A survey of over 2,000 homeowners by comparethemarket.com found half felt they had made expensive errors when buying their first property.
Many of those questioned said they wished they had haggled more on the price of the house when they were first-time buyers. Meanwhile 10% admitted they had made a mistake by using all their savings to fund the deposit because it left them with no emergency fund or cash to improve the property.
Some of the respondents also said they wished they had commissioned a more thorough survey.
Shopping around for a mortgage
The process of finding a mortgage was also something many homeowners said would approach differently next time. Nearly one in ten of those questioned said they wished they had shopped around for a mortgage broker.
Almost a quarter said they went straight to their bank to take out their mortgage rather than shopping for the most competitive deal on the market.
While a fifth of those questioned said they were not sure of the value a mortgage broker added to the process of buying a house, many said they would be too nervous to buy a house without a broker next time.
Only 12% of respondents had used a price comparison website to understand the options available to them.
Mark Gordon, head of mortgages at comparethemarket.com said: “People with no prior experience in purchasing a property may not be aware which services and products offered to them on the home buying journey are mandatory and which are discretionary and, importantly, whether they are good value or uncompetitive.
“The whole buying procedure can be intimidating, particularly for those going through the process for the first time. Fears around hidden fees and dealing with estate agents, lawyers, surveyors and mortgage companies are legitimate and strong enough to put off people from trying to make a purchase.”
The advice from comparethemarket is, before putting in an offer on a property, to do your research. It suggests speaking to family and friends about the process and using free tools to check your eligibility for a mortgage.
