Once you know that you have the right to buy and how much your home will cost, you need to work out if you can afford it. It is important to be aware of all the costs of buying, because if you find yourself in financial difficulties you could risk losing your home.

Will I have to get a mortgage?

Once you know how much your house will cost, you will be able to work out if you need to borrow money to buy it. This would be a mortgage.

The amount you might need to borrow would be

• the house price
• minus your discount
• minus any savings you may have towards buying.

Some mortgage lenders will not lend you money unless you have some savings to put towards the price too.

Mortgages need to be repaid in monthly instalments, usually over 25 years. It is important that you don't borrow more than you can afford to pay back. When interest rates go up, your monthly mortgage payments could go up too. Your home could be repossessed if you cannot keep up with your mortgage payments.

What other costs are involved?

If you are going to buy your house you should be aware of other costs that will be involved. The house price is not the only thing you will have to consider, there will be other costs involved in the buying process. These include:

• solicitors fees
• valuation and/or survey fees
• mortgage arrangements fees.

Costs once you have bought the house

There are also extra costs that you will have to pay which you should take into account when you are working out if you can afford mortgage repayments. These include:

• buildings insurance;
• home contents insurance; and

• repairs and maintenance of the property, including common / shared repairs.

You must make sure that you will be able to afford all your monthly payments, and keep money aside for unforeseen costs like repairs, otherwise you could lose your home.