Two days in dreamy Edinburgh..

As long as myself and Peter have been together we have always scrapped the traditional giving of presents on Christmas. Instead we agree that every year we will save our hard earned cash and book a little trip away somewhere in the New Year. This year we chose the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.

It's safe to say I fell absolutely head over heels for Edinburgh. Can we just start with how lovely the Scottish are? What a fabulous bunch of people, who have been so very welcoming and warm throughout our trip. From the lovely cheery bus driver at the airport to the most pleasant homeless people that fill the city's streets. 

Everything about Edinburgh makes it a fantastic city break. The city is steeped in culture (quite literally, i.e: bring comfortable shoes). You also can take a break from the hills and cobbly streets that surround you by dropping into just one of many independent coffee shops that the city has to offer. The shopping is also fabulous, ranging from high-street brands to the best vintage stores I have ever seen. (W. Armstrong and Sons on Grassmarket being one of them)

Where we stayed

After much deliberation we ended up staying in a ten bedroom boutique hotel called The Rabble. It was perfectly situated on Fredrick Street. With only a few minutes walk from the Old and New Town is was a great location. Everything about the hotel was fabulous from the quirky and modern decor to the luxurious toiletries and amenities on offer such as a SMEG mini fridge packed with goodies, GHD straighteners and hair dryer as well as Rabble branded shampoo & conditioner, shower gel and even body lotion!

The living room is the secondary hub of my house, the kitchen being the primary hub. Growing up in my family home, the living room was a place full of laughter, contentment and a place to comfortably enjoy each others company and catch up on the days activities, I wanted my living room in my own house to be the same. 

Before moving in I had already envisaged what colour scheme and decor would be perfect for this room. Our living room gets a lot of light throughout the day so I knew I could get away with choosing an unusual mixture of dark colours on the walls. After much debating and everyone in my entire family second guessing my choice of colour, I ended up with a Crown Mix of Farrow and Ball 'Blue Inchyra' and Misty Grey by Johnstones Paint. I am over the moon with the way the colours worked out together and it brings quite a tropical feel to the room. 

This little room is my safe haven. After a long day at work, there is nothing better than catching up with Peter with a cuppa in hand in this tropical paradise.

By no means am I an expert at buying houses, however having recently gone through the process as a first time buyer I thought my experience could come in useful for others who are thinking about buying a house now or in the future. Here are some of my top tips for preparing to buy a house..

Make sure it's definitely something you want

Buying a house is a huge commitment, whether you are planning on doing it alone, with a partner or a friend it is a huge amount of responsibility and you have to be ready for it. There's a few questions you have to ask yourself before you know it's the right decision to make, things such as.. Am I comfortable and content in my current job? Am I financially stable? Is this the right person I want to take this big step with and can I sacrifice my luxuries for a little while to be able to save for a deposit? If it's yes to all of the above, then you can start to seriously think about the next steps towards owning your own home.

Working out your affordability

If you have decided that saving for your own house is what you really want, then I would recommend sitting down and calculating what you can afford to buy against your monthly earnings. In order to help you do this there are plenty of online mortgage calculators available that you simply need to fill in with your details such as your income and any expenses you may have and it will give you a rough estimate of what money you could possibly borrow, therefore giving you a some what accurate estimation of what price of house you should realistically be looking at. This will also help you budget how much you will need a month to pay back the repayments on your mortgage. Some good online calculators that I personally used are:

Nationwide

Halifax

 Santander

Saving for a deposit

This is the hardest part for first time buyers. Having a substantial deposit is usually highly recommended before buying a house because having at 5% or 10% deposit can reduce your monthly repayments of your mortgage to a manageable amount. It also can help reduce your mortgage term time because you will have already paid of at least £10,000 of your mortgage already if you have saved a 10% deposit. 

Unfortunately the saving doesn't stop there though, you will need to make sure that you have money set aside to account for a mortgage broker if you choose to use one and also any solicitor bills. 

Saving for a deposit is hard, there is no doubt about it but buying a house is one of the biggest investments you will make in your life and for me has ended up being one of the best. For myself and my partner Peter to save a little each month it meant cutting out takeaways at the weekend, swapping a night out for a night in and coping with the wardrobes we already had (personally I found this the hardest ha)

The best tool to use to save for a house is not your standard bank savings account but instead use the Government funded Help to Buy ISA Scheme. Find more information about the scheme here.

Get advice from a mortgage broker

Having now worked out your affordability and how much of a deposit you are willing to put down, I would highly recommend to book an appointment with a mortgage broker/advisor. I can not stress enough how great of a guidance tool this was for myself and Peter, especially as first time buyers. Having got confused with all the mortgage and financial jargon, using a mortgage broker was without a doubt worth the money. They take the stress and confusion out of buying a house. A mortgage broker will estimate your affordability having looked at your credit history and monthly income, they will then research the best mortgage offer taking into account the best interest rates, the mortgage term time and other incentives such as cash back.  They will also discuss with you the options you have such as a fixed rate or variable mortgage. After you have made your decision, a mortgage broker will also apply for your mortgage on your behalf. 

To find out more information on the types of mortgages there are on offer, click here

I hope some of this information will help you move forward in your hope of owning your own home either now or in the future. 

Happy house saving!

Can you believe it's been almost a year since I last posted on this blog? Life has a funny way of just distracting you with so many other tasks that you sometimes never get round to sitting down and doing the things you love. I'm not going to lie, part of the reason I haven't posted in a while is due to lack of inspiration and motivation. It's safe to say for the first time in a while I experienced writers block. I didn't know what content I wanted to create, I was at a loss as to find something that would inspire me enough to get back to writing.

Months later, I found my inspiration in something that I had never really taken an interest in before, Interior Design and Homeware. Just over a month ago myself and Peter made the biggest (and most terrifying) step in our relationship. WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOME TOGETHER!

After months and months of saving and then searching for the perfect little place to call our home we finally made a decision on a house that we have worked so hard on to become our little home. It's my pride and joy and living with the person I love the most has definitely been the best part. 

Buying our house has given me massive amount of inspiration so much so I've decided to start a new series on this blog called 'I BOUGHT A HOUSE' Chronicles! The series will range from everything from interior design, homewares, DIY and talking about my experience with the stressful process of buying your first home and giving some tips and tricks that I found helpful.

Hopefully you will enjoy this new series whether you are thinking of buying your first home in the future or you just have a keen interest in interior design.