The Buying Process

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Buying a property can be a daunting experience for those who are new to it.  However, those that have completed a property purchase once will often tell you that the process is not at all complicated.  In this section we outline the buying process as a series of steps.

1. Financing

The buying process starts with deciding upon your budget.  This is usually based upon your income and any money you have saved or will be given for purchasing a property.  If you require a mortgage, then you have a variety of options. You can:

• speak with a mortgage broker
• speak with a high-street bank that provides mortgages
• search for mortgage deals on-line and contact the appropriate provider by telephone or email, or by completing an on-line mortgage application form

-Mortgage Broker

Mortgage brokers can make the process of applying for a mortgage less stressful, as they will review your basic financial information and explain to you which mortgage will meet your needs, based upon your financial information, age, and borrowing requirements.  They will also take you through the application form line by line and ensure it is properly filled in.  However, some mortgage brokers only offer mortgages from a 'panel' of lenders, and this can limit your chance to get the best deal for you.  For example, you may find an excellent mortgage deal on-line but your mortgage broker may not be able to get this deal as it is not provided by a member of their 'panel' of lenders.

There are plenty of mortgage brokers that do have access to all the mortgages available in the market.  Mortgage brokers basically fall into two categories.

1.  Those that charge the client (i.e. you!) a mortgage arrangement fee

2. Those that do not charge the client an arrangement fee

Where they do not charge their client an arrangement fee, it should be borne in mind that whilst attempting to meet your requirements, they may tend to suggest to you a mortgage product that will provide them with the greatest commission.  Those that do charge an arrangement fee will still get a commission from the lender they arrange your mortgage with, but they may tend to focus less on the amount of commission different lenders would give them since you will be paying them a arrangement fee as well. 

Mortgage brokers also often sell Life Assurance and other financial products.  The broker will get a commission from the supplier of the financial product for introducing their client to them.

-High Street Banks

High street banks and building societies have traditionally been the most common mortgage suppliers.  It can be an easy process to get a mortgage with your regular high-street bank, since they will have built up a picture of your basic financial information from your bank accounts.  They will also have many of your personal details and this reduces some of the time to arrange a mortgage. 

High street banks can be rather more cautious in lending than some of the other suppliers.  They tend to take a rather conservative view on lending criteria and hence may not provide a mortgage with the most favourable terms. 

-Searching on-line

Many people who wish to take out a mortgage search on-line and use comparison sites such as moneysupermarket.com to compare different mortgage deals.

This can be a very effective way to find the right mortgage.  It will however require more work from you in understanding what your requirements are, and what features in the mortgage product you are particularly looking for.  Once you have selected several products which appear suitable, it is a good idea to call each of the lenders and ask any questions you may have about the products you have short listed.

When you are satisfied that you have all the information you need, you can choose which you will apply for.  Applications will often be on-line but sometimes you can do this over the telephone.  Exact details of how to apply will always be given with the product on-line. 

 

2. Selecting an area

Once you have sorted out the budget for your property purchase, you need to decide on the area in which you wish to buy.  This may be a very simple decision, for example if you know you want to live where you were brought up and your budget will allow for this and there is a supply of the type of property you are looking for.  Sometimes, it's not that easy though.  Maybe your budget will not stretch to the area you would like to live in or perhaps there is not the right type of property in that area.  Perhaps there are other factors like the quality of schools, access to open space or close proximity to a city.

The key to successfully choosing an area is to do your research thoroughly.  The following is a handy checklist which can be tailored to your particular needs:

• Do I like the area when I travel though it?
• Is there a supply of the type of property I am interested in (and can afford)
• What are the schools like?
• How close are they and is there a catchment area?
• What are the property prices like?
• Would I be close enough to an airport / station?
• Is there adequate shops for my needs or can I get to them as easily as I need?
• Where is the nearest Doctor / Dentist?
• Does it meet my needs in terms of proximity to friends and family?
• Do I know anyone who lives in this area who can give me more information about living there?
• What is it like in the evening? (Some areas can seem quiet during the day but in the evening can become very noisy).

