First Time Buyers Advice

First Time Buyers Advice

Buying your first home is an exciting time, however as a First Time Buyer you may not be aware of all of the costs involved in buying and indeed owning your own property. That’s why we encourage all First Time Buyers to call our team and get a full breakdown of what conveyancing costs they will incur when buying their first property. You can call one of our solicitors or complete our online Conveyancing Enquiry Form and we’ll get back to you.

How Can Vincents help First Time Buyers?

 We think that it’s important that all First Time Buyers have a full understanding of all of the cost implications of buying a property before they’ve even viewed their first house. There are also other considerations, because of the rise in house prices over recent years you may be thinking of buying with friends or another member of your family. Circumstances do change however, and we want you to consider what you would do if one person wanted to sell their share or how sale proceeds would be shared if one of you paid a larger amount of deposit for example. We ask all First Time Buyers to get some good legal advice from one of our Conveyancing Solicitors so that agreements can be drawn up in advance.

What are the Conveyancing Costs for First Time Buyers?

The government has helped First Time Buyers to get onto the property ladder by increasing the threshold for Stamp Duty for First Time buyers. You qualify as a First Time Buyer if you have never owned property or land before, both inside or outside the United Kingdom. If you are buying a property jointly and one of you has owned a property or land before then you will be subject to Stamp Duty. For more information about Stamp Duty you can read our Stamp Duty Guide or our Solicitors can give you full guidance. Other Conveyancing costs vary depending on the purchase price of the property. Conveyancing costs include Search Fees, Land Registry Fees, Stamp Duty and our Conveyancing Fee. Once you know how much you can afford to pay for a property we will work out all of the fees for you.

What other costs will First Time Buyers incur?

During the process of buying a house you will have to pay various costs. These will include:

• Mortgage Booking Fee
• Search Costs
• Land Registry Fees
• Survey Fee
• Stamp Duty Fee may apply depending on Purchase Price
• Your Deposit
• Removals Costs

And this is all before you’ve even moved in! On top of your mortgage you’ll have other bills to pay too. Don’t forget about the Council Tax, it’s worth checking out what band your property falls in and how much it is in advance. Make sure that you’ve got enough left over after your mortgage and council tax each month for other bills and for emergencies!

Call our First Time Buyer Experts Now

Our friendly team of conveyancing solicitors will be only too happy to guide you through your first purchase and help you with any questions you may have along the way. Give us a call today and we’ll provide you with a full quote for your conveyancing costs, or you can complete our online conveyancing calculator to give you an initial cost indication.

For any enquiries regarding First Time Buyers Advice please contact our Conveyancing Solicitors department on 01772 555 176
Or enquire online here

After your offer has been accepted you can follow our step by step guide to buying a house but it is important, as you are new to this, that if you have any questions you ask either your lender, your solicitor or estate agent.

Help To Buy ISA

If you are a first time buyer and have been saving in a Help to Buy ISA account, you may be entitled to Government assistance by way of a bonus payment from the Government towards your first house purchase.

There are price limits and you cannot claim any bonus for a property with a purchase price over £250,000 outside London and the maximum bonus you can obtain is £3000. The amount of bonus will depend on the amount in your ISA account on the day it is closed.

If you have a Help to Buy ISA account then during the conveyancing process we solicitor will ask you to complete a first time buyer declaration and will require the closing statement for your account. You will not be asked to close this account until the matter is almost ready to exchange so that you do not miss out on any potential bonus payment. Once the matter is ready to proceed you should close your ISA account and give to your solicitor the final closing statement. Your solicitor will then apply to the Help to Buy Agency with the First Time Buyer Declaration and the closing statement and obtain the bonus payment on your behalf.

This bonus can only be used towards the purchase of your property. You cannot use it towards your deposit as, if for any reason the matter does not complete, this money has to be returned to the Government to reapplied for at a later date if appropriate.