Cost of living and increased house prices are the two main factors as to why it can be difficult to save for a mortgage. We know that you can’t suddenly decide to buy a home, you have to prepare and plan for months, years in advance.
Although your credit score will factor into how much you are able to borrow and how much you will need to put down for your deposit, usually, if you save for long enough and prepare in advance, you should stand a good chance of getting a mortgage.
Work Out How Much You Need to Save
When you are trying to save for a mortgage as a first time buyer in Nottingham, your first task is to work out your monthly disposable income. Once you have deducted your expenditures and monthly outgoings from your overall monthly income, you will have a rough estimation of your total leftover income. A portion of this could be used towards your mortgage savings.
You could work out the amount that you want to save each month by dividing the total amount that you want to save by the number of months that you wanted to move in by. For example, if I wanted to save £10,000 over 24 months (2 years) I would need to save £416 a month. The amount that you save and the length of time can be reduced with multiple incomes saving at once.
When putting down a deposit for a mortgage, you will usually need to provide at least a minimum of 5% of the cost of the property. As a Mortgage Broker in Nottingham, we’ve seen that buyers even try to aim for a 20% deposit so that their mortgage payments are significantly lower. A deposit around this size may be required anyway if you have a bad credit score; you may be asked to put down 15%-20%.
If you have good credit and manage to save for a higher deposit, you could potentially open yourself up to more competitive interest rates. Lenders also see you as a reliable applicant with a higher deposit. They always want to try and minimise the risk of repossession.
How much can you borrow?
At Nottinghammoneyman, our Mortgage Advisors in Nottingham will be able to work out how much you are able to borrow. They will factor in your total deposit amount, credit and other various factors.
We would also recommend saving some money aside to factor in the additional costs of buying a property. Your mortgage and protection advisor will offer you insurance or cover for you and your property.
Are there any schemes available?
The government have developed various schemes to help struggling buyers get more out of their deposit. This could be a boost in their total amount or an option to purchase a percentage of the property, hence lowering the deposit required.
One example would be the Shared Ownership scheme. This allows you to purchase a percentage of a property (anywhere between 10%-75%), where the rest of the property is owned by the housing association or local councils. The way that this works is that you will put down a deposit on the property based on the percentage that you are buying. For your monthly payments, you will have to account for your mortgage plus rent which goes directly to the co-owner of the property.
There are many more schemes available, these are just the most popular options. Other schemes include the Lifetime ISA, Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and many more. Visit OwnYourHome.gov.uk for more information about these schemes and further options.
Help From Elsewhere
If you are lucky enough to receive a gifted deposit from your parents, this could give your deposit a huge boost. Combining your parent’s funds and your own deposit, you could surpass the 5% minimum mark!
Gifted deposits are becoming more and more popular, especially with the rising costs of housing prices. Sometimes we would even say to ask your parents. We have seen that many parents are more than happy to contribute to their children’s deposit (maybe it is because they want them out of the house!).
Review Your Outgoings
If you are saving your deposit, you may also want to review your monthly outgoings and see whether you can save money anywhere. If you take a look at some of your subscriptions, contracts or broadband packages, it could be possible to save some bits here and there and allocate your savings into your mortgage funds.
Mostly, people tend to save money in places such as gym memberships and streaming services. You could look at what you use regularly, and what you hardly use and try to see whether you can save money in some places.
Have you considered buying a property in Nottingham with a friend or partner?
When it comes to saving for a deposit, if you are combining your savings with another applicant, you will find that you save much more quicker! Obviously, if two applicants are saving rather than one, you are more likely to reach your goal than if it was just you saving up.
There are different types of mortgages designed for those looking to buy a property with their friend or partner, these include:
Joint Tenants
This involves both applicants purchasing the property as a whole and owning equal shares within it. If one of the owners passes away, 1005 of the ownership will fall to the remaining owner. Since you both own the property, you will have to come to an agreement if you want to sell or remortgage the property.
Tenants in Common
This is where both owners have a percentage share of the property that doesn’t have to be equal. As a Mortgage Broker in Nottingham, we see this option being more popular with relatives or friends who are buying together. Because you don’t have an equal share, you can act individually and have the right to sell or give away your share.
Saving For a Deposit if You Have Bad Credit
If you have bad credit, you may need to work that little bit harder to save up for your deposit. Alongside your savings, you should try and improve your credit score in the meantime. This could mean that once you reach your target deposit, you may have opened yourself up to better rates due to your increased credit score.
Our Expert Mortgage Advisors in Nottingham
Whether you are a first time buyer in Nottingham, or moving home in Nottingham, saving for that deposit and reorganising your finances to compensate for the additional costs of taking out a mortgage can be difficult. We want to help by taking some of the stress off your shoulders.
Whether you just want to talk to a Mortgage Advisor in Nottingham about your mortgage plans or you need help starting your application, we are here to help. We have been working in the mortgage industry for over 20 years now and have experienced all kinds of mortgage scenarios and answered almost every mortgage question there is!
You can book a free mortgage appointment online or give us a call, we will be there to answer 7 days a week.
Date Last Edited: November 24, 2023
