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Your Ultimate Guide to Buying a Home · A Little Bit Richer

• 0:01
  Iona Bain: Hello, I'm Iona Bain and welcome to A Little Bit
• 0:04
  Iona Bain: Richer, brought to you by Legal & General. Now whether it's
• 0:06
  Iona Bain: your first time or you're ready to upgrade your space,
• 0:10
  Iona Bain: buying a home is one of the biggest financial and
• 0:13
  Iona Bain: emotional decisions many of us will make. From figuring out
• 0:16
  Iona Bain: what you can afford and navigating mortgage options to managing
• 0:19
  Iona Bain: the legal process and understanding recent government changes, it can
• 0:23
  Iona Bain: all feel a little bit overwhelming. So today we're going
• 0:26
  Iona Bain: to walk you through this journey with none other than
• 0:28
  Iona Bain: Sarah Tucker. Sarah is the founder and CEO of the
• 0:32
  Iona Bain: Mortgage Mum, a national mortgage and protection broker. She's a
• 0:36
  Iona Bain: qualified mortgage advisor, podcast host, and you'll often see her
• 0:39
  Iona Bain: as the mortgage expert on our ITV's This Morning, so she
• 0:43
  Iona Bain: really is the perfect person to make us feel confident
• 0:46
  Iona Bain: about our next move. Welcome, Sarah.
• 0:49
  Sarah Tucker: Hello. Thank you for having me.
• 0:51
  Iona Bain: So if you're thinking about buying somewhere for the first
• 0:53
  Iona Bain: time or you want to make that next move, what
• 0:57
  Iona Bain: do you need to think about, especially when it comes
• 1:00
  Iona Bain: to recent changes that might affect that process? Talk us
• 1:04
  Iona Bain: through what's been happening in the world of mortgages and
• 1:07
  Iona Bain: home buying.
• 1:07
  Sarah Tucker: Well, it's been a lot of change, so there's been
• 1:10
  Sarah Tucker: good change and there's been some negative change. So let's
• 1:13
  Sarah Tucker: start with the negative because then we can move on
• 1:15
  Sarah Tucker: to good news. The negatives is that the interest rates
• 1:18
  Sarah Tucker: have been higher, although we are starting to see them
• 1:20
  Sarah Tucker: come down, but they are fluctuating. We've got inflation that's
• 1:24
  Sarah Tucker: higher and the general cost of living is higher, so
• 1:27
  Sarah Tucker: people are a little bit more risk averse. But the
• 1:30
  Sarah Tucker: good news is affordability is on the up, so lenders
• 1:32
  Sarah Tucker: are lending more than they previously did. The mortgage stress
• 1:37
  Sarah Tucker: rates in the background, they used to really hinder affordability
• 1:40
  Sarah Tucker: for people because they're making sure you can afford the
• 1:43
  Sarah Tucker: mortgage if rates do go up more, but because interest
• 1:46
  Sarah Tucker: rates went up so much, those stress rates were really
• 1:48
  Sarah Tucker: affecting affordability and they've been reduced now, which is brilliant
• 1:52
  Sarah Tucker: because that means affordability is a lot better. So there's
• 1:55
  Sarah Tucker: some really positive news. The house prices haven't escalated too
• 1:59
  Sarah Tucker: quickly. You've obviously got world news, it affects the market
• 2:02
  Sarah Tucker: as well, but generally things are a lot more positive.
• 2:05
  Sarah Tucker: The Bank of England base rate's come down quite a
• 2:08
  Sarah Tucker: few times.
• 2:08
  Iona Bain: And it's not just about the mortgage, is it? There
• 2:11
  Iona Bain: are a whole set of other costs that people need
• 2:13
  Iona Bain: to consider when they're buying property.
• 2:15
  Sarah Tucker: Absolutely, and if you're a first time buyer, I think
• 2:18
  Sarah Tucker: we always just think about the deposit, but you do
• 2:21
  Sarah Tucker: have to think about the other fees. So I did
• 2:24
  Sarah Tucker: get an example of a 400, 000 pound house with a 10%
• 2:27
  Sarah Tucker: deposit, just to give you a bit of a flavor
• 2:29
  Sarah Tucker: of the different categories because when you first sit with
• 2:31
  Sarah Tucker: someone, you go, " Okay, how much deposit have you got?
