Buying your first home is an exciting dream for most. But wait, before you jump into the viewing process, you will need to do your sums. Everyone dreams of the perfect family, perfect family house in a nice quiet cul-de-sac, but on paper, are your dreams affordable?

Buying your property has many fees, ranging from £0 through to £18,000 in no time at all. A typical £110,000 home requires a deposit usually around 15% for most mortgage lenders. Pop this on top of the arrangement fees that most lenders charge, usually another £1000. It is also recomended that you carry out a Survey on your new property, this is usually around £500, then there is the cost of a Solicitor, this will be from around £600, plus when you thought it was all over, there is the tax. Tax on a typical home is 1%, so that’s a further £1750.

Remember, the bigger the deposit you have, the better the mortgage deal you can expect. Lenders usually offer 3.5 times your annual income. A typical mortgage repayment based on the current rate (0.50%) on a £110,000 home is around £546 per month. But Remember, be honest, your income may drop and a typical mortgage requires payments on time every month for 25 years. Payments may rise.

There are different types of mortgages available, Fixed rate, you will know the exact repayment for a set period, or Tracker, A Tracker is based upon the interest rate set by the bank of England, remember, this rate can rise and fall.

Buying your first home is a dream for most, make sure you seek financial advice, work out your income and your outgoings, owning your own home is a wonderful investment for most, however, if you are unable to keep up the repayments on your mortgage or any loans secured on it, you may lose your home.