Buying a property can be great fun but also the biggest stress in your life.
To start find a good mortgage broker and a good conveyancer, this saves a lot of rushing about when you decide on a property especially if you come across one that you really like in the early days.
Get a fixed price from the solicitor for what the costs will be this is important to allow it in your budget and also find out the broker’s fee, also check with the broker that they are whole market which means they will look at all the products available (In the whole market) rather than just the ones that will pay them the biggest commission usually the high St banks.
Fees for the solicitors will vary on the type of property you purchase. A standard freehold is usually nice and easy for them to stick to the quoted price, but if you go for an apartment where there is a leasehold or rights of way then this will take more time and the cost will go up.
Speak to the broker and get a mortgage in principle, you then have a guide price of what you can go up to when looking at property. But don’t just look at properties for what you can afford always look for the ones at least 20% above your max because these are definitely potential candidates and almost certainly would be worth offering on and believe me you will be surprised at how many offers are accepted at 20% below asking..
I am always looking on the property search engines so have a pretty good idea of what’s on the market most of the time but if you are new to it then the earlier the better. Start looking at properties online to get a feel of the market and what sells where and for how much.
When you see a property you like take a camera with you and do a short video I usually find I’m trying to take in everything while taking in nothing. You can then go over the footage at a later stage to look through the property in more detail and you may pick things up you hadn’t noticed on the viewing initially.
If you have decided on a place and you like it, offer on it. I rarely offer asking unless there’s loads of interest and you really want it and the property offers good value at the asking price. Get an offer on the table then you can work from there. Don’t feel the seller will be offended some are happy just to have an offer.
Usually for the really run down places I keep seeing the agent doing an open day then the best bid by a certain date. I am not keen on this type of purchase there’s no communication and you don’t know where you are in the process.
As soon as you have an offer excepted get on to your solicitors to get the ball rolling. Conveyancers usually ask for a small amount of money upfront to cover some of the initial search costs. Ask them to move quickly in getting the searches arranges as this can take quite some time.
The estate agent usually will be the go between for the seller’s solicitors and yours so any questions speak to them and they can pass it on.
Always keep on top of your solicitors and the sellers as they have a stack of other people’s applications to get through. So if you keep onto them yours will be brought to the front of the queue quicker.
The whole purchasing process can be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. The more complicated the longer it takes usually.
I would arrange for another viewing when the process has started to get a feel for the place also at different times of day check the property out this will give you a good indication of parking and the general feel of the area.
When you are getting near exchange I would also recommend another quick look over, look for any damage signs of water ingress etc. If you notice things that are strange you can then bring it all up with the sellers solicitors before any money changes hands. This can be such things as “will the garden waste be cleared before completion?” or” Will the attic be cleared before completion?” If it’s all noted down it will be put in the contract so the seller will be obliged to carry it all out.
When it is time to exchange you usually have to pay a 10% deposit to the solicitor then they pass it on to the seller. After this point if either side decides to pull out then there will be fees to pay. So usually it’s nice for the buyer to get to this stage because then the seller is committed.
I have made arrangements in the past with the seller to have access to the house after exchange to do things like clean carpets, have blinds fitted and even drop garden plants off to make it easier on the move day. So this is always a possibility to help with the logistics on completion day, speak to the estate agent to arrange this with the seller.
Solicitors usually arrange completion the week after exchange for a time and day that suits both parties. You will then have to pay the remainder of the money you are putting down and the solicitor does the rest.
Then the property is yours to do what you like. “Yippee”
To note if you get into the property and there are things that have not been sorted by the seller that was agreed to be dealt with previously, such as waste not cleared, furniture still in the property or even broken windows/doors etc. Then get straight onto your solicitor and the estate agent as this sort of thing has to be sorted by the seller and the seller is obliged to contractually, so there will be consequences if it is not dealt with as agreed before purchase.
I hope his gives you some help towards the buying process and if you would like to learn more about purchasing a property, as well as questions to ask the seller and how to spot faults on a property, then I really recommend my amazon number 1 bestselling book
“Through a builders Eye” Knowing what to look for when investing in property.
It’s a great guide that will help you through the buying process as well as offer advice on employing builders and ways to save money. You can find the link to amazon to purchase the book on the home page.
Thanks for reading.