First time buyers are facing lots of challenges at the moment, especially with economic climate being the way it is. Some of the challenges include raising finance, raising cash for a decent deposit and improving your credit ratings to guarantee a good mortgage rate. There are several things you can do to help this journey become easier and to help you in your dream of purchasing your first home. Here we’ll run through some options and advice you can follow, to improve your chances of securing your dream house as soon as possible.
Raising cash in the UK can be a big hurdle these days - photo courtesy © Sean Gladwell - Fotolia.com
- Explore your options of raising cash.There are many ways to cut down your monthly outgoings and ways to help you raise that cash you need for buying a house. You need to firstly consider what you are willing to sacrifice in order to raise the cash. If you’re a big fan of holidaying abroad or you tend to splash out on gadgets, it might be worth giving up the new gadgets (and selling the old ones) to raise cash, or putting off your holidays for a couple of years and saving the cash instead.
Consider also, your living conditions. If you live in a rented accommodation in a city as a couple – why not look into renting a room in a house share, instead of having your own flat? It could cut down your monthly rent and utilities bills by more than half! It’s only something you’d need to do short-term while you save, and you’ll have a fantastic new life to look forward to when you’ve got your new house.
Another living option is moving back in with your parents. If your parents will have you back home and if there is room, why not live rent free there for a few months? It’s not for everyone, but it could save you huge amounts of money in a short period of time.
- Cut the cost of your utilities and food billsAn easy way to save little amounts of money would be to cut the cost on little items such as food bills, television bills and travel bills. Try biking to work instead of paying for petrol, try shopping at bargain markets instead of big chain supermarkets and try lowering your television and internet package and save there.
- Improve your credit rating
One thing you really need to think about when planning to buy your house is the effect of your credit rating. To improve your credit ratings, you need to concentrate on clearing any debts or loans (but don’t worry too much if you only have a student loan, as this won’t overly affect your credit rating). Head into your bank to get some advice on the best ways of managing your finances and hopefully they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. Sometimes doing something as simple as closing an unused account can hugely improve your rating – so it’s always worth enquiring and making sure you’re looking in the right places.
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