Buying my first home | part 6

What a whirlwind it's been; in part 5 of this series I shared the gorgeous news that my offer had been accepted, I'd instructed a solicitor and the mortgage application was underway. Since then I've been making plans, buying furniture off Facebook market place, speaking to roofers and so on. I hadn't planned on updating this series for a while, but there's stuff to say now...

First of all, the mortgage advisor let me know that my tax overview and tax calculation, both provided by HMRC after I submitted my tax return, did not match. Numbers panic me and HMRC panics me and the whole thing just caused me to have an absolute meltdown because I didn't know how to fix it and it needed to be fixed for the bank to continue processing my mortgage application.

I got in touch with a local accountacy firm and explained the issue; they assured me they could fix it (for £120, which seems like a lot but I took it out of my house savings as it was a house-related thing, and is SO worth it for getting the issue fixed). I sent them the necessary documents, and waited for them to let me know it was all sorted.

Obviously this halted the mortgage application, and when my mortgage advisor called me one Saturday to ask about the timescale of getting the overview & calculation back I thought that was all she wanted to discuss. But no - she was calling with the heartwrenching news that the seller has taken the house off the market, no longer wanting to sell for personal reasons. I was definitely in shock when she told me and didn't really say much, but over time I've come to terms with it - clearly it wasn't meant to be, and a better house will come along. Hopefully that's soon...

As it is, all the houses in my price range which are available to buy currently are either up for auction (no good for first time buyers!) or being sold with tenants in situ. So the search starts again, and I'll be in my parents' attic for a while longer, surrounded by boxes of pans, suticases full of decor, and a disassembled futon.

There has been some good news, though - the accountant fixed the tax issue and sent me a new overview/calculation, which I sent off to the mortgage advisor to send to the bank. The very next day, my mortgage was approved! Okay so I don't have a house to speak of right now, but this mortgage offer is valid for 6 months so when I find a new property, I'll be able to transfer the offer to a new house. This is why I definitely couldn't forsee myself buying a house without a mortgage advisor!

So it's ups and downs right now, and there's a lot going on in my personal life too, and everything has been on top of me a little bit. But I plan on building back stronger, finding the perfect house, and living my best life from now on.