In Episode 4 of the ‘Key Life Stages’ season, Simon and Bex highlight the significance given to homes in the Bible before going on to discuss the financial practicalities and implications of buying your first home.

Some key points covered in this episode include the following:

• Bex and Simon quote various verses from the Old and New Testaments (Micah 4.4; John 14.2 & 14.23; Acts 2.46, 4.32-35 & 18.26; 2 Corinthians 5.1-2) to illustrate the importance placed on homes in the Bible. [00:25]
• It is noted, however, that the Bible also stresses the importance of not storing up treasures on earth. (Matthew 6.19) This prompts Bex to acknowledge that there is an inherent challenge involved in investigating the financial practicalities of buying your first home – as this episode aims to do – while maintaining a clear focus on biblical teaching and a faith-based perspective. [03:03]
• Simon starts off the discussion by providing some home ownership facts and figures, which demonstrate that people are currently finding it really hard in the UK to get their feet on the first rung of the property ladder. [03:15]
• Purchasing your own home may not be the right option for everyone, and Simon provides examples of some situations in which people might want to rent their accommodation rather than buying it. [06:00]
• There are, however, a number of advantages of buying your own home, which make it an appropriate and prudent option in many instances. [06:47]
• Once you have decided that you want to purchase your own home, you need to tackle two initial requirements: (1) to provide an appropriate deposit (2) to demonstrate that you can afford to pay off the loan (mortgage) that you will be taking out on your chosen property. [09:31]
• When deciding on the mortgage payments to which you are going to commit yourself, it is important to consider the whole picture. One point to think about is the length of time over which you are going to repay your mortgage. The shorter the term of the mortgage, the less money you will pay out overall… but your monthly payments will be higher. [11:34]
• Calculating your surplus income will help you to establish what is affordable in your situation. [13:40]
• Having a contingency plan in case interest rates go up over time is also important. For that reason, you might want to consider signing up to a fixed rate (rather than a variable rate) mortgage, especially if you can afford monthly payments that will allow you to take out one that will last for five years or more. [15:46]
• Because taking on a mortgage is a major financial commitment… and because life happens, Bex asks Simon to outline some ways in which we can respond if we encounter difficulties that place in doubt our ability to meet our mortgage payments. [18:53]
• If you would like to contact us with some feedback, questions or requests, please do so via whereyourtreasureis@freerangepodcasting.co.uk (email) or @whereyourtreasureispodcast (Instagram). Otherwise, please join us for next week’s episode, ‘Make Money Make Money’ (Episode 4 of the ‘Practical Financial Planning’ season), which will be all about investing. [20:44]

This show has been brought to you by Free Range Podcasting.