Despite Government incentives and plans to help ease the burden for first-time buyers, a recent report conducted by Aldermore, insists that many still struggle under the immense stress and pressure buying a property can place on a person.
52% of first-time buyers surveyed admitted that their health suffered because of the home buying process. This statistic is a sharp rise from the 35% in 2017.
The report clearly indicates the difficult process, fraught with constant rejection and uncertainty, that first-time buyers must go through before they are able to hold the deed to their house. 25% of first-time buyers are originally turned down for a mortgage.
The process also remains a pandoras box of hidden risk and heartbreak with 48% experiencing at least one property purchase falling through; rising to 73% in London.
The culmination of these pressures and setbacks contribute to additional difficulties for the first-time buyers. 40% of respondents believe the process affected their relationships and 43% giving up a self-employed business because of the mortgage implications and complications.
Aldermore wanted to understand the psyche of a first-time in order to ascertain what could be done in the future to alleviate these negative feelings attached to the process. 40% believe that Help to Buy should be extended and 25% under the impression that more mortgage products for first-time buyers are needed.
Despite these statistics, the survey revealed that any adverse effects were worth it with 72% of respondents feeling proud and relieved that they have achieved a foothold on the elusive property ladder.
However, when the price of houses is stratospherically superior to an average household income, and the gap is increasing, these pressures are going to worsen. First-time buyers are the impetus and momentum of the housing market; surely creating a system that alleviates feelings of doubt, will encourage more to venture into property and improve the stagnant property market.
Does the home-buying process do enough to protect a naïve first-time buyer? Should more protections be put in place to create a smoother and less stressful system.
One Response
It is not just first-timers.
Last year after nearly 50 years of buying and selling and working in the business the stress of
the uncertainty surrounding completion was such that my diabetes went out of control and I was admitted to a resuscitation unit
The process requires radical rethinking to replace the dominance of legalistic thinking with professional supply chain management support for the individuals involved
In the meantime “Healthy Home Move” guidance should be produced.
If 52% suffer this is a strategic issue for the NHS and a matter of shame for those working in the home move sector