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Looking for a property
So now you know your budget, the next step is to find a suitable property. You will probably know where you would like to live and you should speak to a good local independent estate agent to discuss what your budget will enable you to buy and where.
You can then refine your criteria by deciding:
What kind of property will suit your lifestyle?
Where you would like to live? i.e. Busy or Quiet location, close to shops, transport, school or recreational space.
Type of property? i.e. House, Flat, Maisonette or Bungalow
How many Bedrooms ?
Is a garden important ?
Parking ?
Any other specific requirements ? e.g. wheelchair access.
Then register your details with your local estate agent, who will keep you informed of any new instructions as soon as they become available.
Viewing Properties
When viewing the properties, please ensure that you are on time and are courteous to the vendor (seller), as they are showing you around their home. This is likely to be the biggest purchase you will make, so ensure that you are the right questions to the vendor or the agent that is showing you around the property, for example:
How long has the property been on the market ?
Are there any potential problems with the property ?
What fixtures and fittings are being left ?
What are the neighbours like ?
What are the schools like ?
Why is the vendor moving and how long have they lived in the property ?
How much does the property cost to run ?
Be observant as you can and look for any potential problems, such as leaking guttering, cracks in the walls or stains on the ceilings.
Try to visualise yourself living in the property, whilst ignoring the vendors decor as much as you can. Do not worry whether your old furniture will fit in the property as many purchasers have done this over the years and have lost good properties because of this. It is a good excuse to buy new furniture that will compliment your new home.
Making an Offer
Once you have seen the property of your liking, you will need to decide how much you are prepared to pay for it and then make an offer to the vendor (owner of the property) through the estate agent that you saw the property through. Any offer you make will be subject to contract, which means that neither you nor the vendor has to go ahead with the transaction as the sale is not binding until contracts have been exchanged.
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Accepted Offer/Instructing Solicitors
As soon as your offer has been accepted by the vendor, you should instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf. Your solicitor will handle all legal requirements of your purchase (property conveyancing). At this point, you also need to formally proceed with your mortgage application and instruct your mortgage consultant/broker accordingly.
Survey
The next step is to obtain the Mortgage Valuation, as required by law. This will be conducted by a Chartered Surveyor acting for your Lender. The report is to provide a Valuation i.e. determine whether the amount to be loaned is secure and also deals with the basic condition of the property. Since you as the buyer are also provided with a copy, it allows both parties to evaluate the findings prior to entering into a commitment to purchase. NB: However, we would not recommend that a buyer relies solely on the Mortgage Valuation survey as the inspection is limited and although it may cost a little more to obtain a more detailed report yourself, this could in the long run save you from making a costly mistake. For further details please click HERE.
Conveyancing
Your solicitor / licenced conveyancer will carry out the legal work involved in buying your property. A lot of the legal work doesn't involve you directly, but it's useful to understand the process in case you need to check up on the progress of the purchaser. Your conveyancer will carry out the following:
Acquire the title deeds (documents giving evidence of ownership) of the property from the seller's conveyancer and examin them to make sure that all is in order.
Ensure that you will get proper ownership of (title to) the property.
Ensure that there are no planning conditions or particularly harsh conditions of ownership (e.g. an intrusive right of way) affecting the property.
Ensure that the seller has all planning permission and completion certificates for any alterations or extensions to the property.
Check that there are no local developments (e.g. road-widening schemes) planned which might effect the value of the property.
Check that the street, pavement and mains drains are public and maintained by the local authority.
Negotiate and agree (with the seller's conveyancer) the draft of the contract setting out the terms on which you are buying.
Register or record the change of title to the property, and the mortgage deed (loan agreement) in favour of the lender, with Land Registry.
Acquiring all the relevant information is time consuming. Your conveyancer will request "Searches" (information that could affect your property) from the relevant local authority. These can sometimes be obtained electronically but can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, depending upon there workload.
Sometimes it is possible to use title insurance as a way to stream line some of the conveyancing. Title insurance can sometimes be used to complement or replace some elements of the legal work by insuring against the rick of problems arising in the future. This is more commonly used when remortgaging.
If your conveyancer is also acting onbehalf of your lender, your lender may instruct the conveyancer to prepare the mortgage deed. This is the legal contract between you and the lender. Your conveyancer will explain to you the terms of the mortgage deed and then arrange for you and the lender to sign them.
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Exchanging Contracts
Once the conveyancing has been completed, you and the vendor will need to sign the contract the conveyancers have agreed that sets out the terms of the sale. The conveyancers will then exchange contracts and at this point both you and the seller are legally committed to the transaction and you will have agreed a Completion date. It is at this point that you will need to pay a 10% deposit of the purchase price and arrange the buildings insurance as you will now be responsible for putting right any loss or damage to the property. Between exchange and completion you should notify the utility, telephone/media companies of your completion date to continue or setup new services. You will also need to advise your doctor, bank, employer, DVLA, dentist, investment/pension providers, friends and family of your new address.
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Completion and Moving
This is the point when the balance of the purchase price is transferred between your conveyancer and the vendors conveyancer. Once the vendors conveyancer has received the funds the keys can then be handed over to you. Once you move in the first thing you should do is take a note of the meter readings i.e. gas, electric and water.
Finally once you have finished packing, enjoy your new home.
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Removals
It is never too soon to get organised for moving house. The best place to start is by having a good clear out. Go through your home room by room and be as ruthless as you can. This will save you both time and money in the long run. Make an inventory of what you are keeping, this will prove valuable for the packing process and the move itself.
Depending upon the amount you have to move you will probably want to hire a professional company. It is always best to go with a recommend company or a company that adheres to a code of practice and is a member of an authoritive body such as the British Association of Removers (BAR) or the National Guild of Removers and Storers (NGRS). Check that they offer insurance and what will and won't be covered. Ask about timings, when they will arrive and how long can you expect them to take. Be honest with the removal company about the amount that you have to move. You can use your inventory to help them with this, this way you can be sure they will send an appropriate sized van and enough workers for the move to go smoothly. The exchange of keys on the day of completion varies depending upon where about you are in the sales chain, from experience most completions take place around lunchtime, just be aware that solicitors close for lunch between 1 & 2 pm.
Alongside your inventory, make a plan of your property and decide what each room will be used for. You can then use this plan to co-ordinate your packing and label or colour code your boxes and furniture accordingly. Give a copy of the plan to the removal company. They can then make sure that the furniture and boxes are destined for the correct rooms. Don't forget to do the obvious things like warp fragile items in bubble wrap or newspaper and spread the weight of heavy items over several boxes.
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