First time buyer - property market

[doublem1]

Hi all,

I'm currently saving up for a deposit on my very own place, I can't wait until the day that I have my own home! I'm in a dilemna of wether I go for a home or aprtment. I'm more leaning towards an apartment for a couple of reasons. Mainly they are more affordable and as I'm currently single a house would feel a bit big. I definately want to go for a 2 bed place. I currently have £14k saved up. Not sure what to aim for really. I'm thinking maybe £20k. I'm in Bristol where I want to get a place (in or around Bristol). I have started to buy things like cutlery and such.

Not really sure what kind of amount I should aim for deposit wise. Is the government Help To Buy scheme worth it?

Any advice would be very helpful.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Speak to some lenders first and get an idea of what you can borrow, how much deposit, monthly cost etc.

 

[Keith W]

I would buy a house every time

There are more ongoing costs involved if you purchase a flat and other potential problems

 

[Cartus]

I would buy a house too. There are additional costs in the form of a service charge for maintaining communal areas like a garden and hallways and ground rent to a freeholder. Service charges will vary and you have little control over them.

As mentioned above, go and speak to a good independent financial advisor (IFA) in the first instance. You will then have a clear idea of what you can afford.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Main difference (for ownership) of a flat vs house is maintenance charge. It can be very low (ex council flats round here are capped at something around £100 or a so a year) or scarily high (literally thousands and sometimes with an open ended obligation to pay a proportion of one off costs). If you factor this in to your costs then it comes down to which you prefer for the money.

I've no idea what property goes for in Bristol, but I do know that at entry level a larger proportion of your budget gets used up in "stuff". E.g. furniture for a house always costs more or less £x regardless of whether you spend £50K, £100K, £200k etc on the house so you need to figure out those costs and take it out of your deposit before figuring out what percentage you actually have.

I haven't read all of this but Martin Lewis often talks sense and it's fairly recent (big changes in this area recently).

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/house-buying-guide