In addition to our own Hatch Batten buying guide, the link below to the Government website also provides information on how to buy a home.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy
Our guide is broken down into the headings below which form the main parts of the buying process. Whilst it may not cover every eventuality, we trust you will find this information useful. This buying guide is provided as guidance information only and should not be taken as definitive. You are advised to take your own legal advice regarding the buying of a property.
There is good reason why this has been placed in this guide before even beginning your property search. It is something that can take time and also by doing it early in the process can help to frame what is and is not possible based on what you can afford. Naturally if you already own a property and downsizing in value, you can ignore this step as you may not require a mortgage, however, it is still advisable to make sure you know how to organise funds and also the time this may take, should this be required.
If you are applying for a mortgage do so well in advance because it is common for lenders to offer a mortgage in principle. The principles are, that the information on your financial circumstances is accurate as provided to them at the time the purchase will take place, which of course may be some time after you applied for the mortgage in principle, because your financial circumstances may have changed.
Additionally, the mortgage in principle offer is also conditional on the lender being satisfied that the property against which the mortgage is secured, represents an accurate value based on the % of the purchase price they are lending you. A mortgage offer in principle can be obtained based your own personal financial circumstances, however, as you may not have found a property at this stage it is common for Lenders to provide you with the maximum loan to value (LTV) i.e maximum of 80% loan to value., up to a maximum loan of £200,000. This means the lender will loan you a maximum of £200,000 and this amount should represent no more than 80% of the purchase price of the property.
Lenders will always wish to satisfy themselves on the value of the property they are being asked to lend against and this may differ from what you are willing to pay. Lenders will typically use their own surveyors to inspect the property. Inspections or surveys as they are known typically perform either a valuation survey or a structural survey or affectively both. The costs of these lender surveys are normally paid by you the prospective purchaser. Surveys take time and are undertaken by qualified surveyors and as such need appointments to be booked. This can take time and certainly costs money and hence why it is highly recommended that you do this in advance and be aware of any other interest in the property and the priorities of the seller, i.e, is the sale value or speed of move more important to the seller.
It is not uncommon for prospective purchasers to pay out for surveys on more than one property when house hunting, so be aware that considerable amounts of money can be wasted on chasing properties that you ultimately do not end up purchasing.
Even organising your own funds to be released from banks/building societies shares or other forms of investment can take time dependent on the amounts involved, so be aware of notice periods and any paperwork or identification required, especially if this requires a personal visit to a bank or building society branch for example.
Some will start their search with local estate agents, some on national portals and some will explore the areas in which they are interested and observe For Sale boards and compare areas. Irrespective of which order you choose, to maximize the success of finding your ideal property in your favored area it is probably advisable to do all three.
By far the biggest source of properties for sale and for rent. significant % of properties sold throughout the UK are sold through Estate Agents, which is why this may be a good place to start. As the majority of properties are not sold by multiple agents, but rather individual agents, the process of searching through local agents may be perceived to be slower than searching on national property portals, such as those listed below, however, just as no one local estate agent lists all available properties, equally, no one national property portal lists 100% of available properties in the UK.
Searching on any national property portal will only show you an average of 80% of the properties available at best and with some national portals significantly less. National property portals rely on estates agents uploading their available properties to them, however, with ever increasing charges to the estate agent by the portals means that estate agents change which property portals they upload to and very few will upload to all the national portals. Hence why no one national property portal can display all available properties.
For Sale boards remain a great source of available properties, whilst also gauging the knowledge and suitability of a local area and amenities. Additionally, some property owners sell privately and place boards outside homes, therefore only a drive through the local area will find these as they will not appear on any National portal or local agent website or in their office windows.
Things to look for/ take your time: It is generally the case that only by contacting the estate agent marketing the property can an appointment to view the property be made. Most property sales do require a viewing, or several, before a prospective purchase moves forward or is concluded. All estate agents understand this and attempt to accommodate flexibility and understanding with viewing requests, however, they also have to suffer a fair share of their time wasted. It is therefore important to have a clear view in your own mind of what you are looking for and what compromises you are prepared to make. The essentials or must have and the nice to have. Take time before viewing to consider all the things you want to look for and make a list.
Likewise make a list of any questions you are likely to ask. Naturally some questions will be spontaneous based on the individual property but many will apply to most if not all properties or certainly those of the same type. i.e. Flats - ground rent and service charges, Rural properties - mains drainage. Take your time and be prepared before you start the viewing process and you are less likely to forget the important things or the details that matter.
Make it specific and maintain a record and be ready: Once you are satisfied that the property is the one for you, its time to make an offer. As most things in life appear at least to be negotiable, it is common for offers to be made below the asking price for what may be very justifiable reasons in the purchaser's mind in the hope that the value in the seller's mind is close. It is common for this process to be as simple as: the seller offers his property for sale at an asking price, the prospective purchaser makes an offer of the asking price or less, although this could be more, and their views on value meet somewhere and the offer is accepted and the sale progresses. This process can become more complicated when more than one prospective purchaser is involved and a bidding war commences. In the extreme of this scenario when two or considerably more perspective purchasers are involved, the seller can ask for sealed bids/final offers in writing. This is a process where each prospective purchaser submits their final offer in writing and in general the highest bidder wins and the sales process commences. However, it is not always the case that the highest bidder wins, this depends on the terms of the final bidding process. It can be the case for example that the prospective purchaser with the highest offer is able to proceed at a slower pace than a prospective purchaser that made a lower final offer (a cash purchaser perhaps), if this is the case the property seller will determine which offer will be accepted. It is therefore important in this scenario to be clear on what is most important to the seller and what are the terms of the highest bids/offers process.
Gazumping unfortunately does happen, perhaps morally it is wrong and can cause a lot of unpleasantness and costs, however, according to the latest advice this is not illegal in the UK. Despite noises from governments to change this, which has not happened yet, the best advise is to be aware of how it can happen and safeguard yourself as best you can. The following links may assist.
Do your own market research for value and don't pay double commission. It is relatively easy in today's internet world to do your own research on what your property is worth. Searches on national property portals or local estate agents websites will probably provide comparable properties and therefore indicate the price you should ask. There are also other resources that show what price a property sold for, such as the land Registry in the UK and also Net House Prices based on the same data, links to which are provided below.
Also, read our Selling Guide on this website.
Avoid paying double commission: For full details see our Selling Guide on this website.
Keep an eye on costs/obtain a detailed quoted, fixed if possible. Local estate agents often have solicitors or conveyancing firms they can recommend and bare in mind it is the estate agents interest to ensure the sale goes ahead otherwise they don't get paid, assuming like most people your on a no sale no fee basis.
Exchanging contract is the moment when a buyer and seller exchange swap documentation to confirm a property sale is legally binding, ONce a buyer and selelr have exchanged contracts, the sale is confirmed and the agreed aasking price, with neither party able to pull out without facing extremely serious financial consequences.
This is the date when you can move into your new home. The estate agent is likely to hold the keys for your to pick up. On completion day, your solicitor will arrange for money to be transferred to the seller's solicitor.