Getting your first Mortgage
Growing up is always one of the scariest things to think about when you’re young. The thought of saving, getting a mortgage, affording bills, going on holidays can be so exciting yet so overwhelming at the same time.
I’m Meg, the marketing assistant here at Middleton Private Capital. I have recently taken a huge step in my adult life – buying my first house! I never dreamed that at 22 I would be able to say that, but it is a great achievement, and I could not be more excited! Just the thought of buying the little ornaments and decorating, even buying new sofas, and I cannot wait until the day I get my keys to move in. BUT… With all of this excitement and planning taking over, it’s only when you get a moment to sit and plan budgets etc that it dawns on you how much all of this is going to cost. The realisation that all of this is going to take MAJOR saving can be incredibly overwhelming.
In this day and age, I think it’s quite easy to get lost in life, and one thing that doesn’t help that is social media. Now, I’m not suggesting social media is a bad thing – after all most of us use it for work, communication or even just for a bit of entertainment! However, I think it’s safe to say we all have seen something on social media at some point that makes you question yourself and where you’re at in life. People buying fancy cars, expensive jewellery, designer clothes and big houses at such a young age, when actually you may be far from financially ready for that because you are at a different stage in life! It’s fine for it to not be the right time for you – and there is nothing wrong with that.
When I first spoke to a mortgage advisor, my mind was BLOWN! You never realise how scary this process is until you have that first initial meeting and there are a million things thrown at you about things you’ve never heard of, and you have to start making all these decisions – it’s a lot to process. So on top of the mortgage, you have house insurance, furniture, bills, solicitor fees and all this other stuff to pay for that no one tells you about. It really gets you thinking, am I going to be able to afford this comfortably? Why don’t they teach you all these things in school?
If I’m honest, probably no matter what age you are, all this stuff is bound to make you worry. One thing I know from talking to friends about this topic is the deposit for something like this is one of the hardest things to be able to afford. Some people are renting so struggle to put money away each month, some people aren’t on a high wage so haven’t got any spare money to save – everyone is different! The rise in prices in the property market certainly doesn’t help either and sometimes you sit and think to yourself that you’re never going to be able to achieve anything like that, but its easily possible!
One thing I have found is that a lot of research and consultations with people can help you with queries about your financial matters and no matter how silly you may feel, ask as many questions as you can! It’s far better to understand something so that you can decide on what options are best for you.
Investing can seem quite intimidating at times, certainly at my age anyway, but I have learnt to just ask and gain more knowledge on the benefits of investing and how it can help you achieve so many things. No matter how much money you have saved to start investing, you have to remember you still matter as much as someone who may have millions to invest, because this is investing in your future! Why wouldn’t you want to be making more money that can go towards your new house, or even take it one step further and start to plan an early retirement! The earlier you start to invest, the better. At this age, I realised no one is expecting me to be at a certain stage in life, or to have loads of money in my bank, I’m proud of my achievements so far and I want that to continue.
So take it from me, research your options and what works best for you, ask lots of questions and book a free consultation to discuss how you can be setting yourself up for the future – all of these things cost you nothing except a bit of time, so what have you got to lose?