Bluebell Mortgages
  • Services

    First Time Buyer

    Bluebell Mortgages are expert mortgage brokers and have a detailed knowledge of mortgage lenders’ and first time buyer mortgages.

    Moving Home

    We can inform you of all the likely fees associated with a house move, identify your current position and calculate your likely required loan amount.

    Remortgaging

    If you already have a mortgage and your current deal is due to expire in the next 6 months, we can help find you the most effective deal for you.

    Buy To Let

    We have a vast experience of the Buy To Let market and are able to offer our clients detailed advice on the correct method of funding potential purchases.

    Shared Ownership

    An effective way for first time buyers to get on the property ladder, it can considerably reduce the amount needed for a deposit.

    Specialist Finance

    Bluebell Mortgages have specialist advisors who can assist you with your first or next commercial or self-build development.

    Older Borrower

    The days of retiring at 65 are disappearing fast, people are living longer and borrowers are getting older.

    Insurance

    This can range from Life Assurance to protect your mortgage or family, Critical Illness cover, Income Protection and General Insurance.

  • Resources

    FAQ's

    We’ve collated our most frequently asked questions below, but if there’s a question on your mind that we haven’t covered, please get in touch.

    Success Stories

    We’re passionate about helping people get to where they want to be on the property ladder. Our customers share their stories of how we helped them.

    Knowledge Base

    Here we can share with you our many years of industry experience & knowledge so that you can feel confident and prepared for your mortgage journey.

    News

    We regularly post about all things in the Mortgage world and other industry information. We also post about what's going on at Bluebell Mortgages.

  • About
  • Contact
  • 01473 213312

First Time Buyer

  • Want to get a foot on the property ladder?
  • Looking to buy your first home but don’t know where to start?
  • Is it your first time getting a mortgage?

Watch our explainer video on the home buying process and then give us a call to find out how much you can borrow.

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Where do I start?

Finding out how much you can borrow.

You need to understand your borrowing capacity as well as what your repayments are likely to be.  We are all different and so are our finances, some of us may be super scrimpers and save every penny and others may enjoy the luxuries in life. Lenders need to understand your lifestyle so that they can work out the size of loan to give you.

Your income

What you have coming in; this can be whether you are:

  • Employed
  • Self -employed (most but not all lenders will look at a 2-year average)
  • Director or shareholder of a Ltd company.
  • Contracting
  • Full or part -time
  • Paid bonus overtime or commission

Do you pay your debts back on time?

This is all about your credit rating and credit score, it’s a bit like a mythical beast with many wild rumours doing the rounds.
We have created a guide to your Credit Score/Rating here

Your Commitments

These could be:

  • Loans (car, sofa, or holidays etc.)
  • Credit cards
  • Nursery costs
  • Travel costs
  • Maintenance (for an ex-partner or children)
  • Number of children (the number of mouths you have to feed can impact your borrowing potential, lenders will make an allowance for each child within your affordability) Some lenders do also take child related payments such as child benefit and tax credits to help with this.

Amount of deposit

The amount of money you can put into your property purchase in addition to your mortgage has a bearing on how much a lender will lend you. Generally, the larger your deposit the less risk for the lender and the more they will lend.

Stamp duty – various rates depending on your status

Solicitors fees – to cover the legal costs of purchasing the property

Survey fees – depending on the type of survey you require

Mortgage lenders arrangement fees – these are usually charged by a lender, and can be common for a lender to potentially charge a higher arrangement fee for a cheaper interest rate

Mortgage advisor fees – this is the fee you pay to us to analyse your circumstances, locate a suitable lender and complete your mortgage application.  Our first time buyer fee is only payable upon application to the lender

Please see our knowledge base article “What are the costs and fees to purchase property” for more detail.

Illustration of young family in front of a house

Let the fun begin!

You can now move to the exciting bit, searching Rightmove, Zoopla, Prime location and your local estate agents to find your dream property.

  • Set up Rightmove alerts so that you get emails/texts as soon as a suitable property is listed.
  • Contact your local agents directly,  if you are looking for a very specific type of property or something in a very popular area, dealing directly with the estate agent can put you one step ahead of other buyers.
    This is because property listed on Rightmove can take up to 24 hours to appear, if an agent knows you are interested they would be able to pick up the phone and get you through the door before anyone else.
  • Remember, being a first time buyer you have no chain (no property to sell) and with your finances agreed (AIP) you can move quickly and perhaps also be in a stronger position.

….and have arranged a viewing with the agent…

Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity by whizzing round the house.
Take your time, ask questions and just have a general chat, you would be surprised at what a lot of sellers will tell you if you simply ask the questions.

We have published a separate guide with tips on how to make the most of your property viewing appointment which you can find here.

Worried about dealing with agents, let us do it for you!

Dealing with estate agents can be daunting, we do it all the time so if this is something that you would like some help with just ask. 

As a well-known Ipswich & Suffolk based mortgage advisor, we have dealt with many local estate agents on a regular basis.  We also deal with agents further afield across the country so if you are worried about this aspect of buying don’t be, we can help!

We can put your offer in for you and negotiate the sale, this is at no additional cost!

Illustration of young family in front of a house

So, dream house found, offer accepted...
(a few butterflies!)

We now need to research the exact mortgage product we are going to take and get your mortgage application sent to the lender.

We will present you with some options and work together to finalise the product, amount of mortgage and term you wish to take.

Once the application has been received the lender will instruct a surveyor to check that the property is in a suitable condition for them to lend on (see surveys link)

Once the lender is happy with you and your property has received a satisfactory survey report. (see what can go wrong with my survey report) they will grant your mortgage offer.

This will be checked for accuracy by us, you and your solicitor will also receive a copy.

…..is for our service to be 1st class and our goal is for you to be able to hand the job over to us and forget about it until it’s time to move in, our service consists of the following.

We will handle your initial assessment and Agreement in Principle (to make sure the lender will lend you the desired funds).

Apply for the mortgage on your behalf and liaise with the lender dealing with any questions or documentation requests through to mortgage offer stage.

We will also advise and arrange any related insurance products for you, such as Life Assurance, Critical Illness cover, Home Insurance etc. (see our Insurance page)

Liaise with your solicitor to achieve a successful exchange and completion for you.

All then that is left is for you to collect your keys and move in.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Have questions about buying your first home?  Call us on 01473 213312
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01473 213312 | info@bbell.co.uk

www.bluebellmortgages.co.uk
5a Delta Terrace, West Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9FH

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Bluebell Mortgages Ltd, trading as Bluebell Mortgages is an appointed representative of H L Partnership Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Bluebell Mortgages Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 09397210. The registered office address is 5a Delta Terrace, West Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 9FH. The information contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.  A fee may be payable for mortgage advice, which will depend on your circumstances.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Bluebell Mortgages and our logo are registered trademarks ® of Bluebell Mortgages Ltd. This website and its content is copyright of Bluebell Mortgages Ltd. 

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