How to make the right choice when buying your first home

Buying your first home is one of life’s most exciting milestones – but it can also be full of surprises. That’s why it’s crucial to consider all aspects of a property before purchasing it.

According to HomeOwners Alliance, 37% (that’s 6.5 million) of UK homeowners wish they’d known more about the home they bought because they didn’t fully consider everything about the property or the buying process. This percentage rises to 63% among buyers aged 18 to 34. Things they overlooked, but wish they hadn’t, include:

• Underestimating costs
• Compromising on size
• Location concerns

In this blog, we’re sharing tips and advice to help you make the right decision, so that you can buy your first home with clarity and confidence.

The property aspects to consider

Understand all the costs of buying – and owning – a home

As a first time buyer, you may or may not be familiar with the costs of buying, like the deposit, legal fees and, potentially, stamp duty. Either way, it’s important to budget for all of these expenses. Assessing your affordability, with the help of an affordability calculator and an expert mortgage broker, can help you do this.

But it’s also important to remember that being a homeowner comes with a price tag, one that applies long after you’ve completed the sale and got your keys. You’ll need to consider what you’ll have to pay on top of your mortgage. Of course, there are the obvious expenses like energy bills and council tax. But you may also need to budget for decorating and furnishing your home, ongoing maintenance costs and, if you’ve bought a leasehold home, service charges.

Match the location to your lifestyle

Location is crucial to your enjoyment of your home. Often, dissatisfaction comes from living in a place that isn’t quite compatible with your day-to-day life.

If you love city living and all the fun that brings, like checking out a new restaurant on a Tuesday after work or clubbing on a Saturday night, then it makes sense to buy a home where you can easily access the local scene.

On the other hand, if you love spending time outdoors or living a soft life that prioritises wellbeing, then somewhere quieter, like a suburban, coastal or rural location, could be perfect for you.

Think about the future too. Are you planning to get a puppy or start a family? If so, you’ll probably want somewhere with green spaces, schools and local services nearby.

Matters of size and when to compromise

When it comes to size, having a clear idea of your priorities will allow you to decide where and where not to compromise on space.

Maybe having a garden is a non-negotiable for you, or you’re happy with a low-maintenance balcony or terrace. Perhaps you spend a couple of days a week working from home, or work remotely full-time, and need space for a home office that allows you to set boundaries and find balance.

Again, think about the future. If you’re considering starting or adding to your family, you’ll need room to grow, so a specific number of bedrooms may be high on your list of priorities.

How we can help you find the right home

At Share to Buy, we aim to make your homeownership journey clear, easy and accessible. That’s why we recently launched a range of new tools to use alongside our existing features, helping you find the right home, in the right place, at the right time.

Search smarter with ‘My Places’

‘My Places’ is a new feature to help you find a home in a location that fits your lifestyle. It allows you to personalise your property search by adding important places, like school, work or family, and commuting preferences. You can also save these to your Share to Buy account to make future searches quicker, easier and completely tailored to you.

Scheme selector tool

Not sure which homeownership schemes you’re eligible for? No problem – our new scheme selector tool will guide you through a few quick steps to help you understand which options may be available to you. While it doesn’t guarantee eligibility, it’s designed to give you some clarity in just a few clicks.

Use specific search filters

Whether it’s the number of bedrooms, the monthly cost or the deposit required, our property search filters are designed to help you find a home that perfectly suits your needs.

Find your dream home with Share to Buy

At Share to Buy, we make your choice easier with a selection of new-build homes and resale properties across England, available through alternative homeownership schemes such as Shared Ownership. Get your home-buying journey underway using our property portal.