First-time buyer couples 'have advantage'

26-Feb-2008

First-time buyers who are looking to purchase a property as a couple are at an advantage to single buyers who may struggle to get into the market, it has been claimed.

Financial comparison site Motley Fool has stated that first-time buyers looking for property as a couple will find the experience much easier as well as having a wider choice in terms of a mortgage they can afford.

A joint venture will make getting a suitable property a realistic proposition as buying in London, for example, requires around ten times the average salary just to get into the market, the group notes.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Motley Fool pointed out that, as well as affordability, it is about finding a property that you particularly want to buy, especially as a couple.

"When you combine two salaries together to make it £50,000, and then … go three or four times that salary, then you are looking at something around about £200,000. Suddenly your market just opens up very, very widely," he said.

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