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Buying a property doesn’t have to be stressful, to ensure you are successful in purchasing the right property means that you must be prepared. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the property ladder or if you have previously owned a property, preparation is the key!
So, what can you do to make sure you are in strong position to buy?
Funding the Purchase
This is the most important aspect of a purchase. After all if you don’t have the money then you cannot proceed. Even if you are not planning on searching for a property now, having your finances in place early will make a huge difference in the long run. Most people are not qualified in financial services and it can be daunting process. We would strongly recommend that you source a Whole of Market Financial Advisor who can sit down with you and go through everything. This service is free and is a great starting point to getting a mortgage. Even if you are not able to get a mortgage today, they will be able to provide you with some financial advice to get you in a position in the future, where an application would be accepted. If you would like to take advantage of this free service, then please get in contact and we can arrange something for you.
Legal costs
You will need to have a legal representative working on your behalf when going through the purchasing process. This is referred to as Conveyancing and most solicitors will offer this service. Be sure to use a local solicitor which will make things easy if you need to provide any paperwork and they will have a better understanding of the local area. You can contact most solicitors online, or if you prefer, give them call and ask for a quote. Remember, cheap isn’t always best and try and get recommendations from friends or family.
Finding the right property
This is where you need to be realistic with yourself. Write down what you will need from a property, is it in the right location, is it big enough, or to big? We are now in the age of digital advertising. It is essential that you are set up to receive alerts from the major property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Keep your criteria open to avoid missing any alternative options.
Making an offer
You have found a property! Now it’s time to call upon the previous research that you have done with your finances and conveyancing. As an experienced agent, offers will not be accepted until we have received enough evidence of how they will be looking to fund the purchase. This would include:
Proof of mortgage - We will ask for the details of your financial advisor or a document from them confirming your financial position.
Proof of deposit – This can be in the form of a bank statement, or a letter from a solicitor confirming the funds are available.
Proof of Cash (Cash Purchase) – We will need to see evidence of the cash that you intend to use for the purchase to the full amount of the offer that has been made.
Using proceeds from a property sale – We will need the details of the agent who has arranged the sale of your own property.
It is also useful to provide the agent with some information on your current position. For example, if you are in rented accommodation or a First Time Buyer, then your offer would be chain free.
Offer accepted
Once your offer has been accepted, it will take around 8 – 12 weeks to be able to get the keys. This process can be greatly reduced if you can provide your solicitor with all the information they need as they request it. Be sure that you have returned all the relevant paperwork that they need and paid any initial money to them to start the conveyancing process. If you are not sure then give them a call, or if you have taken our advice and you have found a local solicitor, pop in to meet your in house conveyancer.
If you are using a mortgage to purchase, then you will have two processes running side by side to each other, The conveyancing (legal work) and the finance (mortgage).
The first milestone of the mortgage is getting the survey. We expect a surveyor to contact us within the first 10 days of your offer being accepted, where we will provide access details for them to survey the property. Once a mortgage survey has been carried out the mortgage will be offered to the homeowner, and confirmation of this mortgage offer will be sent to your conveyancer in preparation of ordering the funds for completion.
Exchange and Completion
There will be several legalities to go through before you can exchange contracts. This is the term used when all parties have completed the conveyancing work and have pre agreed a suitable date to exchange and complete. The deposit funds will be transferred when you exchange contracts and you will already have confirmed a suitable completion day, weather this is the same day or a week later. This is when you can collect the keys to your new home!
Here is a handy checklist to help you get moving..Click Here