We first visited Laurence in his office on 28th October 2024.
We told Laurence we were first time buyers and wanted his help as this was all new to us. We felt quite apprehensive and overwhelmed about the whole house buying process, but Laurence reassured us and committed to being with us for the journey. We wanted to know how much we could borrow and have a rough idea of what it would cost. Laurence explained how mortgages work and helped us calculate how much we could afford to borrow. He explained things to us simply and pointed out that we should consider all the other costs associated with buying a house, not just the mortgage. We hadn’t really put much thought into the additional costs of owning a home – things like Council Tax, Building and Contents Insurance and Life Insurance. All of these were really important to us but needed to be factored into our budget.
He got us a “Decision in Principle” so we had something in writing from a mainstream lender confirming how much we could borrow. We were pleasantly surprised at how big our budget was and we set to work looking for our first home together.
A couple of months later we found a property we loved. Laurence had explained to us that falling in love with a property was an emotional choice made with the heart not the head, and he was so right. Our bungalow was exactly what we were looking for, and I remember feeling it as we looked around the property. We wanted a property that needed a little bit of work doing to it – somewhere we could make our own. Laurence was willing to help us with making an offer to the estate agent if we wanted him to, but we didn’t need help with this in the end!
We put an offer in, and to our amazement, it was accepted. We were one step closer to owning our own home!
Laurence met with us again and helped us find a really good solicitor. Our experience is that estate agents can be quite pushy with trying to get you to use their own solicitor, so it was very reassuring that Laurence had been recommending the solicitor we used for years and had nothing but praise for her. She was local too which we found reassuring.
We discussed mortgages again and went through the different types that are available. We liked the idea of a fixed rate so we knew how much we were going to pay each month. Laurence researched the market for us and found the cheapest lender who would lend us the amount we needed. He applied for the mortgage on our behalf and completed all the paperwork. About a month later we had a mortgage offer and were well on the way to owning our first home together.
Laurence and his assistant Hayley, kept in touch with us throughout the process and always responded to our calls and emails. Nothing was too much effort and we felt supported throughout the journey. From the time we submitted our application to the time we completed, the mortgage rate dropped 3 times. Each time either Laurence or Hayley wrote to us saying that they could save us a bit more money. By the time the mortgage completed our mortgage had gone down by £56.39!
Towards the end of our home buying journey, the rules and allowances for stamp duty were about to change and we were at risk of having to pay some stamp duty if we didn’t complete in time. This was quite stressful as it looked like time wasn’t on our side. With just a week to go, Laurence and our solicitor Liz, pulled off what seemed to be the impossible and we completed just before the deadline.
Now we are in, we look back on it and smile about how nervous we were. We didn’t realise that Laurence would help as much as he did, not just with the mortgage but with Buildings and Contents insurance as well. He was on hand to answer questions when ever we needed him – He has also helped us organise our life insurance and an insurance policy that protects our income if we are too ill to work.
Laurence asked us to give a tip for First Time Buyers. With so many things to consider, we feel it is important to stay patient. Don’t rush. We got to a point where we felt like giving up as we got frustrated but we are so glad we persevered.
