From Help to Buy: ISA Saver to Home Mover
In 2017, Lucy purchased her first home, an apartment, and was able to put her Help to Buy: ISA savings and Bonus towards her deposit. Three years on, she’s selling her apartment and buying a new-build house with her boyfriend James. Lucy has highlighted some tips she’s found through her experience, for any first-time home movers.
In 2017, Lucy purchased her first home, an apartment, and was able to put her Help to Buy: ISA savings and Bonus towards her deposit. Three years on, she’s selling her apartment and buying a new-build house with her boyfriend James. Lucy has highlighted some tips she’s found through her experience, for any first-time home movers.
You may still be able to use a Help to Buy: ISA towards your deposit if you’re buying a house with someone else and they’re a first-time buyer with a Help to Buy: ISA.
James moved into my apartment a year and a half ago, but I made a conscious decision not to add him to my mortgage, so that he could keep saving into his Help to Buy: ISA. Now that we are buying our first home together, he’ll still get his Bonus and that’ll give us a few extra pounds towards the deposit!
If you can, use the same estate agent for buying your new home and selling your old one.
We are using the same estate agent for buying our new-build, and selling the apartment, and it’s been so helpful! Things can change on an hourly basis when you’re buying a new home, so having an estate agent who is aware of your whole process is so helpful! We were given the option of changing our site from one that would be ready in December, to one that would be ready in September (eek!). I was then able to ask the estate agents’ advice on whether they thought the apartment would be sold in time, and they were able to give the developers all the information they needed about the sale.
Be sensible with your money
While having a property to sell often means you don’t need to worry about saving for a deposit to the same extent as when you were a first-time buyer, it’s still worth having some money set aside for the move. You’ll still have solicitors’ fees, removal fees, potentially reservation fees for your new home, and there are always going to be unexpected costs too. For example, I found out that my broadband provider doesn’t cover where I’m moving to, so will have to switch. If you’re in a deal with your broadband, you may have to pay a cancellation fee to move.
Plan, plan, plan
People say that moving house is one of the most stressful things in life, so if you add in selling a house at the same time, there’s no doubt it may cause some worry and panic! I find writing everything down makes me feel much calmer, so it’s definitely something I would recommend. From questions for your mortgage advisor, to what furniture needs to go in what room, having everything there in black and white will provide some clarity, and being able to tick off tasks you’ve completed will also give you a sense of achievement!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
It’s easy to feel like you’re being annoying by asking your mortgage advisor, estate agent or solicitor a lot of questions, or sending them email after email because you’ve just thought of something else but try not to! At the end of the day, they are the experts and deal with people in the same position as you on a daily basis. They appreciate that it’s a confusing and stressful time for you and will be happy to help, and it’s better to ask about something you don’t understand, than making a mistake, or missing something, later on.
More information on moving house
If the time has come for you to move, it’s time to talk to us. We’re your local experts, and while you’ll have been down the mortgage road before, we know that you’ll still want some help throughout the process; we can advise you on how to move home and sort out your mortgage.
Speak to our team today
We’d love to talk you through the mortgage process and help you find a suitable product. For more information or to apply for an account, you can call us, email us, pop into one of our 11 branches. We look forward to hearing from you.