# Answering the Nation’s First-time Buyers Questions
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-09-08
Category: FINANCE
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance
Meta Title: First-Time Buyer FAQs: Stamp Duty, How to Buy a House &
Meta Description: Learn about stamp duty, deposit requirements, Help to Buy scheme, and more. Get expert advice on navigating the property market during these uncertain times.
URL: https://financedigest.com/answering-the-nations-first-time-buyers-questionshtml

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_By_ **_Dave Sayce,_** _Founder and Director at_ [_Compare My Move_](https://www.comparemymove.com/)

Buying a house for the first time is an exciting but complicated venture and coronavirus hasn’t made it any easier, with [nearly half of first-time buyers delayed plans to buy a home in 2020](https://www.ft.com/content/ef99300e-91a7-468f-a4ad-58fab8bcb500).

But what parts of the buying process cause the most confusion? To find out, [Compare My Move](https://www.comparemymove.com/) has analysed just how many of us are googling popular questions relating to buying a home for the first time.

**Stamp Duty**

Taking the number one spot is ‘what is stamp duty?’ which saw a staggering 14,800 average [searches in the last year](https://www.financedigest.com/a-year-in-property-google-searches-reveal-what-buyers-were-looking-for-this-year.html "A year in property: Google searches reveal what buyers were looking for this year"). To put this into perspective, in 2020 this question was [searched on average 5400 times a month](https://www.financedigest.com/august-the-most-popular-month-to-start-a-holiday-home-search-reveals-portal.html "AUGUST THE MOST POPULAR MONTH TO START A HOLIDAY HOME SEARCH REVEALS PORTAL"), an increase of 174 percent.

Stamp Duty is a [tax that is paid](https://www.financedigest.com/walmart-paid-most-of-1-billion-tax-for-phonepe-shifting-base-to-india.html "Walmart paid most of billion tax for PhonePe shifting base to India") on all residential property purchases over a certain amount. So, it’s not surprising this has seen such a high increase of searches after the Government introduced [temporarily reduced rates](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-temporary-reduced-rates) from July 2020 until 30th June 2021. This saw [buyers pay zero stamp duty on all property’s](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-buyers-lead-interest-in-megacity-istanbul-accounting-for-21-51-of-all-property-enquiries.html "UK BUYERS LEAD INTEREST IN ‘MEGACITY’ ISTANBUL, ACCOUNTING FOR 21.51% OF ALL PROPERTY ENQUIRIES") which were purchased at more than £500,000 or less.

While the rate has been reduced to £250,000 until September 2021, it doesn’t affect First-Time Buyers, as they currently [don’t have to pay any Stamp Duty tax](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers) on properties up to £300,000.

**How to** [buy a house?](https://www.financedigest.com/buying-a-house-for-the-first-time.html "Buying a house for the first time")

First-time buyers asking, ‘how to [buy a house?’ increased](https://www.financedigest.com/buy-guest-post-links-to-help-increase-your-seo-ranking.html "Buy Guest Post Links to Help Increase Your SEO Ranking") to 1000 average monthly searches in comparison to last year. From saving for a deposit and making an offer to [securing a mortgage](https://www.financedigest.com/security-backed-mortgages-essential-tips-and-guidance.html "Security-Backed Mortgages – Essential Tips and Guidance") and moving, there is  so much information to absorb, FTB’s may find it difficult to know where to start.

However, if you can get your [head around the basics of how it works](https://www.financedigest.com/five-ways-to-keep-your-head-above-water-while-working-from-home.html "Five ways to keep your head above water while working from home"), you’re less likely to be taken by surprise along the way. There are plenty of [beginners guide on how to buy a house](https://www.comparemymove.com/advice/buying-a-home/how-to-buy-a-house), outlining each important phase in the process, so you can confidently take the plunge.

