Owning your own home

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57669989.html

time to get on the ladder. calling all 1st time buyers with 900k. ffs.

Cripes. My two bed is just down the road from that shithole.

It includes a shop below so it's not really 900k for the flat.

not to say it's cheap, but it's not 900k

This property benefits from the very ironic Roman Road Market, presenting any shoppers request. Between the pleasant Victoria Park, this property also is walking distance to Bow Road as well as nearby bus routes.

lol

Very iconic, much tat, so flea, wow.

I used to own a flat in the Connaught works round the corner. I like the area and the park but its still got some way to go imo.

Looks like you own the whole building then. Enjoy your good fortune by asking for rent from your neighbours in the other flats.

I lived in Sandall House 94 -99 and used to see Steven Berkoff in Safeway. Once.

Its not easy to get a residential mortgage for a property above a shop now days. Another reason why it doesn't suit a first time buyer.

This property benefits from the very ironic Roman Road Market

when I lived in bow, caroline flack was my neighbour. used to see her very often.

Excellent, being a property magnate is easier than I expected.

Afternoon my well-housed chums.

Is using a mortgage broker worth it for a first time buyer? This guy is charging £300 to broker the mortgage and I've no idea wtf I'm doing or whether that's good. What say you, bicycle hivemind?

I asked very similar questions few months back before I decided to take the whole house hunting thing easier due a couple of possible changes end of this year.

I think my collective findings from folks here and others I have spoken to is that some lenders won't deal with you directly, only a broker, and some brokers have their perferences that might not be the best value for your money, and good ones don't always charge. In fact, a lot of folks here have used good ones who don't charge.

The one I very nearly went with offers a full package so if there is any delay, issues, the deal ends up going soul etc etc, he'd deal with it, his company also offers lawyers and all other contacts as well as buyer's protection insurance (I didn't actually what it is) etc etc, and I think the typical charge for him is £450 depending on the price of the property.

@WjPrince's dad is an advisor and he is nice... both father and son :-)

^^thanks for the soothing advice (prveious page. dammit). Have gone with the 30 year term as we can overpay by 10% a year anyway.

Just waiting for the pack to arrive from the solicitors. I'm so fucking impatient to get on with it now that I might pay for a courier to bike the signed docs straight back to buy us couple of days. It's now three weeks at the in-laws and counting. My missus is near suicidal and i'm actually looking forward to going into hospital tomorrow as an escape.

We used one and it was worth it I'd say. We just told him that another broker was charging half and giving us the same deal so he just price matched him.

I'd go with one, it's sooo much easier to send someone an email and say 'chase up xxx for xxx' than to get on the phone and do it yourself, especially during working hours. Besides, they most likely will have already chased for whatever it is. My broker also sent all required docs to my solicitor, so I didn't really have to do anything in that respect either.

If you're a simple case, which first time buyers often are, just use a whole of market, fee free broker like London & Country.

If you're self-employed or it's complicated in other ways it might be worth it but that's £300 you don't need to pay. A broker who charges can't get you a better deal than a broker who doesn't if they're both whole of market.

Was there actually 'another broker'?? :-P

I mostly agree with Foxes point of view.

However, to play devils advocate....

As a first time buyer you might not have complex requirements but an experienced broker is there to help IF something goes wrong. I have heard of people screwing up mortgage applications. I have also heard of lenders screwing up applications. Its nice to have an experienced professional helping is something does go wrong. After all, what is £300 when you're conducting a six figure transaction?

It can be hit and miss whether you are assigned to a good broker with L&C. Most are good but I have heard of horror stories. The kind of horror stories that lead to sales falling through. I suppose the problem is that paying for a broker doesn't mean you'll get a good one. Its a good idea to go with somebody who has a great reputation by word of mouth.

For me, when I was a first time buyer, I appreciated the peace of mind that a highly regarded mortgage broker afforded me. I thought £300 was a fair price for that peace of mind. As it turned out, my circumstances were complex but the only problem occurred due to lender screw ups. I know for sure that my broker was able to sort things out faster than I could have done.

nope

I knew it... I use this imagery someone else trick all the time!!

I went with London and Country. Didn't have any problems in terms of delays or anything, they probably chased me more than I chased them. You're dealing with one specific person so you have a point of contact who is handling the whole thing. They try to upsell the life insurance side, which I suspect is where they make a fair bit of the money, but you're under no obligation to take them up on that.

On the other hand, I had straight-forward requirements. I'm salaried and wasn't an edge case for the multiples or LTV so nothing too complicated.

Yes but do you really OWN your own home?