When it comes to buying property, then for the majority of us we will have to take out a mortgage.

Yet
these days it can be bewildering as to where to start with such a large
range of products available, particularly for the first time home
buyer. For most people it is the largest purchase they will have made in
their lives so far. So it is very important to take time to get the
right deal for you.

Whilst how much you can afford is a key issue
when taking out a mortgage, you often need to think about other factors
such as when you are likely to want to move again, or if you may wish
to rent out the property in future.

The days of self
certification mortgages are long gone, so you can no longer take out a
mortgage for more than you can afford in relation to your earnings.

Indeed
there are likely to be more changes put in place by the government so
that you may even be asked as to how you will continue to finance your
mortgage, should the interest rate rise sharply in future.

You
also need to think carefully if taking out a mortgage with a partner,
as you will also need to fund life insurance to ensure that should one
of you die that the mortgage will be paid off.

Whilst you are
likely to get advice from an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA), you
need to be aware that they get paid commission for products they sell
you, however the law with regards to this has already gone through some
changes with them now having to state how much money they will get paid
for selling you each financial product they sell you.

It is
likely that further changes may occur with regards to IFA’s with the
possibility of them just being paid a salary with no commission, this is
following the massive payment protection insurance (PPI) miss-selling
scandal, whereby PPI was sold to millions of people who did not want or
even need it.

So when it comes to taking out a mortgage also do
your own research online before making any decision. Buying the wrong
financial product, which may as an example be low cost for the first two
years, could see you tied into a long term deal that you later cannot
afford. So make sure you get the best financial advice possible.