Buying a property can be a complicated process. Whether you are experienced or a first-time buyer, we can help you secure the home of your dreams … or help you take that all-important first-step on the property ladder.
This step-by-step guide has been designed to help you through the process of buying property.
If you require a mortgage to purchase, it’s a good idea to get your mortgage agreed in principle as early as possible. This will confirm how much money you will have to fund the purchase, which will ultimately influence your property search. We can recommend a number of Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) who will be able to advise and assist in finding you the most suitable mortgage. Most IFAs will not charge unless and until you instruct them to organise the mortgage for you, which you don’t need to do until you find a property you want to buy.
If you need to sell a property in order to purchase, it is a good idea to at least get an updated valuation to find out what you might expect to get for it and have the property prepared for marketing (i.e. have photos/plans/EPCs carried out). Ideally your property should go on the market prior to viewing other properties and some vendors will not accept viewings from people who are not on the market themselves. Most vendors will not accept an offer until you are in a “proceedable” position yourself. If you are local to our offices, we would be delighted to assist with this and please call us to discuss further.
Remember, you will likely be requested to put a 10% cash deposit down on exchange of contracts, so will need to have 10% of the purchase price ready in your account in addition to any money you are borrowing or require from a related sale.
You’ve arranged your Mortgage Agreement in Principle and you know what you’re looking for. Now the fun really starts and it's time to get out there and find your new home!
We’re available to make appointments or show you around at times to suit you. Drop in or call anytime from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday; 9am to 4pm Saturdays; Sundays by appointment.
Sadly, it is rare for people to find the absolute perfect property that ticks every one of their boxes. After all, there will only be a finite amount of properties available in any one area at any one time. You need to decide whether you are prepared to compromise on any of your search criteria or if you are prepared to hold out for something that comes close to if not provides the whole package. It might be worth making a list of your requirements and putting their importance in order, which sometimes helps you widen your search or consider properties that perhaps you hadn’t before. We can help by discussing our available properties with you and pointing out what they do or don’t have and whether there are possible ways around getting what you want.
Once you’ve found your perfect property, you need to put an offer forward to the seller via the estate agent. You may need to demonstrate that you are able to proceed (e.g. provide evidence of your mortgage agreement in principle or bank statement showing sufficient funds and/or details of any chain behind you).
It is best to notify us as early as possible if your offer is subject to any conditions, for example, if you have a certain timeframe you need to stick to; if your offer is subject to survey; or if you want any particular items left at the property as part of the sale.
As soon as the vendors have had an opportunity to consider your offer, we will notify you as to whether they are accepting, rejecting or proposing a counter offer. Negotiations will take place until either a sale is agreed or either party withdraws from negotiations.
Remember any offer is subject to contracts being signed and exchanged. Until such time as exchange takes place there are no legal obligations on either side.
Once your offer has been accepted, it’s all action stations! We will need to take some additional details from you in order to get the ball rolling. Firstly, we need to carry out some checks under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation. We use an external company to carry out these checks, for which there is a charge of £24 per person. We need to carry out the checks on each individual in whose name(s) the property is going to be purchased. You will be sent a link to perform a facial recognition and passport/driving licence check. If you struggle to complete these, please let us know and we will assist. We will also need to obtain proof of your funding (e.g. mortgage agreement in principle and/or bank statements and/or confirmation from your agent regarding the status of the related sale of your property).
You will need to appoint a solicitor to handle the legal side of your purchase. We have a selection of tried and tested solicitors that we can recommend. It is important to instruct a solicitor that has a good reputation and is communicative. If possible, avoid online conveyancing firms where you are not allocated a specific representative. Unless you pick a particularly pro-active solicitor, you may need to chase them on a regular basis to find out how the sale is progressing and what they are waiting on. It is a good idea to instruct a solicitor who has knowledge of the area you are purchasing in.
Once both parties have agreed on the level of offer, compliance checks have been carried out and solicitors instructed, the sale is officially agreed and it is usually at this point that the property is marked “under offer” or “sold subject to contract”. We will now issue a Memorandum of Sale to the buyers, sellers and both solicitors, confirming the details of the sale, to ensure everyone is on the same page.
As soon as possible, where a mortgage is required, you should instruct your lender or broker to begin the mortgage application process. In the majority of cases, this will involve a surveyor carrying out a mortgage valuation on the property. Lenders have become far more particular in their lending criteria in the last few years and the process for approving a mortgage application has become more lengthy in many cases. It is best therefore to instruct your lender as soon as possible.
In addition to the mortgage valuation, you may also want to instruct a building survey on the property you are purchasing. This is not a legal requirement, but your solicitor will recommend it and most lenders will also require it. There are three levels of building survey, depending on what you require. We can recommend local surveyors with whom you can discuss the different options so that you can decide what is the right level of survey for your purchase. The survey will involve a qualified surveyor inspecting the property and providing you with a report on their findings. They may recommend further follow up surveys by more specialised trades people such as electricians, plumbers, roofers, drainage experts, timber and damp experts etc, depending on the type of property and whether they think those areas might need attention. It is important to discuss the findings of the survey with your solicitor and estate agent. They can come across as quite daunting at first glance, particularly if you have not bought a property before. If major issues are raised in the survey, you will have to decide whether you still want to continue with the purchase or whether you want to negotiate money off or place conditions on the sale (e.g. that the vendor fixes certain items).
