Buyers
1. Preparing to buy
Think about what your ‘must haves’ and ‘nice to haves’ are before you start your search. How many bedrooms do you need? Does it need to be close to quality schools? What about transport links? It is unlikely that you'll find a property with everything on your list of wants that's also within your budget, so be prepared to compromise and be flexible.
2. Setting your budget
Every home buyer needs to work within a budget, so it's important to set this before you start looking. If you require a mortgage to help fund your purchase then we advise you to consult with a bank or mortgage broker to understand your purchasing budget in full. Knowing how much you can comfortably afford can save lots of time and potentially heartache later on. Lenders will take into account your income and whether you have enough funds to cover the required deposit, purchase-related costs and ongoing mortgage repayments. An Independent Financial Advisor will assist you in all aspects of budgeting for your home purchase.
3. Finding the right property
Once your budget is in place, it becomes a matter of finding the right property. 90% of all property searches now begin online, and so obviously it is a good place to start. If you register with us online, you will receive email alerts when properties that match your criteria are listed on our site.
4. Viewings
Once you've found a property that meets your criteria and is within budget, it is recommended that you view it as soon as possible. It's a good idea to take a notepad with you, so you can write down anything you notice and review it later. A lot of the time our vendors will want to show you round the property, after all they know it best and can answer all your questions regarding running costs. You can request one of our agents join you for the viewing or you can call us afterwards with your list of questions!
5. Making an Offer
Once you have found a property that ticks the right boxes, you will need to make an offer to the seller. Naturally, we will be the middle person here and will speak to the seller for you. Any offer that is submitted will need to be substantiated with proof of finance. Supplying the agent with evidence of cash funds or an ‘Agreement in Principle’ if funding the purchase with a mortgage is essential. This will also help put any offer in the best light for the seller to consider.
6. Instruct a solicitor
Once the seller has accepted your offer the next step is for you to instruct a conveyancer to help you with the purchase. They will handle all of the legal work involved and will advise on any issues or concerns that they may have regarding the property.
7. Conveyancing
Conveyancing simply means the transfer of a property from one party to another, i.e. from the current owner to you. This is a vital part of the process, but can be stressful and frustrating, and requires a lot of formal paperwork. However, it can all be handled by a dedicated conveyancer, who will:
- Raise any queries on arising from the draft contract
- Conduct local searches
- Refer to the information provided by the sellers
- Agree a date for exchange of contracts
We will keep you informed throughout this whole process, ensuring that you stay up to date on the latest developments.
8. Arrange for a Survey
This could be a valuation for mortgage, a Homebuyers report or a full structural survey dependent on the requirements of your mortgage company.
9. Mortgage and Insurance
After the survey is completed, you should receive a mortgage offer from your lender stipulating the final details of your loan. You may also want to take out life insurance to protect the mortgage payments. Added to this, you will need to source buildings insurance, as a minimum, prior to exchanging.
10. Exchange of Contracts
Once all the other steps have been completed, and yourself, the seller, and your respective solicitors are agreed that everything is in order, you will be able to exchange contracts. At this point you will agree a completion date, and thereafter the sale is legally binding. Both parties will be required to sign the contract agreement, and you will need to pay your deposit prior to exchanging.
11. Completion
On your completion date the keys will be available to collect from us. Congratulations – you are now the legal owner of your new home. For many people this is also the day they will move into the property. Money.co.uk offer a fantastic service when moving home including checklists, reminders of who to tell your new address, this can be found here.