• 2:34
  Sarah Tucker: Okay, have you got stamp duty?" And for a 400,000
• 2:37
  Sarah Tucker: pound house that's 10, 000 pounds. And then you need solicitor
• 2:40
  Sarah Tucker: fees to make sure that they can do the transaction
• 2:43
  Sarah Tucker: for you. That can be $ 1500 to a couple of
• 2:45
  Sarah Tucker: grand, depends how complicated it is. You've then got removal
• 2:49
  Sarah Tucker: costs if you want help. Lots of people say, " I
• 2:52
  Sarah Tucker: can do it myself," it's fine, but you'll still probably
• 2:54
  Sarah Tucker: need a van of some sort. So you need to
• 2:56
  Sarah Tucker: factor that in. And if you're buying a house, we
• 2:59
  Sarah Tucker: recommend a homebuyers valuation. You can get a normal valuation,
• 3:03
  Sarah Tucker: but you're looking at 350 pounds or you might be
• 3:06
  Sarah Tucker: lucky and get one free with your mortgage. But a homebuyer's
• 3:09
  Sarah Tucker: valuation is really good because it shows you what money
• 3:11
  Sarah Tucker: you're going to need to spend on that property in
• 3:13
  Sarah Tucker: the next few years. Of course, a mortgage advisor could
• 3:16
  Sarah Tucker: cost you money and fees and generally with a mortgage
• 3:18
  Sarah Tucker: you'll have an arrangement fee. So going back to this
• 3:21
  Sarah Tucker: example of a 400,000 pound property, yes you need a 10%
• 3:25
  Sarah Tucker: deposit, which is 40, 000, but you've probably got to factor
• 3:27
  Sarah Tucker: in this scenario about 15, 000 in fees, maybe a bit
• 3:31
  Sarah Tucker: less, maybe a tiny bit more, just depending on the
• 3:34
  Sarah Tucker: different things you select on that process. That gives you
• 3:37
  Sarah Tucker: an idea as to the cost of moving as well
• 3:41
  Sarah Tucker: that you just need to factor in.
• 3:42
  Iona Bain: And that's just before you've stepped foot in the property
• 3:45
  Iona Bain: and have to think about renovating it.
• 3:47
  Sarah Tucker: Yeah, exactly.
• 3:48
  Iona Bain: So we've talked about how you navigate this. If you are a
• 3:51
  Iona Bain: first time buyer, what if you already own a property
• 3:54
  Iona Bain: and you're looking to move? What are all the different
• 3:56
  Iona Bain: steps of the journey then?
• 3:57
  Sarah Tucker: Number one is looking at your current mortgage. So you
• 4:01
  Sarah Tucker: might have a fixed rate that you are in and that you
• 4:04
  Sarah Tucker: might even be tied into that for longer than you
• 4:07
  Sarah Tucker: want to be when it comes to moving. So the
• 4:09
  Sarah Tucker: first thing I want people to know is that you
• 4:11
  Sarah Tucker: can potentially port your mortgage and that will avoid you
• 4:14
  Sarah Tucker: paying an early repayment charge. But the limitation of that
• 4:18
  Sarah Tucker: is that you are with that lender if you've got
• 4:20
  Sarah Tucker: a fixed rate usually, and you have said to that lender, "
• 4:24
  Sarah Tucker: Effectively, I'm going to keep this for two years or
• 4:26
  Sarah Tucker: five years," and you'll see in your mortgage offer that
• 4:29
  Sarah Tucker: if you do end that early, they will charge you
• 4:31
  Sarah Tucker: something and it can be quite a bit of money.
