reeni

How much of a down payment is required in the UK?

In Ontario it is 10% of the purchase price, 5% if you are a first time buyer.

thanks

Reeni

Victor Meldrew

Depends on your mortgage lender, how much the house is, how much money you have.

I think the norm used to be minimum 10%, but has risen lately to more like minimum 20% due to dropping house prices and the economic crisis.

Steveclare

I spoke to our financial advisor a few weeks ago and she said you need at least 15% and if possible more.

Clare

reeni

thank you for your answers - that really helps!

booffy

Barclays just told me 40% if I wanted their best inteest rate payments....I have banked with them for 25 years have a previous mortgage with them etc...So I told them to stick it.

Others do seem to want 20%+ now for their best rates. Be very careful about what offers some give you...they start low then whck you after a time period.

WHAT A CHANGE 6 years ago I was practically begged by Barclays to take out £250,000 when I only wanted £120,000..I stuck to my guns and took out £120,000 thank god..Crooks drove the market up with their bad loans/mortgages and now they are driving it down....

dunroving

You can now get 100% mortgages again, but the interest rate stinks. Best rates are for mortgages around 70% of purchase price or less. Rates even then aren't great - the best lifetime trackers are around 2%-3% above BOE (needs 30%-50% deposit, and huge processing fee - £1,000-£2,000). In March 2007, I got a 0.5% above BOE lifetime tracker with 5% deposit, and about a £500 fee. As stated, how times have changed.

sallysimmons

Those fees are still low compared to the US where everything is a money-making opportunity for someone. We can't even refinance our mortgage because all the different associated fees are so high that by the time you're finished, it takes years to see the savings from the lower interest rates.

dunroving

And don't even get started on US realtor commission ... 6%? For doing what, exactly?

mayhemuk

Hear Hear! We managed to batter ours down to 4% but still meant we had to write a check to clear everything down.

Jan n Neil

Real estate agents charge upwards of $20,000 to sell here, theiving scum i hope they all die in poverty
Mortgage rates are 6% ish

Neil

sallysimmons

I know! As far as I can figure out, they charge that much because mostly they fail at selling houses, so they have to charge a lot for the few times they manage to succeed.

There are two houses for sale in my street right now and anyone with half a brain can see they are way over-priced. They are just sitting there unsold because the greedy real estate person wants 6% of a high price, not 6% of a realistic one.

If and when we sell, I think we're going to try doing it ourselves. We have some creative marketing and web design skills and at least it's worth giving it a shot.