Last year, the number of first-time buyers reached a 12-year high. Undeterred by Brexit, a mass movement of hopeful first-time buyers looked to take advantage of the stamp duty relief introduced in the winter budget of 2017. The Bank of England, under growing pressure to increase interest rates, helped circumstances with a slight increase in rates to 0.75% in the summer.
Like many eager young purchasers, our clients from Leicester were no different. Ben and Jess had been living with their parents for 18 months in a desperate bid to save for their first home. The couple had very specific requirements for location and property type. The location was important because they wanted to be situated in an affluent area in between both sets of parents. Ben and Jess were very much in agreement; they both loved the traditional double-bay-fronted semi-detached houses. Unfortunately, within the search area, they had dramatically limited themselves to the choices available.
After six months of searching, Ben found the golden ticket on Right move during his lunch break at work. A double-bay-fronted house within a mile each side of their parents Ben called Jess to tell her the good news, and later that day he booked a viewing for the following weekend.
Fast-forward to the post-viewing discussion: driving home, Ben and Jess had fallen in love with the house. They had scoped the place out fully and even discussed where their furniture would go. The property was slightly more expensive than they had hoped, and the sellers weren’t offering any negotiation on the asking price. The couple had to pull on the bank of mom and dad to increase the deposit so they could begin their mortgage application.
‘In steps UK Property Finance…’
During the mortgage application process, it came to light that Jess had some adverse credit. This was due to an incorrect postal address and not being aware of a commitment to repay. Panicked and confused, Jess had to find an alternative broker. UK Property Finance stepped in to keep the couple’s dream of owning their own home alive. UK Property Finance were called upon to find them a lender that would not only consider the gifted deposit but also the adverse credit history. UK Property Finance had to relay the circumstances to the lender to give context to the situation. In 48 hours, the team had managed to find a lender who offered low costs and a competitive rate. After the application had been submitted, the couple could get back on track with the typical sale process.
8 weeks later, they have now completed the transaction and are slowly moving their belongings from mom and dad to their new home. Ben had to contend with changing jobs during the transaction, but because of the constant update from UK Property Finance, he was able to inform the lender with employment references, and what could be quite a stressful situation was resolved swiftly.
If you’re a first-time buyer and have concerns over adverse credit, please get in touch to see if UK Property Finance can get you moving.