• 4:33
  Sarah Tucker: So make sure you're looking at that first that you
• 4:35
  Sarah Tucker: know where you stand with your mortgage, and that comes
• 4:38
  Sarah Tucker: into your affordability anyway to look at how much equity
• 4:41
  Sarah Tucker: do I have in the property? So you could have
• 4:43
  Sarah Tucker: paid off quite a bit of your mortgage in the
• 4:45
  Sarah Tucker: time you've lived there and the property could have gone
• 4:47
  Sarah Tucker: up in value for example. And then subsequently you've got
• 4:50
  Sarah Tucker: to look at how much your property is worth and
• 4:53
  Sarah Tucker: start getting it valued by estate agents to put it
• 4:56
  Sarah Tucker: on the market and sell it. That's where we come
• 4:58
  Sarah Tucker: into what estate agent should I pick, how do I
• 5:02
  Sarah Tucker: know what it's worth? But when it comes to selling,
• 5:05
  Sarah Tucker: your house is worth what someone's willing to pay for
• 5:08
  Sarah Tucker: it, so rely on your local estate agents because they
• 5:11
  Sarah Tucker: really should be able to show you comparables and tell
• 5:16
  Sarah Tucker: you what they think it will sell for. And so
• 5:18
  Sarah Tucker: when we talk about the cost of moving, you need
• 5:20
  Sarah Tucker: to look at estate agency fees. Now they vary from
• 5:24
  Sarah Tucker: one and a half percent of the property's value. They
• 5:27
  Sarah Tucker: could be more than that, it could be less than that,
• 5:29
  Sarah Tucker: it depends if you can negotiate. And they're going to
• 5:31
  Sarah Tucker: want to know if you're going to go exclusively with
• 5:33
  Sarah Tucker: that agent or with multiple agents.
• 5:35
  Iona Bain: You spoke before about the changes that have happened with
• 5:39
  Iona Bain: mortgage affordability. And is that because mortgage lenders are coming
• 5:44
  Iona Bain: up with new products and want to draw more borrowers in?
• 5:48
  Sarah Tucker: Yeah, I think there's more innovation definitely. So we're seeing
• 5:51
  Sarah Tucker: products like the Helping Hand Mortgage for Nationwide, for example,
• 5:54
  Sarah Tucker: six times your income. We've seen lenders like April Mortgages
• 5:58
  Sarah Tucker: come out with seven times income. Now these are specific
• 6:01
  Sarah Tucker: products. They're still a general rule of 4. 75 times
• 6:05
  Sarah Tucker: your income, but there are lenders out there who are
• 6:07
  Sarah Tucker: really trying to be innovative, whether that is giving you
• 6:11
  Sarah Tucker: an opportunity to have additional boosting on your deposit or
• 6:15
  Sarah Tucker: giving you additional affordability like you say. So it's definitely
• 6:18
  Sarah Tucker: a lot more positive than it was.
• 6:20
  Iona Bain: So how do you work out how much someone can borrow?
• 6:23
  Sarah Tucker: So it depends with every single lender how much you
• 6:26
  Sarah Tucker: can borrow, and I really want to make that point
• 6:28
  Sarah Tucker: clear because you might be tempted to go on a
• 6:31
  Sarah Tucker: calculator or AI and ask how much you can borrow.
• 6:35
  Sarah Tucker: But let me tell you, it's completely different for every
• 6:38
  Sarah Tucker: lender. It's not just about the lender that lends the
• 6:40
  Sarah Tucker: most, it's the lender that lends the most to you
• 6:43
  Sarah Tucker: in your specific circumstance. If you pay childcare costs or
• 6:47
  Sarah Tucker: you've got credit cards, but you are clearing them every
• 6:49
  Sarah Tucker: month, you have different ways of the lender looking at
• 6:52
  Sarah Tucker: your credit card balances. Some will ignore them if they're
• 6:55
  Sarah Tucker: going to disappear and some won't. So these are just
• 6:58
  Sarah Tucker: ideas and examples of how different lender underwriters treat each
• 7:03
  Sarah Tucker: client and each case, the good news is that's our
• 7:06
  Sarah Tucker: job. We spend a lot of time in the background
• 7:09
  Sarah Tucker: building relationships with lenders so we can really understand who
• 7:12
  Sarah Tucker: they're trying to market.
• 7:14
  Iona Bain: And you touched on the government as well and the
• 7:17
  Iona Bain: regulator, the FCA that stands for Financial Conduct Authority and
• 7:20
  Iona Bain: they are conducting a review at the moment of the
• 7:23
  Iona Bain: mortgage market and talking about bringing back certain products like
• 7:28
  Iona Bain: interest only mortgages, mortgages with higher deposits, even a hundred
• 7:32
  Iona Bain: percent mortgages. What are your personal views around those kinds
• 7:36
  Iona Bain: of solutions for people who might otherwise struggle to get
• 7:39
  Iona Bain: funding for their mortgage?
