Process for Buying a House
If you’re buying a house and want to know the process after your offer has been accepted, check out our short guide.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
1. Decide if buying a home is right for you
There are a number of factors you should consider before going on your home hunting quest, most importantly is if you can actually afford it.
2. Decide on your budget
How much do you want to spend? This might depend on how much of a deposit you can get together.
3. Get your finances in place
Work out how much of a deposit for the mortgage you can get together. Think about savings, the “bank of family” or if you have any savings on long term deposit that you plan to use, cash them in.
4. Decide what sort of mortgage you want and agree a mortgage in principle
While you can’t get a mortgage before you buy, you can get a mortgage in principle, which will put you in a stronger position.
A mortgage broker can be particularly helpful if you would like advice on mortgages, to scan a range of mortgages in the market.
If you are buying a new build property, see our advice on getting a mortgage for a new build home.
5. Decide where you want to live
If you want to move to a new home close to where you live, there is little to decide except the house.
If you want to move to a different part of town, or across the country, then it’s a different story.
This is a very important decision – your about to get become a homeowner for the first time and you want to be happy, so make sure you take the time to decide what it is you want.
6. Choosing a property
Once you know where you want to live, put time into looking at properties in the area thoroughly so you get to know the local market well.
You should visit as many properties as possible, and make sure there are no hidden surprises. It’s also important to understand whether the property is freehold or leasehold, and that it is not on a short lease.
7. Make an offer – and get it accepted
Make sure you are in the strongest possible position as the buyer.
Decide how much you want to pay.
Make the offer to the estate agent and seal the deal.
8. Arrange a mortgage
You should ideally have your finances in place as much as possible before making your offer.
If so, you now just need to come back to us with the agreed offer so we can help complete the mortgage process.
You will need to get the lender to make you a formal mortgage offer before you can exchange contracts (step 12).
9. Hire a solicitor or conveyancer
Once you have agreed an offer on the property, you need to find a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal work to transfer ownership of the property to you.
The solicitor or conveyancer will do the searches, such as with the local authority and Environment Agency, to ensure there are not any major problems with the property.
10. Decide if you want a survey
Your mortgage lender will require a valuation by a surveyor, to ensure that the property is good enough to lend against. The lender will do a basic survey and will not look into detail at the property.
You will have to find your own surveyor to evaluate the condition of the property and alert you to any potential problems you will face once you move in.
11. Arrange the deposit
Before you can exchange contracts (see step 13), you need to arrange the deposit on the sale price of the property and give it to your solicitor or conveyancer (They will ask you to transfer the funds).12. Exchange contracts
When you exchange contracts with the seller you will become legally committed to buying the property – and they are legally committed to selling it to you.
If you pull out after this without due reason, you’ll lose your deposit.
You should only exchange contracts after you have received the surveyors report (if you’ve chosen to use one), and any necessary action has been taken.
Before you exchange contracts, make sure you have agreed a completion date with the seller.
You can only exchange contracts after the solicitor/conveyancer is happy with the searches, a formal mortgage offer has been received, and arrangements made for the deposit.
You need to ensure that you take out building’s insurance (as a minimum) for the property from the date of exchange, as you are responsible for it from then on. Indeed, it is usually a condition of the mortgage that you have buildings insurance in place.
13. Final arrangements
You need to negotiate any final things that have not yet been agreed, such as buying the seller’s appliances.
You need to make arrangements for the supply of electricity, gas, water, and telephone service, and that the seller has got readings.
The solicitor/conveyancer will inform the land registry that they are in the process of transferring ownership of your property.
You need to ensure that your deposit is also ready, and normally you will pay that to your conveyancer before completion.
Your solicitor/conveyancer should be liaising with the mortgage company to ensure the money will be ready for completion.
14. Complete the sale
Completion is when you pay for the property and take ownership of it and takes place at a certain time of day.
On the day of completion, the money is transferred, and the deeds of the property are transferred, between each side’s conveyancer.
15. moving into your new home
The seller has to leave the property by the time of completion, and you should then be able to collect the keys, normally from the estate agent
You are now free to move in.
16. Paying stamp duty, solicitor, and conveyancer fees
After completion, your solicitor or conveyancer will send you an account, covering all their costs and disbursements, as well as the purchase price of the house and stamp duty (if it is over the first-time buyer threshold).
Your solicitor or conveyancer will normally pay the stamp duty for you and ensure that the change of ownership is registered with the land registry.