Buying a house – especially for the first time – can be daunting. With an extensive process as well as a whole array of make or break decisions, it’s no wonder so many people dread the confusion! That’s why the right advice and guidance are paramount.
The decisions you make along the way could save you – or cost you – thousands of pounds. See how E-VUE can guide to buying a home:
- While 86% of Uk residents want to own their own home, not necessarily all of us are ready. Ask yourself: Is buying right for me?
- There are a lot of things to consider, one of the most important being whether you’re in a strong enough financial position. Ask yourself: Can I afford to buy a home?
If you already own a property, consider whether you want to sell it before purchasing another. There are pros and cons to both, so it’s definitely something to consider. Ask yourself: Should I sell my home before I look for a new one?
If you decide to buy and sell at the same time, call us today to take a look at the steps we can take to make things run more smoothly.
Establish your budget by deciding on how much do you want to spend. This might be dependent on how much money you can save for a deposit. Ask yourself: How much can I afford?
- Keep in mind the one-off and ongoing costs of buying a home. They can add an extra 15% on top of the cost of your home – or even more if you’re doing serious building or redecoration.
Work out how much of a deposit you can get together. Think: savings, the “bank of Mum and Dad”, the “bank of Granny and Grandpa”, as well as how much you could get if you put your current home on the market.
Decide what sort of mortgage you want. While you can’t get a mortgage before you buy, you can get a mortgage in principle, which will put you in a stronger position.
A mortgage broker can be useful when seeking advice, the full range of mortgages available or if you have special circumstances such as being self-employed.
Whether you want to stay close to where you’re living now or are looking at a fresh start in a new city, this is a very important decision – you could be unhappy with where you live or face the costs of moving again, so do your research thoroughly!
You may be considering whether to buy a new build, existing or period property.
Once you know the area you want to live in, it’s much easier to filter down your options and narrow down your search. Get a sense of what type of properties are available and what the price points of the local markets are. You want to make sure you see the property properly & thoroughly -whether virtually or physically- to make sure there are no hidden surprises.
When placing an offer you might be asked to pay a small holding deposit – e.g £500 or £1000- to show you are serious. This will be refunded if the sale falls through, through no fault of your own. Consider whether or not to get Home Buyer’s Protection Insurance.
If you haven’t got your finances in place, try to do so quickly before the seller loses patience, as at this stage either party can pull out. You will need to get the lender to make you a formal mortgage offer before you can exchange contracts.
Once you have agreed on an offer for the property, you need to get a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal work of transferring ownership of the property to you.
Remember: Your mortgage company might require you to go with one that is on their panel, which might make the decision for you.
The solicitor or conveyancer will do the searches with the local authority, Environment Agency and the other authoritative boards to ensure there are not any major problems with the property.
Your mortgage lender will likely require you to obtain a valuation by a surveyor, reassure them that it’s suitable to lend against. Remember: This is not a proper survey, it’s only superficial. You can either upgrade the valuation to a full survey, or you can commission a separate survey.
When you exchange contracts, you become legally committed to buying the property – and the seller is legally committed to selling it do you. If you pull out after this you can lose your 10% deposit. Remember: Only exchange contracts after you have received the surveyor’s report, and any necessary action has been taken.
- Before you exchange contracts, agree on a completion date.
- You can only exchange contracts after your solicitor/conveyancer is satisfied with the searches, a formal mortgage offer has been received, and arrangements for the 10% deposit have been made.
- Remember: You need to ensure that you take out buildings insurance for the property from the date of exchange.
On the day of completion, the money & deeds of the property are transferred between each party via the conveyancer. Legally, the seller has until completion to vacate the premises, and then you should be able to collect your keys – normally from your agent. After this, you’re free to remodel, renovate, move in or do with as you see fit. Remember: you may have to make arrangements for parking and utilities.
After completion, your solicitor or conveyancer will send you an invoice outlining all their costs and expenditures, as well as the purchase price of the property and stamp duty. Normally, your solicitor or conveyance will act as your proxy and pay the stamp duty for you, as well as ensuring that the change of ownership is registered with the land registry.
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