The key steps involved with buying a property are summarised below.
But if you want any further information or advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Setting A Budget:
To help you set a budget for your new home we have produced this useful checklist of costs to consider when buying your new home, this is especially useful when making your offers:
- Deposit
- Mortgage Arrangement Fees & Broker Fees
- Survey & Search Costs
- Solicitors Fees
- Stamp Duty
- Land Registry Fee
- Moving Costs
- Estate Agent Fees (If Selling aswell)
Getting A Mortgage In Principle:
We suggest before you view any properties that you get a mortgage in principle, this will mean you are pre-approved for a set borrowing limit and will allow you to move quickly if you find the right property. When making an offer if you are in a position to proceed this can often give you the upper hand on other people making an offer who are not.
We can recommend some trusted Mortgage brokers who will search the market for the right mortgage for you, whilst offering you the best deals available. They have the advantage of being able to compare mortgage rates and terms across a wide board of lenders without having to complete lots of quotations.
They usually charge a broker fee for this service once you have found the right mortgage and are able to proceed with the application.
Some Mortgage providers charge an arrangement fee which is normally added to your mortgage, this is to cover the cost of setting up your mortgage (and usually covers the cost of the surveys and valuations carried out by the lender during your application).
Viewing Properties:
Properties can move very quickly, if the property is a good price or in a desirable location they may not hang around for long. We would suggest that as soon as a property comes online call us to book a viewing.
Making An Offer:
When making an offer ensure you have considered the costs involved in the buying process (as shown in the Setting A Budget section of this guide). Only offer what you can comfortably afford.
To ensure you are as attractive as a potential buyer as possible it is important to have a Mortgage in Principle and if you are selling your home to know where you are up to with your sale and the chain details involved.
If you are buying without a Mortgage or are not relying on selling your home in order to buy, make this known this can be a huge advantage at this stage.
Instructing A Solicitor:
When instructing a solicitor, they will usually give you a quotation for their work but will not include the cost of Searches & Surveys. We can provide you with a free no obligation quotation from one of our recommends solicitors. This has the advantage of being a tried and tested company who we have a good rapport with enabling u to chase them more effectively.
Searches & Surveys:
The cost of Searches & Surveys varies massively depending on the type and level of report needed. This is because different properties require different levels of assessment i.e. new builds, well maintained properties or properties in need of some attention. This will also depend on what the Mortgage Lender offer or require as part of their process, some will offer a complete package or searches and surveys as part of their costing’s whilst others will require you to have certain levels of searches and surveys carried out at cost to yourself.
Exchange Contracts:
This is the stage at which sale contracts which have been signed by each party are exchanged meaning each party will now have a copy of the contract signed by the other party. At this stage the sale becomes legally binding and pulling out of the sale would come at considerable financial penalty. Once contracts have been exchanged a completion date can be set.
Book Removals:
The completion date is normally set once agreed by all parties involved (not only you and the person you are buying from but everyone else in the chain) this is normally to allow each party to arrange a removal company. This date may change if one or more parties are struggling to book a removal company.
For example, if you are selling your home, you will need to be out of your property on this day to allow your buyer to move in this is the same as the person you are buying from.
If you are living in rented accommodation this can make things much easier for you as you may decided to set your own the moving date after completion. This would allow you to arrange a moving date around your availability and allow you to carry out any works you have planned.
Completion Day:
Today will be a stressful day for most as you will need to coordinate the removal company collecting your items and delivering them to the new house. You will also need to attend our office to collect the keys to your new house (however this can only be done once the funds have changed hands with the solicitors).
We recommend that you stay in a hotel the evening prior to completing and that the removal company collects your belongings that evening this will mean on the day of completion half the jobs have been done. You may even with to stay in a hotel the night of completion just in case the key handover isn’t until later in the day. This is especially helpful to consider if you have small children.