Buying your first home, in plain English.

Get an Agreement in Principle from a broker. It's free, takes about an hour, and shows estate agents you're serious. The lender confirms in principle how much they'd lend you based on credit and income.

A Lifetime ISA pays a 25% government bonus on up to £4,000 a year — that's £1,000 free money. Worth setting one up early and leaving it alone. Most lenders want at least 5%, but rates get better at 10%.

Once your offer's accepted, the formal mortgage application starts and a solicitor handles the legal side. Protection (life cover, buildings insurance) gets sorted before completion. This is the busy bit — usually 6–10 weeks.

Exchange is when both sides commit legally — neither side can pull out after this. Completion is the day the money moves and you get the keys. Usually 1–4 weeks between exchange and completion, sometimes same day.

The first night with the keys, the boxes, and the slow realisation you forgot to organise the broadband. Worth a checklist a few weeks out — utilities, council tax, change of address, getting the locks looked at if it's an older place.

Life cover, buildings and contents, the will you should probably do now you own a house, the standing orders that need updating. Less urgent but worth getting on top of in the first few months — easier to do while it's all fresh.