• 7:41
  Sarah Tucker: We've just had the 100% mortgage launched by April Mortgages
• 7:44
  Sarah Tucker: recently, and we were right at the forefront of that.
• 7:46
  Sarah Tucker: And honestly, just in that product alone shows how needed
• 7:50
  Sarah Tucker: is because we had over 2, 000 people contact us
• 7:54
  Sarah Tucker: in the first day of it coming out. Actually a
• 7:57
  Sarah Tucker: lot of them just didn't have the right advice. They
• 7:59
  Sarah Tucker: could actually get a mortgage, they had 5% saved, they
• 8:02
  Sarah Tucker: didn't think that was enough. So they came to us
• 8:05
  Sarah Tucker: because of the 100% mortgage, but perhaps actually they've got a 95%
• 8:09
  Sarah Tucker: mortgage and they got different advice. They still think 20% deposit
• 8:13
  Sarah Tucker: is where it's at and they think they're so far
• 8:16
  Sarah Tucker: away and actually they could be able to move now.
• 8:18
  Iona Bain: And that's where advice can be really, really critical. But
• 8:22
  Iona Bain: there may be people watching all listening who will think, "
• 8:25
  Iona Bain: Well, why can't I just go to my bank and
• 8:27
  Iona Bain: ask what they can offer me? Because I already have
• 8:30
  Iona Bain: a current account with them or maybe some savings with
• 8:32
  Iona Bain: them. Surely they'd be able to help out and surely
• 8:34
  Iona Bain: that would be a lot quicker and more straightforward than
• 8:37
  Iona Bain: going to a mortgage advisor." What would you say to that?
• 8:39
  Sarah Tucker: They absolutely can. You are very welcome to do that
• 8:42
  Sarah Tucker: and lots of people still do, but just know there's
• 8:46
  Sarah Tucker: a whole world out there that you're not looking at
• 8:48
  Sarah Tucker: and you're not seeing the whole picture.
• 8:50
  Iona Bain: You could go to your bank, but the analogy that
• 8:52
  Iona Bain: I thought of was that if you go to your
• 8:54
  Iona Bain: bank and ask for the mortgage that they would offer
• 8:56
  Iona Bain: you, it's like going to a clothes shop that you've
• 8:58
  Iona Bain: always gone to in the past and asking them to
• 9:00
  Iona Bain: recommend you clothes when there could be a whole load
• 9:03
  Iona Bain: of other shops on that high street.
• 9:04
  Sarah Tucker: Yeah, I like that. Good analogy.
• 9:06
  Iona Bain: I thought you would. Can you briefly talk us through
• 9:09
  Iona Bain: the stages and timings in a typical home buying process,
• 9:14
  Iona Bain: so what it means to go from in principle to completion?
• 9:18
  Sarah Tucker: Okay, so should we focus on a first time buyer or a
• 9:21
  Sarah Tucker: home mover? What do you think?
• 9:22
  Iona Bain: Let's focus on a first time buyer.
• 9:24
  Sarah Tucker: Okay, so a first time buyer, you're going to speak to
• 9:26
  Sarah Tucker: an advisor, you're going to know how much you can
• 9:28
  Sarah Tucker: borrow, so you're going to feel really confident and they're
• 9:30
  Sarah Tucker: going to give you something called an agreement in principle.
