You may find buying your first home a little bit daunting. With the challenge of finding your first property, choosing the right mortgage, selecting the best solicitor and making sure the whole process runs smoothly, you may find the information below useful to help you achieve the first rung of the property ladder. The first step should be for you to talk to High Street Mortgages to find out how much you can realistically borrow and talk through what this means to you in terms of ongoing costs and how your responsibilities will change.

It doesn't matter if you haven't found a property just yet, we can provide you with some facts and figures that will help you select the property within your price range.

In the meantime we've outlined some background information on mortgages for first time buyers that we hope you'll find useful.

How much can you borrow?

The amount that a lender will lend to you, very much depends on your individual circumstances and different lenders' affordability criteria. Lenders look at what you can afford, based on the number of people applying for the mortgage and assessing affordability, by taking into consideration your income and outgoings and any other liabilities that you may have. Some lenders offer very good deals for first time buyers, so it is always worth asking us to research on your behalf.

What other costs do you need to be aware of?

It is also worth remembering the additional costs, on top of your deposit and mortgage that you will be expected to pay. For example, you will have to pay stamp duty for the property which you are purchasing. The amount of stamp duty varies depending on the price of the property.  Plus you may have to pay for the survey and the valuation of the property, and solicitor's fees. You may also have fees to pay to the lender for your mortgage. These could be an arrangement fee and/or booking fee. Contact us to find out how much these fees may be.