Any other home buyers in NI?

A question about : Any other home buyers in NI?

Hi everyone, I'm a MSE forum newbite from NI.

I am currently saving up for a house deposit, I will be a first time buyer.

I just wanted to know if there is anyone else out there who has recently bought a house in NI, be it first time buyers or otherwise, what kind of a deposit did you need and what percentage of the total house price was this?

Just to get an idea of what kind of a figure I need to have in mind as a target!

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

2012Saver

Best answers:

• We just exchanged on a new build, and are planning to complete in February.
  We originally got our Mortgage approved based on a 10% deposit, but in the end we only took a 85% mortgage, as we managed to save some more.
  But it also depends on how much you earn. We only took about 2x of our main salary, to make sure we won't overstretch ourselves.
  Said that, for most Banks 10% of the purchase price is the minimum, if a new build then often even 15%. Don't forget to also add the associated costs on your calculations, like Stamp Duty, Solicitor fees, Mortgage Arrangement fees, moving costs etc.
• I sold recently so no advice on deposit but I would go to somewhere like the mortgage shop to see how much you can borrow.They can advise about deposits and fees .As for solicitors shop around ,dont assume they all charge the same.The last time I bought one solicitor quoted me 2% one quoted 0.75% and one quoted 0.5% .Dont forget to add vat to everything .
• A friend recently thought her house was sold, but the young couple who had made the offer, came back to say that they could not get a mortgage with a 10% deposit, 15% was the best. Obviously I cannot say how accurate that is, but an IFA would keep you right.
  When I was in the market myself I often referred to this online site which has a wealth of information on costs and other advice;
  https://www.charcol.co.uk/first-time-buyer-mortgage/
• I bought just uner a year ago with 15% deposit (Could have got it on 10%) but the sale took that long to go through hat by teh time it did I had enough saved for 15%. (Value of the mortgage was just over 3x salary (Mortgage and house all entirely in my name)
  Far better rate was available for 15% too.
  House prices still seem to be dropping, so just make sure and negotiate hard, and as someone said to me, if there are any issues about the house which you aren't sure about remember the same issues (if it isn't something you can change) could put off potential buyers when you come to sell too - so think about the future as well as the present!
  Good luck - let me know if you need advice OP!
• OH and I are saving like mad and have been for some time (see my sig).
  We won't buy until we find the right house at the right price. Prices are still falling, so don't buy somewhere unless you're prepared to stay there for 5-10 years at least.
  Re deposit, 15% minimum is my advice. You'll save a fair bit in interest.
• If anyone can point me in the direction of one piece of evidence to suggest prices are bottoming I'll eat my hat.
  I'm saving a deposit, looking around 30-40%. Can't see the falls stopping for at least 3 years. All good news for N.I.
  Did anyone else see the Craigavon area dropped 18% in the last 12 months?
  Forget about the EAs, they talk crap. As others say, they have been pointing to the bottom for 5 years. They got it spectacularly wrong.
  Looks are Reeds Rains U turn; they can't wait to shut all their branches here.
• The problem we have now in Northern Ireland is quite a complicated one. We are a very small piece of land in the grand scale of things and have a lot of properties which changed hands at massively inflated prices. We now also have a lot of Reposessions being Sold and Auctioned at massively knocked down prices. This in turn has made genuine sellers have to drop their prices a lot but they will never drop them below what they believe to be "reasonable". In a way it's like we have two different housing markets at the moment. The reposession housing market and the genuine upsizing/downsizing market. I suppose at the end of the day it all comes down to affordability. It doesn't really matter what the price the house you buy is, it a case of do you think it's a realistic and fair priceand can you afford it. Yeah you'll get loads repossessed houses at knock down prices, but how many are in a really lovely area where you would want to live or are not only half built.
• Prices appear to still be falling. In my area they are at least selling which is what I cling to!
  We bought in mid 2011. 35% deposit and 3 times main salary for the mortgage.