Congratulation ! Property is an excellent investment.

More than 70% of households in England own their own homes.

So why and how to get on the property ladder if you're a first time buyer?

Pros:

Instead of letting, you could see the place you live as an long term investment. The monthly cost is similar and after a period of 20 to 30 years, you own the property. No more throwing out money down the drain without any returns.

When you own your own flat or house, you can decorate it to your own tastes and make decision about it without anyone else's permission. Decorating rented accomodation is waste of time and money. On the countrary, spending money on your own home such as buying new furnitures, painting and wallpapering makes sense if you own the property.
Remember that keeping your home in good decorative condition is important: you will have less work when you will want to sell it.

Cons:

However, you become less flexible concerning job relocation than if you're letter because the amount of time for selling a house is several months. Young professionals tends to let their home until they are in their 30‘s or until they marry. Don't forget that a mortgage is a financial burden for a long period of time and that you will have to pay it back on a regular basis if you don't want to loose your home.

What can you afford?

You need to know what you can afford. Usually, you can get a mortgage of 3 to 3.5 times your annual income. Look at your finances and take advice from your accountant or bank manager to calculate the monthly repayments you can make for a mortgage of this size. When you set an upper limit, don't be tempted to extend it unless you thought about it carefully. There are other cost involved in buying a property including legal fees, survey costs, stamp duty, lender's fees, land registry costs, moving costs, building insurance and VAT.

Then, approach several mortgage lenders and ask them for a written ‘offer of principle' of how much they agree to let you borrow.

When to buy?

Winter is usually the low seasons and the occasion for lower property prices.