First Time Buyers

Helping you take your first steps on the housing ladder

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Flexibile Appointments

We offer flexible appointments, including evenings and weekends, not just 9 – 5.  Because good advice fits around your schedule, not ours.

Personal Adviser

You will be assigned the same Mortgage Adviser from the start to the end of your journey. Someone to speak to if you need an update, have a query or just want a chat; they will be there for you.

Independent

Our independent status means we are not tied to any one mortgage lender or panel of lenders. This allows us access to the whole of the market, including several specialised lenders, helping you get the best deal possible.

First Time Buyer – we can help

Buying your first home is an exciting time but it can also be a time consuming, complicated and expensive.

Using a mortgage adviser can help relieve some of these issues, reducing paperwork, saving time and ensuring you get the best mortgage deal for your situation, including access to “broker only” deals.

Small difference in rates can have a big impact on your repayments, so it’s crucial to get expert impartial advice to ensure you get the best deal.

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A Personalised Service to help everything go smoothly

As a Boutique firm, we offer you a tailored, personal service. You will be assigned your own Personal Adviser who will advise you throughout the entire process, from start to finish. They will be available to you whenever you have a query or concern or just need an update.

Your personal mortgage adviser will complete all the relevant paperwork for you, liaising with solicitors, lenders and surveyors throughout the process. One application process rather than one for each bank will save you time and reduce the chance of damaging your credit score.

Importance of Independent Advice

As Independent and Whole of Market advisers, we have access to the entire broker market of 1,000’s of mortgages, and unlike online comparison sites, our advisers tailor your mortgage to fit your personal circumstances – there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach.

We are local, based in Bristol and cover the surrounding area. Our expert understanding of the local South West market will help ensure your mortgage goes as smoothly as possible.

Mortgage Types Explained

Repayment? Second Charge? Interest Only? Find out what type of mortgage is for you...
Mortgages

The Mortgage Proccess

The mortgage process can seem daunting for First Time Buyers – it is often the biggest financial decision made in life so far and the process can be quite complex.  However, using a Mortgage Adviser not only makes it more straightforward, but you will have someone to explain every step of the process to you.  And by using a Regulated adviser you have peace of mind that you are getting quality advice.

1- Book Consultation

The first stage is to contact a Regulated mortgage adviser, preferably an Independent Whole of Market Adviser, and book a consultation.

2 - Initial Meeting

During your initial meeting your adviser will ask you a series of questions around your financial situation (income, debts etc), your goals (type of house etc) and discuss the different mortgage options that are available. They will be able to answer any questions you may have around the process etc.

3 - Second Meeting

After the first meeting your adviser will spend time searching the entire mortgage market to find the most suitable mortgage for you, based on your individual situation. They will then arrange a second meeting and run through their findings, explaining how any why it's the most suitable.

4 - Application

Once you have reviewed the paperwork your adviser has completed on your behalf and you are happy, your adviser will put in your application for you.
You will receive a copy of the full report of the mortgage advice explaining all the relevant details.

Ways to get in touch

Fill out our contact form and an adviser will call you back at a time that is convenient to you

Give us a ring for a Free no obligation discussion on how we may be able to help you: 01173 823 823

Drop us a line with any query you may have and we'll make sure we get back to you as quick as we can: contact@leafifa.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

We answer some of our most commonly asked questions below.  But if you would like to know more then please get in touch and we will be happy to answer any query you may have.

Another key question and one that will determine the budget for your first home, is how much you’ll be able to borrow from a mortgage lender. While in the past, this was simply decided by your income – lenders would lend roughly up to three or three and a half times your annual income – in recent years other factors are taken into consideration as well

Lenders are increasingly focused on affordability, so they will take monthly commitments into account such as loan repayments and car finance. However, if you pay a bigger deposit then you may be deemed less risky and allowed to borrow a little more. Your credit history is also influential in determining how much you can borrow.

As it’s your first time purchasing a property, you’ll likely have many questions about the mortgage process and how it works. Let us break it down for you:

The first step in obtaining a mortgage is to arrange an appointment with an independent mortgage adviser who can look at the whole of the market to get you the best deal. The adviser will begin by discussing your personal circumstances and potential eligibility for a mortgage, taking into account different factors. They can then advise you on potential options, repayments and different types of mortgages.

With your permission, the adviser can pass the information on to a lender to apply for an agreement in principle, which is a document outlining how much a lender is prepared to lend you for a property. It should be noted that this is not a formal mortgage offer as the lender will require a satisfactory property valuation and may also be subject to change if your personal circumstances alter in any way. This means you’re ready to go out and start making offers on properties.

Once you’ve had an offer accepted, you should contact your mortgage adviser, who will gather all the purchase details, advise you about documents to prepare and take you to a meeting to apply for the full mortgage. It can take up to three weeks to get a mortgage approved.

Guarantor mortgages are an option for first time buyer. They enhance your borrowing power as a guarantor is provided to the lender, so if the borrower stops repaying the mortgage, the lender can chase guarantors for the missed payments. This makes you less risky as a borrower and as such more likely to successfully apply for a mortgage.

Not all lenders offer guarantor mortgages and there can be a more restrictive lending policy in place for those that do. Get in touch with us if you’d like to find out if this could be a good option for you.

Most mortgages are arranged on a (capital) Repayment basis, which means every month you’ll pay a certain amount of the borrowed amount back along with the interest amount. The interest amount is calculated as a percentage of the total borrowed amount.

If you have a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate on the amount you have borrowed will remain the same for a certain amount of time.

With a variable rate, the interest rate could change from month to month. Most tracker rates follow the Bank of England base rate.

If you’ve never owned a property before, and are interested in making your first purchase a buy-to-let, you may be limited as many buy-to-let mortgages require you to own your own property before they will offer a buy-to-let mortgage.

It’s worth contacting a mortgage adviser to fully understand the options available to you.

get in touch...

Give us a ring for a Free no obligation discussion on how we may be able to help you: 01173 823 823

Drop us a line with any query you may have and we'll make sure we get back to you as quick as we can: contact@leafifa.co.uk

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Knowledge Bank

We are based in Bristol and as such have specialised expertise in the local housing market.

Our local knowledge will help ensure your mortgage process goes as smoothly as possible.

Leaf Financial Advisers Ltd is entered on the FCA register under reference 944216.

Leaf Financial Advisers Ltd is registered in England and Wales, Company number 12950412.  Registered office: 39 Cromwell Road, Bristol, BS6 5HD.

Leaf Financial Advisers Ltd. is an appointed representative of Julian Harris Financial Consultants, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA number 153566.

Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an agency for arbitrating on unresolved complaints between regulated firms and their clients. Full details of the FOS can be found on its website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Our Privacy Notice can be found here.

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