• 9:33
  Sarah Tucker: So that means they've done a credit search with a
• 9:35
  Sarah Tucker: lender that they think is the best lender for you
• 9:37
  Sarah Tucker: in that moment. Hopefully they're doing a soft credit search
• 9:41
  Sarah Tucker: on you so we're not leaving too many footprints on
• 9:43
  Sarah Tucker: your credit file because too many of those is a
• 9:45
  Sarah Tucker: bad thing. And you've got hopefully a certificate or some
• 9:48
  Sarah Tucker: people do these passports now on your Apple Wallet. So
• 9:51
  Sarah Tucker: you've got proof to an estate agent I can borrow
• 9:55
  Sarah Tucker: enough money to look at these properties. And that's the
• 9:57
  Sarah Tucker: best bit because you know what you can afford. You're
• 10:00
  Sarah Tucker: going on Rightmove or Zoopla or other sites looking at
• 10:03
  Sarah Tucker: houses, speaking to estate agents saying, " Tell me what I can
• 10:06
  Sarah Tucker: look at, that's in my price range." And it's your
• 10:09
  Sarah Tucker: job to find the one. And you've got a mix
• 10:11
  Sarah Tucker: of head and heart decisions through the buying process. Head
• 10:14
  Sarah Tucker: is the money, heart is the property. You're going to
• 10:17
  Sarah Tucker: know within 10 seconds apparently when you walk through the
• 10:19
  Sarah Tucker: door and you just feel like, " Oh, oh." And as
• 10:23
  Sarah Tucker: you walk through the property, you'll just start to know, " I
• 10:26
  Sarah Tucker: really like this." And that's a magic feeling. Wait for
• 10:30
  Sarah Tucker: that feeling. It's like love. Don't kind of make it
• 10:32
  Sarah Tucker: fit because you're in a rush, wait for the right
• 10:34
  Sarah Tucker: property. When you do find the one, you will panic
• 10:37
  Sarah Tucker: because you'll love it. And anything that involves the heart,
• 10:40
  Sarah Tucker: you just lose your head and go, " Oh my gosh,
• 10:43
  Sarah Tucker: I've forgotten everything that the advisor told me and I
• 10:45
  Sarah Tucker: don't know what I'm doing." That's why an advisor is
• 10:47
  Sarah Tucker: so important because when you are in this space, that's
• 10:49
  Sarah Tucker: where you'll live for the rest of that transaction, we
• 10:52
  Sarah Tucker: are staying in the head for you. So you're saying, "
• 10:54
  Sarah Tucker: I'm in love with this property. Okay, how much is
• 10:56
  Sarah Tucker: it? Amazing. Okay, yeah, that's fine. We'll get you, there's
• 10:59
  Sarah Tucker: an application in. My estate agent's saying I need a
• 11:01
  Sarah Tucker: server." That's fine. We'll talk you through. We'll instruct that.
• 11:05
  Sarah Tucker: So we'll just try and keep it calm and exciting
• 11:07
  Sarah Tucker: in the background, but we'll be squirreling away to make
• 11:10
  Sarah Tucker: sure all your paperwork sorted. You will then need a
• 11:12
  Sarah Tucker: solicitor. They are as important as your advisor if not
• 11:15
  Sarah Tucker: more so, so really try and find someone that's recommended
• 11:19
  Sarah Tucker: because they can slow down your transaction or speed it
• 11:21
  Sarah Tucker: up and they really need to be good to be
• 11:23
  Sarah Tucker: able to give you everything you need. Not to go
• 11:26
  Sarah Tucker: into the legal process too much because I might bore
• 11:28
  Sarah Tucker: everybody, but they're going to search the property. They're going
• 11:30
  Sarah Tucker: to make sure that everything is as it should be.
• 11:33
  Sarah Tucker: In the meantime, we are getting your mortgage offer. Once
• 11:36
  Sarah Tucker: you get your mortgage offer, our job is technically done,
• 11:38
  Sarah Tucker: but that's not how we work at the Mortgage Mum.
• 11:40
  Sarah Tucker: We will then chase your estate agent, your solicitor, anyone
• 11:44
  Sarah Tucker: else we need to make sure everything's running as it
• 11:46
  Sarah Tucker: should and update you along the way. Make sure you
• 11:48
  Sarah Tucker: have a protection conversation. It's not just about getting your
• 11:51
  Sarah Tucker: mortgage, it's making sure you can keep it. So have
• 11:54
  Sarah Tucker: that while you're excited because it's too easy to just say, "
• 11:58
  Sarah Tucker: Oh yeah, look at that later. I just want to
• 12:00
  Sarah Tucker: get the house first."
• 12:01
  Iona Bain: And this is about making sure you insure your income.
• 12:04
  Sarah Tucker: Insured your, income protection, that if anything happens to you,
• 12:08
  Sarah Tucker: that mortgage gets paid off for your family. So think
• 12:11
  Sarah Tucker: about how much you love it and think about the
• 12:13
  Sarah Tucker: fact you don't want to lose it if something out
• 12:14
  Sarah Tucker: of your control happens. And that's a horrible thing to
• 12:17
  Sarah Tucker: talk to an excited buyer about, but it's so important.
