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Moving to a new home regularly rates as one the most stressful experiences in our lives. Understanding what you can expect can make a huge to difference. Here’s the brief Bright Mortgage Guide to the home buying process…
1. Do your homework
Be clear about the area you want to move to, what you’re looking for in a new home and ensure that you have the capability to borrow the sum necessary to fulfil your requirements. Speak to your mortgage adviser for full recommendations before you start your search.
2. Be realistic about what you can afford
Obtain a pre approval from a lender to put yourself in the best buying position. This will give a better idea of your budget and speed up your mortgage application later on in the process. Be aware of all the possible additional costs which could be incurred such as survey, legal and removal expenses.
3. Find your new property
Take into account the location, the type of house you require, age/style of property, local amenities, schools and finally transport links. Try to view properties at different times of the day as areas can change! I.e. noisy pub or traffic noise. Try to take a friend on viewings as someone not emotionally connected can be beneficial.
There are so many things to consider when viewing a property and often the most important questions are forgotten. Ensure you ask the relevant questions by taking our handy viewing checklist with you on your viewing.
4. Make an offer
Once you have found the right property, put in an offer as soon as possible. Do not be afraid to offer below the asking price. The seller may be inclined to take a lower offer. Be sure however that any offer is subject to survey and contract as this then allows you to change your mind should problems arise from the survey or pre contract enquires. Once an offer has been accepted it is time to instruct a mortgage adviser and solicitor.
Check out this handy home buying checklist.
5. Instruct your solicitors
This will ensure the smooth process of transferring legal ownership of the property from the seller to you. When purchasing a property a solicitor or licensed conveyancer will be required to handle all the legal paperwork involved.
6. Apply for your mortgage
Apply to the lender for the mortgage to suit your requirements and supply all the necessary documents to support this. This should ideally be arranged by a genuinely independent adviser, such as Bright, with access to the whole of the mortgage market giving you the best choice available.
7. Get a survey
A basic valuation is carried out on the property by a surveyor on behalf of the mortgage lender to ensure that it represents good security for lending. It will advise on value. There are various types of survey that could be arranged dependent on the age of the property and the detail you require. You will, on receipt of the survey, have the opportunity to renegotiate the purchase price if the survey highlights any issues.
See our Valuation Promise page.
8. Arrange the necessary insurance
You need to protect your new home, yourself and your family. The lender will insist on “bricks and mortar” insurance from the day you exchange contacts. Other insurances to consider are for mortgage protection, which could provide life and disability cover to pay off your mortgage, should you be unable to do so.
9. Sorting out the Contracts
A draught contract will be drawn up by the seller’s solicitor and sent to your legal representative. Once they have received them your solicitor will start preliminary enquiries to check the legal documents, such as the title deeds to the property.
10. The Searches
Your Solicitor or conveyancer will apply for a land registry search to check on current ownership, local authority search to check on local planning consents granted for the area and any other local issues. This could affect your eventual resale. They will apply for an environmental search which could reveal issues such as possible flooding in the area or ground contamination. In some cases it may be appropriate to have a “Chancel” search to ensure that you are not later subject to a contribution towards the upkeep of the chancel to the local churches.
11. The Sale is agreed
Once your solicitor has advised on the searches, received a formal mortgage offer and approved the contract you have to make an informed decision as to whether you wish to proceed to completion of the purchase. If you decide to go ahead your solicitor will exchange contracts and agree a completion date. The solicitor transfers a deposit (normally 10%) electronically. You are now committed to the purchase.
12. And Finally… Completion
This could happen at the same time as exchanging contracts, but normally there is a gap of anything from one day to a few weeks dependent on personal requirements. The remaining money owed (usually 90%) is now transferred to the sellers Solicitors. On confirmation of receipt of this money, the keys to the property can be released to you and you can move in.
When moving home it's important to inform the relevant people of your departure. Use this handy checklist to ensure no-one is forgotten.
So now you know… what stopping you?
Contact Bright Mortgage today and take the first step towards the next phase of your life.
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