All fields are mandatory

A valid email address is required
A valid email address is required
A message is required
Verification is required

Your Email:
Their Email:
Your Message:
Send a copy to myself:

Your name: Name required
Your email: Valid email required
Your message: Message required

Captcha required

Things to consider

Making the decision to buy your own home can be a very difficult one, there are many things to consider, one of the main things is the financial commitment you will need to make. As well as the initial purchase price there are also many other costs to consider when buying your home.

Can I afford to buy my home?

One of the first things to do is to decide if you can afford to buy your own home. You can do this by adding up your monthly financial commitments and compare this to your monthly income. This will give you a rough estimate of what you might be able to afford each month for a mortgage and the other costs of home ownership. (Financial Assessment Sheet on pages 11 & 12 of the handbook)

Mortgages

You will need to get a mortgage in order to buy your home which you will have to repay with interest. There are many different mortgage packages available and you should take the time to consider carefully which mortgage would be right for you. Unfortunately Cestria cannot recommend any one Mortgage deal however you can visit the Citizens Advice Bureau for independent advice, any bank, building society or financial advisor. Alternatively you can access some useful information about mortgages on the Financial Services Authority website

One off costs

There are a number of one-off costs normally incurred during the purchase of a property which would be your responsibility:

A solicitor or licensed conveyancer to look after the legal side of the purchase
A property survey
Most banks and building societies charge for arranging a mortgage, and also for the valuation of the property that they are obliged to carry out
Once the sale is complete you must register with the Land of Registry as the new owner of the property

Other commitments

In addition to a mortgage, there are also many other regular costs which home owners normally have to pay.

Buildings Insurance

Buildings Insurance is an essential when making the decision to buy your home. It covers you for the full-cost of rebuilding your home if it were to be destroyed by fire or a major incident. In order to secure a mortgage most lenders will insist that you have buildings insurance.

Contents Insurance

Cestria Community Housing would strongly advise you to take out adequate home contents insurance to cover your possessions against damage, whether through accident, fire, theft, vandalism, burst pipes or other household risks.

Mortgage payment protection insurance

This insurance is something that most mortgage lenders insist upon as part of their terms of lending. Mortgage payment protection can cover mortgage repayments for up to a specified period in the event of death, redundancy, sickness or accidents.

Water rates

You will need to make arrangements with your water supplier to pay your water rates as Cestria will no longer be responsible for payment of this.