OMG, it’s all turning real…. After thinking about stepping on the property ladder for about a year now and having lived in rented accomodation in London for the last 6 years…I guess it’s time to do something about it. Not only did I not have a clue about mortgages, repayments, deposits, stamp duty and any of the other proceudres involved in this, it also feels like the scariest thing I have ever done before…
But let’s take one step at a time. I will tell you a little about my progress so far and keep you in the loop about what will happen over the next 6 month. Call it “Tine’s guide to property…aka…she doesn’t have a clue” 
So,where to start? Firstly I had to find out how much money I could actually budget for and what amount of mortgage I would be able to get from the bank with an affordable repayment. Easier said than done… trust me, the mortgage calculators on the various websites all around are only a rough indication and will never give you the full insight. For example do they not tell you about te bank arrangement fee, the interest increase after the fixed period etc. Watch it, because there are some deals out there that appear to be really good, but you find yourslef with a 4K arrangement fee. Not a good idea.
So, after a lot of contemplation, I went to see an independent financial advisor recommended by a client of mine who is a real estate solicitor. I am glad to confirm that half of the grey area ( mortgage & finances) has been tackled and I know that I have a pretty good budget to work with…and I can afford it! I could not believe my eyes, but here you have it. Remember that you pay these guys a flat arrangement fee that can vary, up to you if you want to do that or speak to the bank directly instead. Given lucky circumstances it is better than I thought, but I am keeping an eye on the interest rates hoping that they will fall before I attempt the BIG step. Mmmmmmm. While I still need to tackle another thousand questions, it is not holding me back from starting to have a look around… there are quite a few websites out there, especially for the UK. Find A Property, Right Move and Property Finder are just a few, but there are a good starting point to get some ideas about areas and prices. The choice is that wide it appears to make it just more difficult and I have spent quite a few hours on there.
If I could afford it, I would stay in Bayswater where I am currently living. Not only is this Zone 1, it also has Hyde Park next door, Paddington and its brilliant connections on the doorstep and Queensway with all its shops and restaurants…not to forget the Notting Hill Carnival Should I ever win the lottery then I will definitely think about it, but in the meantime … not a chance!!! So….having roughly sorted the budget I am know having a look around and see which areas I could be interested in. London is just so big it’s really hard to know where to start. At the moment I am very much tending towards West London with Ealing, Acton, Hanwell etc. It has good connections into town and while Ealing itself is still quite pricey, we are slowly starting to get more reasonable. And… it’s near Heathrow!!! Some of these areas I have already seen, others I have driven through and / or talked about with Paolo and his mum. They have both lived in Ealing and surroundings for quite some time and do know the areas a lot better than me. Now I just need to go there by myself and check out those areas that are a little further outside – Zone 4 or 5. yes I know, that is quite a hike, but in order to get myself sorted with something decent I better do the sacrifice. It will be hard to have double the time to get to work, but I am sure it’s worth it. Call me a dreamer, but I am hoping in a little more green around me
Let’s summarize:
STEP 1 – figure out how much you can spend ( mortgage + deposit – expenses = approx budget) through a bank or independent fiancial advisor
STEP 2 – decide how much you want to spend ( refurbishment, mortgage repayments, furniture, additional expenses you may get etc.)
STEP 3 – coose an area you want to live in ( if you are not familiar with it, do research and visit it extensively)
STEP 4 – contact estate agent(s) in the area and get busy looking ( try to have a rough idea of what you acctually want…)
I haven’t even reached step 4 yet, but the plan is to get there by mid October. Firstly I will be going back to Italy for 10 days with a few days in Civitanova Marche and hopefully another 2 in Bolzano with my little brother and his girlfriend. Once I have talked it through properly with mum & dad then I guess I will be ready to move onto step 4. What a great investment opportunity, even if one day I decide to move back home I would still have a London crib ( And in case you’re wondering…it’s realitively easy to change the mortgage from first buyer to buy-to-let)…so….there really isn’t much holding me back right now, unless obviously there is a further interest rise. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Happy Saturday everyone, are you watching the Rugby World Cup as well???
Tine
