Property Purchase

Buying a property is more than likely going to be the biggest purchase that you make in your lifetime. It can be a confusing, often time-consuming, and complex process, and you might be wondering where to start.

The first and most important thing to consider is whether you have your finances in order and can afford the property you want to buy. You can then look at the areas you are interested in buying property in to make sure it is affordable for you, and work out the size of the property you can afford.

Costs associated with buying property

There are many costs to think about when buying property on top of the price of the home itself. These include:

  • Stamp duty land tax (SDLT)
  • Property surveys
  • Valuation fees
  • Conveyancing fees
  • Mortgage broker fees
  • Removal costs
  • Repairs and alterations
  • Furniture

You should take all this into consideration when deciding how much you want to borrow from the lender. You should look at your finances including, your income, savings, and your outgoings and work out what is affordable for you each month. You should also consider the possibility of rising interest rates, and whether you’d be able to afford the mortgage if the interest rates went up.

Finding the right property for you

When looking for a property, make sure you do your research on the local area. It is recommended to visit the property at different times of the day, speak to neighbours and explore the neighbourhood to make sure it’s somewhere you’d be happy to live. Buying a home is a big and expensive decision, so you want to make sure you’re doing it right.

When looking at leasehold properties, you should aim for properties that have a minimum of 83 years on the lease. This is because extending the lease can be a costly legal process, and homes with short leases can be much harder to sell. When purchasing a leasehold property, you must wait two years after the sale before you can start to extend the lease. The laws on leasehold properties are currently being revised, so it is worth keeping up to date with the news to see if these changes will affect you in the future.

As a mortgage is secured on your home, please note that your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

How the process works

Once you’ve found a property you like, the next step is to put in an offer. This is where you tell the seller that you want to buy the property and how much you’d like to buy it for.

You can only put in an offer if you have the funds available or have an agreement in principle from a mortgage lender. An agreement in principle is where the lender tells you how much you can borrow from them based on your current financial situation. When putting in an offer, having proof of your deposit and an agreement in principle can greatly increase the chances of your offer being accepted, as it sets you apart from the competition.

The seller may reject your initial offer and ask for a higher amount, especially if you offered under the asking price or there is a lot of offers on the property already. There is often some negotiation involved at this stage.

Once the seller has accepted your offer, you can arrange for a property survey to check the condition of the property. Your conveyancer will carry out the necessary legal checks. If the property survey picks up any major issues, you can get quotes for the works and negotiate the original sale price with the seller. There are different types of surveys available, depending on how much detail you’d like on the property condition.

When both parties are ready to exchange, you pay the deposit and are no longer able to back out of the sale without losing out financially.

Completion is where the rest of the funds are exchanged in return for the keys and the title deeds. At this point, the property is officially yours.

Existing lender mortgage port service

If you are in an existing deal with your current lender and want to move, we can port (move) your existing mortgage to a new property and borrow additional funds with the same lender. The main reason for taking this option is that you can move house and avoid redemption penalties that would apply if you were to exit your current deal.

3 easy steps to your new mortgage

  1. Fill out our online form, request a call back or call us
  2. One of our advisers contacts you to learn more about your situation
  3. Relax while we find you the right mortgage
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