Britain’s property boom has seen thousands of homeowners and property developers enjoy incredible gains over the last fifteen years. The downside of the good fortune of those relatively few homeowners and developers is that it’s now much harder than ever before for first time buyers to get a foot on that property ladder.

Image courtesy of Marc Falardeau

If you’re taking the initial steps towards owning your first home, there are a number of hurdles to overcome and things to keep in mind as you go.

First of all, you’ll have to calculate how much you can afford to spend on the deposit, as well as the monthly mortgage repayments. While making this calculation, it is important not to forget the necessary contingency for house repairs such as a new boiler, or roof repairs. Ask friends and family for advice, or take a look on the Internet for suggestions as to how much you might need to keep free for such things.

Lenders are generally prepared to lend three times your salary or, if you’re a couple, three times the larger of the two salaries plus the smaller salary, or two-and-a-half times the total of the salaries combined.

Quite simply, monthly mortgage repayments shouldn’t swallow more than around 35% of your monthly wage. Remember to also set aside funds to cover mortgage administration and legal fees, together with other costs such as paying a removals company and buying furniture. Insurance is also a must – the moneysupermarket home insurancecomparison tool is a good starting point, generating hundreds of quotes in the click of a mouse. Some mortgage deals include the payment of legal fees, while others might offer cashback – make sure you shop around.

You can get a 100 per cent mortgage, but you should endeavour to raise as much of a deposit as you can. 100 per cent mortgages can be risky, because if property prices slump, you will then be prevented from accessing better interest rates. Remember that the bigger the deposit you put down, the better the deal.

Fortunately for first-home buyers, Chancellor George Osborne recently launched a new scheme to help first time buyers get into the property market as part of the this year’s budget. The scheme has been called ‘FirstBuy’, and it is estimated that it will help over 10,000 first home buyers, costing £250 million over the next two years.

Nicholas Leeming of leading property siteZooplahas highlighted that, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, first-time buyers now pay, on average, £25,000 towards the deposit on their first home.

He said: “This would plummet to an initial £6,250 as a result of the new scheme – a very appealing prospect.’’

Directgovexplained: “Under the FirstBuyscheme, the government and the housebuilders will jointly provide a 20 per cent loan to top up first-time buyers’ own deposit of 5 per cent. This will allow them to take out a mortgage for 75 per cent of the property. Loans will be free of charge for the first five years and repaid when the property is resold. The funds will then be recycled to fund more homes for the scheme.”

The first homes to come on offer under the scheme are due in September 2011.