It is often sensible to look at websites like upmystreet.com to get some inside information on area.

 

3. Type of Property

The type of property you buy will depend on the budget you have and the area you want to live in.  If you can arrange a mortgage for a purchase of £200,000 and you wish to buy a house in the centre of a big city where even 1 bed flats start at £200,000, then clearly you will need to either look in a different area or change the type of property you are looking for (in this example perhaps you would look at studio flats). 

You may need to be flexible.   However, if you were determined to get the type of property you wanted, you could change the area that you were prepared to look at.  Perhaps a house can be purchased 5 miles outside the city centre for around £150,000 for example.  The types of property you generally can choose from are:

• Flat
• House
• Maisonnette (flat with a groundfloor front door)
• Bungalow
• Specialty property such as Oast House, Converted Barn, Converted Church etc.
  

 4. Viewings

Once you have arranged / decided upon all of the above, you need to search for suitable properties.  Over 80% of people searching for a property to buy do so via the internet, so this is clearly the best way to start.  You can also visit local estate agents.  Arranging viewing of a property is generally a simple process.  It usually involves calling the estate agent who will then often need to call the vendor to see if it's convenient to view at the time you wished.  The agent will then get back to you and confirm or re-arrange as appropriate.  If you see a property on Buy From The Owner that you would like to view, all you need to do is email or call the vendor directly to arrange a suitable time to view.  It could not be simpler!

During a viewing, make sure you look out for any defects such as significant cracks, damp or significant condensation.  All properties are likely to have some minor defects though, and it is essential that you instruct a qualified surveyor if you progress to making an offer.  Normally your mortgage company will want to carry out a valuation of your proposed property purchase before providing a mortgage and this would be carried out by a qualified surveyor.  You can usually opt for both a valuation and home survey to be carried out at the same time, by the same surveyor to save time and money.

It is a good idea to view a property at different times of the day - or at least view the outside of a property at different times.  Obviously, do not just appear at a property without arrangement and start looking into the windows!  But there is no harm after you have viewed the property in going back for a second viewing or indeed in seeing what the street is like at a different time of the day.

 

5. Making an offer

 If you are sure you wish to purchase the property, consider making an offer to the purchaser.  You should look up what other similar properties in the area have recently sold for to establish what is a fair offer, together with the condition of the property, the speed with which you need to buy, and what the asking price is. 

You will have the chance to renegotiate the price following the surveyor's report, should there be good cause. 

 It is a good idea at this stage to have decided which solicitor to use once you have agreed the sale.

6. Agreeing the sale

Once you have made an offer, the vendor will either decide there and then or get back to you as to whether your offer is acceptable. If it is too low, you will need to decide whether you are prepared to offer more to secure the property.  This process may continue for a few days, until a final offer is either accepted or declined.  The majority of our customers deal directly with the buyer of their property, as this is the most efficient way to strike a deal, as the owner negotiates directly with their buyer.

Once an offer has been accepted, both the vendor and yourself will need to exchange solicitor's details.  Once you advise your solicitor that you have agreed a price and have supplied them with the vendor's details, all you usually need to do is occasionally ring your solicitor and check how the conveyancing process is progressing.

 

7. Completing the Sale

At some point after agreeing the sale, exchange of contracts will take place.  This would typically take place about 8 weeks following the agreement of sale but this depends upon a range of factors such as the speed with which both parties solicitors are working, whether there are any complications in the general conveyancing process and how hard both the vendor and yourself are pushing your solicitors.  Upon exchange of contracts, the sale becomes legally binding.  There is then usually a period of around 2 - 4 weeks until completion of the sale takes place.  This time is often spent by the solicitors to raise any final queries on the contracts. In some cases a simultaneous exchange of contracts and completion can take place if there is an urgent need to complete the sale.  This depends upon agreement from both parties and their respective solicitors.

Once completion has taken place (you will be notified by your solicitor) you may collect the keys and move in.  Now enjoy your new property!