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It's a huge step and one that should always be done with the help of a mortgage broker, but for those contemplating buying their first home things aren't too bad.

Of course, the biggest hurdle for first-time buyers is the deposit. Many mortgages will demand at least 25% deposit, and that equates to many thousands of pounds – which for many young people is nigh on impossible to find. That said, there are options out there and by asking a broker you might find that you could get onto the housing ladder.

It might be that you could get hold of a shared ownership mortgage. You may be able to use your relatives to help you get a home or you may be able to set up a decent savings plan so as to be able to get the deposit together in a short space of time.

If this is possible, Moneynet.co.uk says things all of a sudden look a lot rosier. Moneynet.co.uk expert Andrew Hagger says: "If a first-time buyer can overcome the deposit hurdle, albeit a very steep one, then the overall situation is far better than it was at the peak of the housing market in autumn 2007."

Hagger says that the correction in house prices combined with not having to fork out for stamp duty make the situation less severe than some would have you believe because cheaper properties mean smaller and cheaper mortgages – the total cost of a first-time mortgage over three years has fallen to £24,306 in the first quarter of 2010, compared to £29,258 in quarter three of 2007, a saving of £4,951 which can go towards paying a first-time mortgage.

Hagger says: "If you can make the effort to save the sum required, your efforts will be rewarded with a place of your own and lower monthly mortgage costs for the next three years at least."

SOURCE: Moneynet.co.uk, 19/04/10

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