Alice and Matt's Story
I got back from travelling, with Matt, my partner; we decided that renting was just money down the drain and we both knew that buying can be more flexible than you think. It's not scary. Everyone has to live somewhere, and everyone pays for it, so why not own your own place?
We chose a fixed rate mortgage as the rate was low and we knew it would be the same for two years. This made us feel secure, and made it a lot easier to budget. If you're used to paying rent, paying a fixed rate mortgage feels exactly the same.
The move was pretty smooth. I didn't feel totally in control, though. I wish I'd known more about what was going on. I think I didn't understand the financial side, really.
Alice and Matt's thoughts
The best advice I got came from my father, who said I should never look at a place just once. Go back a few times, at different times of day. Check out the neighbourhood, too. Walk around for a while, if you can.
Another thing that struck me was that you can research the financial side without any difficulty. Mortgage calculators and website make it clear. So research it all. It's worth it.
And my final thought - offers aren't everything. People make offers on places all the time and they're not worth a jot until much later. If you're selling, this is not good news, but it means that, as a first time buyer, your offers are often taken more seriously than someone's who has a home to sell first.
