All posts tagged: mortgages

My house-buying journey

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Buckle up, it’s a looong one.  Jan 2021 I’ve moved back to my mum’s during lockdown and decided to give up my London flat, so I have the motivation to start this house-buying ‘journey’. I hate the phrase ‘journey’ but as this is a flipping epic saga it makes sense.  I set up alerts on Rightmove and draw up a list of must-haves and definitely-absolutely-no’s for my dream pad.  I want a period property with at least 2 bedrooms. Nice to have: my own front door. Very nice to have: a separate dining room, bay window and garden.  It’s been SUCH a long process and I feel like my life is kind of on hold. @chez.shez Alerts start pinging for properties but as it’s lockdown I don’t rush to follow up–big mistake–properties are getting snapped up in record time.  See a lovely 2 bed Victorian terrace with a garden on a quiet street next to a cute little pub. I think this is a contender, call up the estate agents and book a viewing. I’m …

Buying Your First Home as a Single Woman

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Owning my own home was something I never thought was possible. As a fully paid-up member of generation rent I was fully of the belief that home ownership was simply out of reach. I left university smack bang in the middle of a recession, interned for free and worked hard in an industry renowned for not paying that well (fashion). All while paying extortionate London rents. I never had a penny of savings, never had any money at the end of the month, and frequently got my card declined at the supermarket (until I realised that any transaction under £20 wouldn’t register with my bank and proceeded to get lots of overdraft fees). This sounds all doom and gloom… but there’s a happy ending! You can buy a house as a single woman. This month I had my offer on a house accepted and a mortgage accepted with a good lender. So how did I do it? Read on… Widen your options for where you want to live I have lived in London for almost …