**How much deposit do I [need to buy](https://www.financedigest.com/weighing-up-buy-now-pay-later-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-invest.html "Weighing up Buy Now, Pay Later: What you need to know before you invest") a house?**

Saving for a deposit is one of the biggest hurdles when it [comes to buying your first property](https://www.financedigest.com/birmingham-beats-brooklyn-and-brisbane-when-it-comes-to-off-plan-property-investment.html "Birmingham beats Brooklyn and Brisbane when it comes to off-plan property investment"). With [first-time buyers hit the hardest financially](https://www.ft.com/content/ef99300e-91a7-468f-a4ad-58fab8bcb500) over the last year due to the pandemic, will want to know how much they will need to save to get their foot on the property ladder.

Earlier this year, to encourage FTB’s the government introduced a [new government-backed mortgage scheme](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-95-mortgage-scheme-launches) where potential buyers have access to 95 percent loan-to-value mortgages, meaning they only need a more affordable five percent deposit.

**How does Help to Buy work?**

Average monthly searches increased by 24 percent from 2020 as a [record number of first-time buyers](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-number-of-households-benefit-from-help-to-buy-as-loans-pass-20bn) benefitted from Help to Buy, with loans surpassing £20 billion.

As the government continues with its big push for more homeownership, the Help to Buy [equity loan covers 5 to 20 percent of the property purchase price of a newly built home](https://www.financedigest.com/home-equity-made-simple-things-to-know-before-applying-for-loans.html "Home Equity Made Simple – Things to Know Before Applying for Loans") for first-time buyers, paying a minimum deposit of 5 percent of the purchase price.

It’s also worth looking at online [Help to Buy calculators](https://www.comparemymove.com/house-removals/help-to-buy-calculator) to find out how much you could borrow to help save for a more affordable deposit.

**How to get a mortgage?**

[Securing a mortgage is the most important step](https://www.financedigest.com/steps-toward-fostering-a-security-first-culture.html "Steps Toward Fostering a Security-First Culture") – as most FTB’s are unable to pay for a property upfront – and with the uncertainty of the pandemic, more hopeful homeowners were searching this year by 22 percent from last year.

If you’re unsure of what to do, it’s always worth speaking to a [bank or building](https://www.financedigest.com/building-the-bank-of-you.html "Building the Bank of You") society, or an independent mortgage broker to see what your options are in regards to how much you can borrow.

**How long does it take to buy a house?**

There are no shortcuts in purchasing your first [property and the uncertainty of the pandemic had first-time buyers increasing the number of searches by over 50 percent than last year](https://www.financedigest.com/10-year-david-goliath-crusade-finally-sees-justice-for-off-plan-spanish-property-buyers.html "10 year ‘David & Goliath’ crusade finally sees justice for off-plan Spanish property buyers").

It’s not unusual for it to take between 12 [weeks and six months](https://www.financedigest.com/u-s-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-to-16-month-low.html "U.S. weekly jobless claims fall to 16-month low") from starting to look at properties to moving in. However, if there are delays at any stage of the process then it can take longer.

**How much are solicitors [fees for buying](https://www.financedigest.com/the-cost-of-buying-a-leasehold-why-can-it-cost-more-in-conveyancing-fees.html "The Cost of Buying a Leasehold: Why Can it Cost More in Conveyancing Fees?") a house?**

A solicitor is [vital in the house buying process as they’re responsible for organising](https://www.financedigest.com/why-an-orchestrated-digital-identity-strategy-is-vital-for-financial-organisations-in-fighting-fraud.html "Why an orchestrated digital identity strategy is vital for financial organisations in fighting fraud") conveyancing searches, liaising with the seller’s solicitor, exchanging contracts and many other legal matters.

With average [monthly searches doubling in the last](https://www.financedigest.com/monkeypox-emergency-could-last-months-with-window-closing-to-stop-spread-experts-say.html "Monkeypox emergency could last months, with window closing to stop spread, experts say") year, it seems many First-Time Buyers were looking to understand how much this would cost.

With the [average conveyancing fees for buying a house around £1,040](https://www.comparemymove.com/advice/conveyancing/average-conveyancing-costs), it’s not cheap, however, it’s always worth shopping around and [receive several quotes](https://www.comparemymove.com/conveyancing) from local solicitors before committing.


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