• 12:20
  Sarah Tucker: So people will talk to you about exchanging. That means
• 12:23
  Sarah Tucker: the property is yours, everybody signs in your chain, say
• 12:26
  Sarah Tucker: it's yours. And then completion's when you actually put the
• 12:29
  Sarah Tucker: key through the door. I mentioned the word chain and
• 12:31
  Sarah Tucker: I just want to sit on that for a minute
• 12:32
  Sarah Tucker: because if you're a first time buyer, it's not as
• 12:35
  Sarah Tucker: simple as just finding that property and saying, " Yes, I
• 12:38
  Sarah Tucker: want it," because whoever owns that might have to buy
• 12:41
  Sarah Tucker: somewhere else and then that person might have to buy
• 12:43
  Sarah Tucker: somewhere else and what have you. So ask the estate agent
• 12:47
  Sarah Tucker: what the chain looks like. And if you see something
• 12:49
  Sarah Tucker: that says " NO ONWARD CHAIN" in capitals on Rightmove, the
• 12:53
  Sarah Tucker: reason why is because that's such a positive. It means
• 12:55
  Sarah Tucker: it's just you and the buyer and you are going at your pace.
• 12:59
  Sarah Tucker: So just be mindful. That's kind of the thing that's
• 13:02
  Sarah Tucker: out of your control, so you do have to surrender
• 13:05
  Sarah Tucker: a little bit to the process and just do what
• 13:07
  Sarah Tucker: you can, but the timing will be what it is basically.
• 13:11
  Iona Bain: Well, let's talk through the process of selling your current
• 13:14
  Iona Bain: home. What do you need to consider?
• 13:16
  Sarah Tucker: Okay, so first you need to know how much you
• 13:18
  Sarah Tucker: can sell it for. I would always recommend you speak
• 13:21
  Sarah Tucker: to three agents, at least I have a rule of three.
• 13:23
  Iona Bain: Three?
• 13:24
  Sarah Tucker: Three agents because the first one might be inclined to over-
• 13:28
  Sarah Tucker: hype your price. The second one might be really conservative.
• 13:31
  Sarah Tucker: The third one might be just right, like the three
• 13:33
  Sarah Tucker: little pigs.
• 13:35
  Iona Bain: You've got to look for Goldilocks.
• 13:36
  Sarah Tucker: Exactly. The rule of three is really important because it
• 13:39
  Sarah Tucker: gives you an overall picture and take your average from
• 13:42
  Sarah Tucker: that. And really listen to what everybody has to say. We
• 13:45
  Sarah Tucker: all want our property to be worth the most, of
• 13:46
  Sarah Tucker: course we do. But if someone's telling you, " It will sell
• 13:49
  Sarah Tucker: better if you put it up for this<" they are
• 13:51
  Sarah Tucker: a professional in their own right and you should listen
• 13:53
  Sarah Tucker: to them if you get that gut feeling for them
• 13:55
  Sarah Tucker: as well. I have found out about house dressings. So have
• 13:59
  Sarah Tucker: you heard of this?
• 13:59
  Iona Bain: House dressing?
• 14:00
  Sarah Tucker: So these are companies who will dress your home to
• 14:03
  Sarah Tucker: sell it. So they will hire furniture, they can decorate
• 14:07
  Sarah Tucker: it. Essentially, imagine a film set, but they're doing it
• 14:10
  Sarah Tucker: for your house.
• 14:10
  Iona Bain: Right. It's like a glow up.
• 14:11
  Sarah Tucker: It's a glow up. Yes, they should rename it, that's
• 14:15
  Sarah Tucker: a brilliant idea. And it adds up to 10% to
• 14:17
  Sarah Tucker: your purchase price they say and sells your home three
• 14:20
  Sarah Tucker: times faster. And I really believe this is the psychology
• 14:24
  Sarah Tucker: of the new buyer, especially people that love Pinterest, vision
• 14:27
  Sarah Tucker: boards like me.
