Stages of Buying a Property
Although buying a home is the dream of everybody, the process can be exhaustive and daunting especially for the first time home buyers. The decisions you make during the purchase process can save you or cost you a lot of money. Luckily, with our step-by-step guide on how to buy a home, you can avoid the costly mistakes and enjoy a more straightforward buying process.
1) Finding Your Ideal Property
Before you start hunting for your dream home, it is necessary that you first understand what you can afford based on the mortgage that you can qualify for as well as the monthly mortgage payments that you will be required to pay.
To make the buying process less troublesome, you should make an early arrangement for a mortgage. You can apply for a mortgage from a mortgage broker, a mortgage lender and an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA). Once you find the right mortgage, you should agree to it as the principal amount.
2) Make an Offer
Once you make up your mind on the property that you would like to buy, you should go ahead and make an offer. You should seek the services of an experienced estate agent when making an offer. Most estate agents only charge when you are selling a property; typically a small fee of between 0.5 and 3%+VAT of the selling price.
3) Arrange For a Solicitor and Surveyor
Before you can finalise the offer, you should seek the services of a solicitor to help you handle the legal aspects of the process and a surveyor to help you check for problems that might affect the cost of the home. The cost varies among solicitors, and thus, it is necessary to clarify before using their services. To check the legal aspect of the home, the solicitor will submit searches to the local council, which can result in additional charges.
4) Finalise the Offer and Mortgage
If the survey in stage 3 finds problems that will be expensive to fix, you should renegotiate the price of your new home. You might also consider renegotiating the price of the property if the lender values the property at a lower price. If you are satisfied, you should go ahead and finalise the offer and mortgage.
5) Exchanging Contracts
If you are all in agreement about the price, you should go ahead and receive the contract to sign and thus, complete the buying process. However, before you can put a signature on the contract, you should go through it with your solicitor to ensure that all the details are correct. If there are things you do not understand, you should seek clarifications until you are satisfied.
6) Completion and Final Steps
In this last stage, you will transfer the remaining amount for the home as well as settle all other fees including the mortgage account fee, the solicitor's fee and stamp duty. After completing the payment for the home, the solicitor will register the sale with the land Registry for properties in England and Wales. After completing the payments, you can move in at your convenience.
Explore more:
What are Conveyancing Searches?
Exchanging Contracts when Buying a House
Buying a property with a Partner or Friend
Are you looking for an Independent Chartered Surveyor in Maidstone or Kent? Follow this link to find a homebuyer Surveyor near you.
Are you looking for an Independent Chartered Surveyor in the Maidstone or Kent area, follow this link to find a RICS building surveyor in Maidstone and Kent.