How to get onto the property ladder: A first-time buyer’s guide to financing and finding your first home

by Ned Browne

Things have never been tougher for first-time buyers. The number of people aged 25-34 who own their own home has more than halved since 1996. But aspirations are still high - the vast majority of young people still want to own their own home. Unfortunately, most would-be first-time buyers believe the dream of homeownership is just that: a dream.

This book has been written to make this dream a reality.

It also aims to steer you clear of the potential pitfalls that come with buying a property - it’s a minefield out there. There are countless tales of properties being repossessed, people being stuck in homes they cannot sell, and of homeowners enduring years of negative equity. This book aims to help you avoid making mistakes that can cost you dear.

The book includes the following chapters:

Part 1 - Financing your first property purchase.
Part 2 - Government help for first-time buyers.
Part 3 - Finding the right property for you.
Part 4 - From offer to completion.
Part 5 - Moving into your first property.
Appendix - Property: jargon buster.

The property market is fast moving – things are changing every week. As such, I have included my email address at the end of the book and encourage readers to ask questions, make suggestions and point out any inaccuracies. Hopefully there won’t be too many of the latter!

Please note: I have mainly focused on buying a property in England, although I have included information about buying in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland (just not in as much detail). However, 90% of the content will be relevant to anyone buying anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Enjoy and good luck. Ned Browne

Genres: Personal Finance, Nonfiction

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2019

About the author

Ned Browne spent his early career working for some of London’s best-known advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA and Collett Dickenson Pearce, helping create award-winning campaigns and developing strengths in marketing, branding and digital. Latterly, he has worked in journalism, property development/consultancy, brand and product development, online marketing and education.

Ned Browne is also the Reader’s Digest’s long-term property correspondent. He has advised numerous would-be property owners, helping many get onto the property ladder.

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick, straight-forward and extremely helpful book for those embarking on the journey of buying their first home.

The author strikes a fine balance of never talking down to the reader whilst assuming that not everything is known and the information comes across as direct and trustworthy.

I found the bullet point lists at various points throughout the book and the handy glossary at the need to be particularly useful.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful overview of the complicated British residential property buying process. There are a few more pieces, options and differences in custom and terminology from the U.S. homebuying process. Buying freehold with a large down payment, understandably seems to be the best position... but better to wait out the sellers' market so the estate agents can dismount from their high horse.

[Tunde Enabulele · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think you are ready to purchase your first home read this book and think again!

Very useful book, plenty of information , absolutely recommended if you are getting ready to purchase your first home! I thought we are ready to buy but oh my I think we still have a lot to do!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and informative read for the UK housing market and buying process :)

[Steven Brammah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a brilliant book for me and my partner and I would strongly suggest anyone looking to buy their first house to grab a copy of this book.

For us it helped us understand each step of buying our first house and also helped us understand the jargon that is often used by solicitors and mortgage lenders to help ensure what you are signing up for.

This was a very quick read and me and my partner both read this book in a weekend and we’re not particularly fast readers. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars and not 5, is it would have been nice to break down some of the information into diagrams or pictures. However I think my 4 stars is also quite harsh as the book clearly explained everything in a easy to read way and took you through step by step.

Throughout writing this review I decided to actually give this book 5 stars as the way the book is separated into chapters was brilliant for me and my partner to jump to each section when on a phone call with a solicitor or mortgage lender.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful book. Gives you the variety of options available and advises you about which would be best for the first-time buyer and which would better to wait for. It does leave me feeling vaguely panicky about all the things I have to do, but I appreciated the fact that the book went through each stage of the house buying process (including moving into the place). Also it was short and well laid out so I know it will be easy to dip in and out of throughout.

[Graham]

This is the perfect book to read if you are thinking of buying a property. Full of useful information on every stage of the home buying process. It is easy to read and guides the buyer through the many potential pitfalls of the property market.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and up-to-date like booklet that, contrary to my expectations, I actually quite enjoy reading with interest. Well done, Ned Browne.

[Abi Pellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely not the book for everyone, obviously. But it's also England and Wales specific, so if you're in Scotland or Northern Ireland (or outside of the UK altogether!) not all of the legal advice or information about paperwork will be applicable to you. I do think the general vibe is still useful though.

I'm lucky enough to have known a lot of this information already, with a combination of my parents house hunting for years and my dad working adjacent to house sales for a while now, but everything I read tracks with what I've learnt from my dad over the years. It was also good to get an explanation from someone different, it helped to solidify the facts in my head a little more than just hearing my dad chat about it.

Whilst Browne tells you which direction he recommends you go in, he explains all the various options to make sure that you can make an informed decision if one of the less mainstream options would work for your personal circumstances. I personally found this very helpful as I now know why I'm not a fan of certain options for myself and I won't be "persuaded" by a bad estate agent to change my mind.

If you're looking to buy a property in England or Wales, and are wanting to starting looking at the market, this is an absolutely fantastic book to get you situated and understand the basics before you dive into what is likely to be the biggest purchase of your life.

[Cakedduck3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

very in-depth guide on all steps, tips and things to look out for!