• 14:28
  Iona Bain: But if you can't afford say, a home dressing company,
• 14:31
  Iona Bain: there are simple things you could do yourself.
• 14:32
  Sarah Tucker: Absolutely. I think removing clutter is a big thing. Just
• 14:36
  Sarah Tucker: do a Monica, shove it all in the cupboard, just
• 14:39
  Sarah Tucker: don't open the cupboards on the viewing. And simple things
• 14:42
  Sarah Tucker: like flowers and right now it's quite a new concept,
• 14:46
  Sarah Tucker: but I'm seeing more and more companies pop up and
• 14:49
  Sarah Tucker: I'm seeing more houses on Rightmove have this kind of
• 14:51
  Sarah Tucker: glow up.
• 14:52
  Iona Bain: It's all about tapping into the psychology of the buyer,
• 14:55
  Iona Bain: isn't it, and really trying to get them to imagine
• 14:57
  Iona Bain: themselves living in your property?
• 14:58
  Sarah Tucker: Absolutely. But equally, if you are somebody that can look
• 15:01
  Sarah Tucker: past it, credit to you because having that vision, that
• 15:05
  Sarah Tucker: is a gift. Not everybody has that. And if you
• 15:07
  Sarah Tucker: can see what you can do to a home, that's
• 15:09
  Sarah Tucker: an amazing thing as well.
• 15:10
  Iona Bain: Because that's where the bargains are.
• 15:12
  Sarah Tucker: Exactly.
• 15:13
  Iona Bain: So, if you are buying your first home with a
• 15:16
  Iona Bain: partner, that adds a whole extra layer of complication as
• 15:21
  Iona Bain: I've been finding out in recent times. Can you talk
• 15:24
  Iona Bain: through what some of the hurdles there are for couples
• 15:27
  Iona Bain: that are looking to buy?
• 15:28
  Sarah Tucker: Yes. So if you are a couple and one of
• 15:30
  Sarah Tucker: you as a first time buyer and the other isn't,
• 15:32
  Sarah Tucker: sadly the first time buyer kind of just misses out
• 15:35
  Sarah Tucker: on what they would've had if they were buying without
• 15:38
  Sarah Tucker: that person, which is a compromise. That could have been
• 15:41
  Sarah Tucker: a stamp duty saving, it could be a first time
• 15:44
  Sarah Tucker: buyer only product even from a mortgage company. But I
• 15:47
  Sarah Tucker: want to caveat, it's more likely to be the stamp
• 15:49
  Sarah Tucker: duty that's going to be the disappointment. There are first
• 15:52
  Sarah Tucker: time buyer products, but there are also really great products
• 15:55
  Sarah Tucker: if you have owned property before. So just really mindful
• 15:58
  Sarah Tucker: of that stamp duty conversation. We do see couples where
• 16:02
  Sarah Tucker: you've got other properties as well. So one of you
• 16:05
  Sarah Tucker: might own another property or even both of you might
• 16:07
  Sarah Tucker: own another property. And if you think about the timing
• 16:09
  Sarah Tucker: and the chains that we just spoke about and now
• 16:12
  Sarah Tucker: imagine, well that's got its own chain and that's got
• 16:14
  Sarah Tucker: its own chain. There's lots in there that affects stamp duty
• 16:18
  Sarah Tucker: as well. So if you have a second properties, 5%
• 16:22
  Sarah Tucker: additional stamp duty will be paid. However, if you're selling
• 16:26
  Sarah Tucker: your main residential and you're going to buy another residential,
• 16:29
  Sarah Tucker: but you haven't sold this one yet, so you technically
• 16:31
  Sarah Tucker: have two properties, you've got up to 36 months to
• 16:35
  Sarah Tucker: reclaim that stamp duty back. So it is a timing
• 16:38
  Sarah Tucker: thing, and it really depends on that love that I
• 16:41
  Sarah Tucker: said about earlier that if you really love a property,
• 16:43
  Sarah Tucker: some people will go as far as getting bridging loans
• 16:46
  Sarah Tucker: to make things work because they haven't sold a property
• 16:50
  Sarah Tucker: and they need the money to get the next property
• 16:52
  Sarah Tucker: and they don't want to lose that one. So imagine
• 16:56
  Sarah Tucker: doing that on your own. You've got to have someone
• 16:58
  Sarah Tucker: there that's holding all of those balls for you and
• 17:01
  Sarah Tucker: juggling them in the background so that you can focus
• 17:03
  Sarah Tucker: on the emotional journey that you're on of selling two
• 17:06
  Sarah Tucker: places to buy one. So yeah, it is a bit more
• 17:09
  Sarah Tucker: complicated if you're buying as an established couple I would
• 17:12
  Sarah Tucker: say that have more properties in the background.
