Information & Advice for Buying Property

The process of buying a property

Below you’ll find a quick rundown of the process of buying a property, the key stages and advice on what to expect…

Simply get in touch with our team and register your details to start the search. With a clear understanding of your requirements we will send to you all properties that match your criteria. You can also use our intuitive property search function on our website. However, in order to secure a property, we recommend an early viewing.

It is advisable to get a mortgage agreed in principle as early as possible, as this will speed up your mortgage application. We can put you in touch with one of our panel of experts if you do not have anyone of your own.

You can book a viewing through our website 24 hours a day or alternatively, you can call our teams to arrange the viewings of the properties you wish to see. We accompany 100% of viewings so there’s always an expert on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Once we’ve helped you find your perfect property, we’ll put your offer forward to the seller both verbally and in the form of an offer letter. Any offer is subject to a contract being signed and at this stage there are no legal obligations for the buyer to buy, or for the seller to sell, until the contract is signed. At this stage you will be asked to provide proof of identification and show your financial arrangements to satisfy Anti-Money Laundering regulations.

A solicitor will be required to handle the legal paperwork involved (conveyance). We can recommend several specialists that we work with on a regular basis to you if you do not have a preferred solicitor of your own. The benefit of using one of our solicitors is that we can ensure the whole chain is under control and make sure key deadlines are met.

Once your offer is accepted, you will need to instruct your solicitor to proceed immediately. Always ensure that exchange and completion dates are agreed at this stage. This is also the time to instruct your mortgage broker to proceed with your mortgage application and make arrangements for a survey.

This is drawn up by the vendor’s solicitor and sent to your solicitor, who will raise some preliminary enquiries and make a Land Registry search.

Your solicitor will submit all relevant searches to their respective authorities. This will reveal, for example, planning consents granted for the property and other local issues. At this time, a survey is also carried out by a surveyor on behalf of the mortgage lender to check for any structural problems and confirm the property’s value. At this stage, there are several different levels of survey you can request.

Once results of the local search and answers to the preliminary enquiries are received, the draft contract is approved by your solicitor providing there are no further enquiries.

This document will be sent to your solicitor for your signature. Once signed and returned, your mortgage is in place and you are ready to exchange contracts.

Now the contract is signed by both buyer and seller, and the deposit (usually between 5% – 10% of the purchase price) is either telegraphically transferred or paid by the buyer’s solicitor, by banker’s draft. The completion date is set at this stage.

This is generally set anywhere between a few days and a few weeks after the exchange of contracts, depending on the sellers and your personal requirements. Residual monies from your mortgage company (usually about 90%) are now transferred from your lawyer’s to the seller’s lawyer’s account. Finally, congratulations! You are now the legal owner of your new home.

Buying a New Build property

Buying a new build property offers many benefits and opportunities, specific to new build developments…

Looking for a new build home? There are many benefits to purchasing your new home before it is even built. To start with, there is a good chance your property’s value could increase before you even move in.

Buying off-plan could also allow you to secure one of the best plots and give you a say over the specification of your property, such as the kitchen or bathroom finish, flooring or garden landscaping.

As a first time buyer, you may be able to make use of the Government backed Help to Buy Scheme with just a minimum 5% deposit.

The Government will lend you up to 20% of the value of your property. The loan is interest-free for five years and you only need to secure a 75% mortgage. For more information on Help to Buy, click here.