{"id":314,"date":"2022-05-26T15:59:18","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T14:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/moneymentors\/?p=314"},"modified":"2022-11-04T19:34:27","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T19:34:27","slug":"housing-mortgages-and-council-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/moneymentors\/2022\/05\/26\/housing-mortgages-and-council-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing, mortgages and council tax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Alexander Andrews<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBuying a house after graduation\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but when I hear the words \u2018mortgage\u2019 and \u2018council tax\u2019, it makes me nervous about going into the adult world. After university, I am planning to get a house, but in this current economy, houses seem too expensive to afford. Not only do you have to have enough saved for a deposit, but you also must have a good enough credit score to get a mortgage in the first place. Even when you do have enough saved and a good enough credit score to get a mortgage and finally get your house, you must now worry about issues like bills and council tax. Ughh. Am I really ready for this adult life? Well\u2026 I can be. How can I be more prepared for \u2018What Comes Next?\u2019. As a student at KCL, there are lots of resources out there that can make us more informed and more prepared to get our first-ever property.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Firstly, what are mortgages and council tax?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simple definition of a mortgage, also referred to as a mortgage loan, is\u202fan agreement between you (the borrower) and a mortgage lender (usually a bank) to buy or refinance a home without having all the cash up front.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council tax is a fee you pay every year to your local council if you are a homeowner or a tenant. The amount you pay is set by your council and goes towards funding local services like the police and fire service, libraries, bin collection etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you have more questions about council tax, you can always make sure to contact your Local Authority<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a current KCL student, you can start getting more informed about housing, so you feel more prepared for the adult world once you graduate. Platforms such as Blackbullion<\/a> are brilliant educational resources to teach students like us about finances, so you can learn about building a good credit score, saving up for a mortgage and so much more. There are also services outside of KCL like Citizens Advice<\/a> and the fantastic MoneySavingExpert<\/a> and Money Saving Advice<\/a> (including its mortgage calculator<\/a>) websites, which can provide you with more information on council tax and mortgages.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cLondon is too expensive\u2026 how can I get a house?\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you currently live in London or are planning to live in London, you might notice the costly housing prices. if London doesn\u2019t feel like the right fit for you, don\u2019t be afraid to branch out to other places outside of London, as houses are likely to be cheaper, with a lower council tax rate! You can use websites like Right Move<\/a>, which allows you to compare house prices and find affordable housing across the UK, apps like Nude<\/a> and Principality<\/a> that allows you to save more efficiently in order to purchase your first property, and also guides to some schemes such as shared ownership or help to buy like those from the Mayor’s Office<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also conduct your own research before using any housing-related apps or websites, for example by looking at the reviews, to see if it is best for you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ahh\u2026 I feel more prepared to go into the adult world now after graduation <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world of mortgages, council taxes and house-hunting in adult life after graduation might seem scary, but trust us, it\u2019s not as bad as it first seems! Hopefully, reading this blog will have given you a little bit of help and set you on your way to building a fantastic future after graduation! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope that by using all the resources available to you, including those suggested in this post, you\u2019ll be able to make some more sense of mortgages and council tax. Don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t understand all of it just yet, King\u2019s Student Money Mentors are always here to help you on your financial journey, both while you\u2019re here with us as a student, and after you graduate, as well as KCL Money and Housing Advice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Best of luck with What Comes Next! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Miriam Okotie Tomas<\/strong>
King\u2019s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The King\u2019s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students\u2019 personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company\/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned.<\/em> Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBuying a house after graduation\u201d  I don\u2019t know about you, but when I hear the words \u2018mortgage\u2019 and \u2018council tax\u2019, it makes me nervous about going into the adult world. After university, I am planning to get a house, but in this current economy, houses seem too expensive to afford. Not only do you have … <\/p>\n

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