• 17:15
  Iona Bain: So this has been such an interesting conversation, Sarah, but
• 17:19
  Iona Bain: I wonder if you can maybe distill what we've learned
• 17:22
  Iona Bain: into three tips for navigating the home buying process.
• 17:27
  Sarah Tucker: So number one, I think create a team. So whether
• 17:29
  Sarah Tucker: that's your advisor, a good friend that you can voice
• 17:33
  Sarah Tucker: note endless thoughts to, a good solicitor, create yourself a squad
• 17:39
  Sarah Tucker: to get yourself a property.
• 17:40
  Iona Bain: I was just about to say squad.
• 17:41
  Sarah Tucker: Yeah. So create yourself that squad because it's not just
• 17:43
  Sarah Tucker: your advisor, you need all sorts of people. Number two
• 17:46
  Sarah Tucker: is get your head facts together before you start emotionally
• 17:51
  Sarah Tucker: making decisions, and then once you've got your squad, you
• 17:55
  Sarah Tucker: can then lean into the heart space and really enjoy
• 17:58
  Sarah Tucker: the process. It is stressful and I'll tell you why
• 18:01
  Sarah Tucker: it's stressful because there's so many emotions wrapped in and
• 18:03
  Sarah Tucker: you're out of control and that's not something a human
• 18:06
  Sarah Tucker: really likes. So just try and be patient. Try and
• 18:10
  Sarah Tucker: do the head stuff first. And number three is yeah,
• 18:14
  Sarah Tucker: try and enjoy it because there's certain moments in life,
• 18:17
  Sarah Tucker: if you have children, if you get married, they become
• 18:19
  Sarah Tucker: stories as you age. And your house is huge story
• 18:23
  Sarah Tucker: in your life. And I do believe our properties hold
• 18:27
  Sarah Tucker: us through different periods of our life for a reason.
• 18:30
  Sarah Tucker: So try and immerse yourself in the experience good and bad.
• 18:33
  Iona Bain: Yeah, take the rough with the smooth.
• 18:35
  Sarah Tucker: Yeah, and trust the process. You will always end up
• 18:38
  Sarah Tucker: with the place you're meant to be in.
• 18:39
  Iona Bain: After going through quite a lot of home buying turmoil
• 18:42
  Iona Bain: in my life, that's exactly what I needed to hear.
• 18:44
  Sarah Tucker: Oh, good.
• 18:45
  Iona Bain: It's going to happen.
• 18:46
  Sarah Tucker: It's going to happen. And when it does, it would
• 18:49
  Sarah Tucker: all make sense. And you'll go, " I'm really glad all
• 18:52
  Sarah Tucker: these rubbish things happened because now I'm here." And whatever
• 18:55
  Sarah Tucker: that moment is for you, just keep visualizing it because
• 18:58
  Sarah Tucker: it will happen.
• 18:58
  Iona Bain: Brilliant. This is the pep talk that I needed.
• 19:00
  Sarah Tucker: Good.
• 19:01
  Iona Bain: Thank you, Sarah. You really helped clarify that home buying
• 19:04
  Iona Bain: and selling process for us in a way that I'm
• 19:07
  Iona Bain: sure everyone will find very helpful. Next time, friend of
• 19:10
  Iona Bain: the show, Claire Barrett will be back to debate property
• 19:13
  Iona Bain: versus pensions. Should you prioritize getting on the housing ladder
• 19:16
  Iona Bain: and paying your mortgage or perhaps put off the property
• 19:19
  Iona Bain: dream to save more into your pension? I'd love it
• 19:22
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• 19:25
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• 19:27
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• 19:30
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• 19:33
  Iona Bain: Legal & General. Until next time, happy house hunting and see
• 19:37
  Iona Bain: you soon.