First-time buyers can make big savings with fixer uppers in snazzy locations. However, some projects might swallow any discount with the glam work needed. What is a fixer upper? Fixer uppers might need renovation, or refurbishment. These words are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when doing your research, expect renovation to refer to things like making […]
Grand Designs: The Street Recap
Grand Designs: The Street followed a group of pioneers trying to get better value for money in the biggest self-build neighbourhood in Britain. The participants included would-be first-time buyers who had decided to do things their own way, and some existing property owners who wanted to design their own forever home. The Grand Designs: The […]
Cherry Healey’s Property Virgins Recap
Cherry Healey’s Property Virgins was a two-parter made for BBC Three to help wannabe first-time buyers. I watched this several times before buying my first house so that I could make head and tail of mortgages and the homebuying process. Maybe it’s a compliment to the producers, but I find both episodes still relevant today. […]
What You Need To Get The Best Mortgage Offer
If we want to get the best mortgage offer as a first-time buyer, we want to join up three sides of a triangle. On one side is our deposit, made up of what we earn then save. On the second side is how much the bank wants to throw at us based on our earnings […]
Saving For A House: The No. 1 Thing No One Tells You
If you’re saving for a house as a first-time buyer, then what I’m about to tell you might be news. Or it might be very obvious depending on how deep you are into your research. It took me far too long to discover the number one thing I needed to know about saving for a […]
Help To Buy Vs Shared Ownership Vs A Fleetwood Mac Song
Help to Buy or Shared Ownership? These are two major buying options if you’re a first-time buyer. I had to learn the pros and cons of these schemes from scratch when I bought my first house, and I’ve tried to explain simply below how they work. If you don’t want to rent forever, but aren’t […]
The UK’s Best Place To Live (Recap)
Welcome to my recap of The UK’s Best Place to Live, and how rankings have changed since it aired. Property expert Sarah Beeny presented this rundown of criteria first-time buyers should consider when choosing their location. I paid close attention to the Channel 4 show when it aired as I was fighting to raise a […]
Is Buying A House The Worst Financial Decision Ever?
If you’re a first-time buyer who’s spent years saving for a deposit, the last thing you want to be told is that buying a house is the worst financial decision ever because you’re not getting value for money. Despite there being a property crisis in Britain for renters, there’s also an argument that home ownership […]