For the first time in seven years, UK house prices have stagnated in parts of England. What does this mean for first time home buyers? This translates to lower monthly repayments and shorter repayment periods. The average value of a house in England is over 200,000 pounds, so over a twenty five year repayment schedule, a borrower can expect to pay around 900 pounds monthly. This is dependent on the monthly income, credit rating and the interest that was charged.

Consumers typically go to large banks like Hsbc and Lloyds to find possible mortgage rates. Others would go to mortgage brokers who will help them shop for mortgages. Upon a successful mortgage application, the brokers will be given what is known as a broker’s fee or a small percentage of the borrowed amount.

Woolwich Mortgages was voted the best mortgage provider in terms of customer service support for the past two years. Borrowers usually pay around 10% of the mortgage amount as deposit. Before the mortgage can be completed, a formal property appraisal will be conducted by an appraiser and a credit check would be completed to determine the borrower’s credit worthiness. From application to payout would generally take 2-3 month’s time, so it’s important to shop early for a mortgage or at least work with a property holder that understand the financing options available to you.

There are many types of mortgage options to consider. These are flexible, interest only, repayment, endowment, fixed rate etc. It’s essential that you work through each option with your mortgage broker because what might be suitable for one borrower would not be for another.

First time home buyers have to note that if the monthly mortgage repayments are not paid in a timely fashion, their properly may be confiscated and face foreclosure. As such, when considering the mortgage schedule, the most important factor to consider would be the affordability of the repayment amounts, rather than the total amount to be repaid. In any case, it’s always advisable to save up a nest sum of money to keep up with repayments in the event of income loss or medical emergencies.