FTBs should seek out poor homes in good areas

First-time buyers looking to make their primary leap onto the bottom rung of the UK property ladder should take one method on board to ensure they get more for less, according to one expert; look for the worst homes in good areas.

According to Paul Holmes, chief executive at Firstrung, one of the best tactics to use is to look around houses for sale in nice areas of the country and choose to buy one of the poorest in the area.

He said that there can be considerable savings to be made by first-time buyers who take the opportunity to spend far less on a new home.

It is also likely employing this method will mean the home costs just a fraction of what they should have paid in the area. Even if they spend money to do it up, they could still end up making a good profit when it eventually comes to selling.

This sort of tactic has become more popular with people in the UK thanks to the popularity of TV shows such as Homes Under the Hammer, where buyers purchase homes at a discounted price at auction and fix it up to sell it on or rent it out.

However, Mr Holmes also said that it may be better at the moment to save and rent rather than taking on a bought property, as it can be the case that houses are not a good investment at the current time.

He said that it is predicted that the homes market could be stagnant over the next few years to come, and that it could be better to be prudent now and buy a house further down the line.

"My advice to first-time buyers would be to keep the powder dry and not be obsessed about owning their own property because at the moment they are losing out on absolutely nothing. It is best to just keep treading water for the time being unless they can find that worst house in the best area scenario."