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Step By Step Guide

Buying your home

Buying a home will be most people’s largest financial commitment. It can be stressful, frustrating, expensive, daunting and time consuming. If you gather the right information you can make the process smoother from the beginning.

Be realistic about how much you can borrow

Before finding your dream home it is recommended that you speak with a Mortgage Advisor to ensure you can afford the monthly repayments and that a lender would be willing to offer you the required loan amount. The maximum loan available is at the discretion of the mortgage lender and will be based either upon income multiples or ‘affordability’. Remember that interest rates can and do increase, so do not commit yourself to a loan unless you are confident it is affordable both now and in the future. Some lenders will produce a ‘Mortgage Promise’ or an ‘Agreement in Principle’ confirming that they are willing to provide you with a mortgage upto a certain loan amount subject to certain conditions. This will help persuade the seller that you are serious about purchasing their property and speed the mortgage process up.

Finding your new home

Obviously estate agents are the first place to consider and many will contact you as soon as a new property becomes available which fulfils your requirements, however don’t forget the alternatives. Many sellers now advertise privately in the local newspapers or on the internet. Let your family and friends know the area you would like to move to, they may hear of somebody who is considering selling. If you need a particular area where properties are not currently on the market, consider a ‘leaflet drop’ advising of your contact details if anybody contemplates moving in the near future.

Never rush into submitting an offer and try to visit a property at least twice with somebody you trust who will be objective. It’s amazing how much you do not notice the first time.

Making an offer

Once you have decided that a property is perfect for you, it is time to start the negotiating. Decide the maximum you wish to pay before starting and don’t let your emotions get in the way. Negotiate an agreed price and ask for the property to be taken off the market. This will make ‘gazumping’ (when another buyer offers a higher price) less likely.

Solicitor

You need a solicitor to arrange the conveyance for you and will need to provide details to the seller once your offer is accepted. Personal recommendation is the best way to find a solicitor and they will confirm the legal costs and fees involved with the purchase.

Conveyancing means checking the legal aspects of the sale which includes confirming the seller is the legal owner of the property and has the right to sell, there are no land disputes or rights of way over the land and arranging the searches required. The solicitor will normally proceed with the work required at the same time as your mortgage is being arranged.

Mortgage

There are so many different types of mortgages available it can be difficult to make a decision, however once you have decided, the majority of lenders will require similar information. Each lender will need a survey/valuation of the property to ensure it is suitable security for the loan, Identification (eg. Passport/driving licence) and Address Verification (recent utility bill/bank statement etc). In addition, some lenders will request confirmation of your income (payslips/accounts), bank statements, details regarding any credit commitments and they will request information about you from the credit register. Once the lender is satisfied that you can afford the repayments, that the property is suitable security and you fulfil the lending criteria a mortgage offer will be issued confirming the terms and conditions of the loan.

Exchange and Completion

Once the solicitor has completed all his searches and has satisfactory answers to any queries raised, your deposit is paid to the solicitor and exchange of contracts can take place. This means that the buyer and seller are legally committed to the sale/purchase of the property. From this date, if for any reason, you decide not to proceed, you will lose your deposit.

At the time of exchange of contracts, a mutually convenient date will be set for completion and on that date the transfer of ownership will take place. You will arrange to pick the keys up and the property becomes your new home!