We share top tips for buyers from mortgage agreements to negotiations and advice if you must rent — plus, get a free fiver from our rewards club
IT’S still cheaper to buy a house than rent but half of under-35s are waiting to find a partner so they can afford to do this.
Data from Halifax, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, reveals the average first-time buyer in the UK would be £651 a year better off if they owned a home.
Unsurprisingly, Londoners could save the most — almost £2,000 a year. People in Scotland and the South West would save £869 and £969 respectively.
But 45 per cent of people aged 18 to 35 say they need to wait to find that special someone before buying.
To make matters worse, landlords often hit tenants with annual rent hikes which push them further away from their dream of owning a property.
But whether you can afford to buy or are renting, there are many ways to get a better deal.
Mayank Mathur is a rental expert and founder of The Urban Collective, a rental search concierge and property search app.
Here he shares his top tips, first for buyers and then for renters.
For buyers
- Do your homework. Work out a budget, choose a location and divide your requirements into must-haves and nice-to-haves, then search only for what you can afford.
- Get an initial mortgage agreement in principle. This is free but demonstrates to sellers and estate agents that you are a serious contender.
- Know the market. Once you find a property you want to make an offer on, check the asking price against other homes that have recently sold in the area. You can do this by putting the address into Zoopla’s house-price tool.
- Do not be at all afraid to negotiate on the price. As a first-time buyer with no property to sell, you are in a strong position.
For renters
- Landlords want good tenants. If you have good references, always pay on time and are willing to extend your contract or move in immediately, you can use these things as bargaining tools.
If you already live in the property, loyalty is important to your landlord — to find a new tenant will cost them. - Keep your cards hidden when viewing. Even if you are standing in the best property you could imagine for your budget, never show how excited you are about maybe living there.
Make it seem as though you have another, possibly preferable option up your sleeve and that the house you are negotiating for is really just dependent on the value of the deal rather than being your dream home. - Do your homework. The more informed you are about the property and landlord, the easier it is to negotiate a good rent.
Find out the asking rent on similar properties in the area, plus what the current tenants are paying.
Check online to see if the property has been listed elsewhere for a different amount. If it has been on the market a while, the landlord may be more willing to accept a lower rent. - Don’t forget to read the small print. Finding the right home and agreeing on rent is the first challenge but once you have done this, you need to make sure what you agree is backed up legally and you don’t get stung by hidden costs.
- Make sure your rent is calculated accurately and check you have not agreed unknowingly to specific rental increases.
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