Buying a home in Britain can be really hard work. In a perfect world, it takes around six weeks to complete a freehold sale. Leasehold properties take slightly longer, around eight to ten weeks. But delays can crop up for a variety of reasons; everything from busy solicitors to inefficient banks and slow moving or collapsing chains. Some new research from specialist bank Aldermore has found that simply getting onto the property ladder for the first time is perceived as an incredibly difficult task. Their latest First Time Buyer Index found that almost nine in ten people looking to buy their first home think it’s difficult to do so.