dream wedding then you’ll need to be realistic about what comes first, the wedding or the house?

Talk to the Experts

If like Kate and Philip you’re completely unsure of the mortgage process and where to start, then it might be time to talk to the experts. Book an appointment with a Mortgage Advisor to chat about getting started on your home buying journey, how to go about getting mortgage approval and figuring out exactly how much you can borrow.

“When embarking on this mortgage journey, it’s a good idea to get experts to join you on the road”.

When you’re ready to go for mortgage approval, you’ll need to gather all your documents and get your application in so, allow a week or two for this part of the process. Your Mortgage Advisor can help you figure out what documents you need and answer any questions you may have on the required application forms, so don’t be afraid to keep in touch with them throughout the process!

House Viewings

Once you have Approval in Principle, get out there and see what’s available. House viewings can be an exciting stage and it’s important to view a variety of properties to ensure you’re making the right decision for you when you finally make that all important bid.

“Going up to the door, I thought I’m not going to like this…I know it needs work, and then we went in and loved it”.

There’s no rule book when it comes to house viewings. You may view 5 houses or you may view 50 houses, unfortunately it’s different for everyone and while you may have to compromise on some of your must-have features it’s important to find a home that you can make your own.

The Bidding Process

Once you’ve found that perfect home, the next step is to enter a bid. You’ll work with the estate agent throughout the bidding process and they’ll be your main point of contact with the homeowner, going back and forth with your bids. Depending on the number of bidders and the asking price, bidding timelines can be unpredictable. In Episode 4, you’ll see Kate and Philip struggle to navigate the bidding process as they try to secure the home of their dreams with the help of Buyers Agent Liz O’Kane. If you’re getting frustrated with long delays in the bidding process like Kate and Philip, why not consider putting a deadline on your bid, as Liz suggests.

“When it’s nearing the end of the bidding process, what I like to do is ask for a deadline, this reduces stress and wraps up business quickly”.

The content of this blog does not constitute advice and is for general information purposes only. Readers should always seek professional advice before relying on anything stated in the blog. Some of the links above bring you to external websites. Your use of an external website is subject to the terms of that site.