Mortgage expert shares the one thing every first-time buyer should know before house hunting

Mortgage broker Tayo Oguntonade says that the cost of living crisis is going to have a huge effect on first-time buyers. It's never been harder to get a mortgage as a first-time buyer, with Halifax's Price Index revealing the average price of a property is at another record high.

But it's not all doom and gloom. When we spoke with Tayo, he shared his best piece of advice, and it's all about getting mortgage advice as early as humanly possible.

Mortgage expert says cost of living crisis will have 'huge impact' on first-time buyers

Tayo Oguntonade is a qualified mortgage advisor and the founder of Brickz with Tipz, a website that teaches people about property and how to apply for a mortgage. He also shares videos and posts on his Instagram on everything from credit scores to affordability tests.

The cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, but he says it's a particularly unwelcome problem for renters saving for a big deposit. 'Renters have to deal with nearly all of their bills going up at the moment, and it'll really have a huge impact on the amount you can allocate to saving,' says Tayo.

'It doesn't help that house prices seem to be going up at the same time. So you've got a scenario where first-time buyers are saving less but house prices are still increasing,' he adds.

Not only is buying a home becoming harder, but Tayo Oguntonade says that when first-time buyers finally move into their first home, they're faced with bills that are higher than anticipated. 'Energy bills, gas and electricity, have through the roof at the moment,' he comments.

'So they may find it hard to budget and pay their mortgage when they're in the home as well.'

Tayo Oguntonade's first-time buyer advice

'The first thing you always need to do is get some mortgage advice really early on. There's no time that's too early to get mortgage advice. You're given an idea of exactly where you are and what you need to do to meet your goal,' says Tayo.

With some professional advice from a mortgage broker on things like the best mortgage rates, he says you'll learn things like how much you can afford, where you can live, what kind of property you can buy. 'When it comes to savings, it's really difficult to save if you don't have a target.

'Hopefully, when you get some mortgage advice, you'll get a target at the end of it,' he says. He says that being willing to be flexible in terms of size, location and type of property will also open up more possibilities for getting on the ladder.