First time buyers Guide

The House Buying Process

Buying your first home can seem like a daunting prospect – it may be the first time you have dealt with solicitors of mortgage companies. There is a great deal to take into consideration and several ‘parties’ to manage. However, plenty or people have done it before you, so it’s not too difficult.

It’s best to be armed with some information about the process and of who is expected to do what. Here is our guide:

The main participants in the process are you (the purchaser), the property seller (the vendor), the estate agent, the solicitor, the mortgage broker and lender and finally the surveyor.

The solicitor you appoint to carry out the ‘conveyancing’ will lead the contractual aspects of the process and will be a great help to you, but you might need to ‘chivvy’ from time to time.

Here’s our step by step guide to how it goes and who does what.

1. Having decided you want to purchase a home, you, or you and your friend/partner will need to decide where you want to buy, what sort of amenities you need nearby and what your requirements are from the property you want.
2. You amass the money you have at your disposal for use as a deposit. Remember to account for house-purchasing and set up costs.
3. Contact a mortgage broker or advisor, they will help you choose the right mortgage. They will help you with your application and you will receive a ‘decision in principle’ on the amount you can borrow.
4. Register with estate agents in the area you want to live, also search on line on the property portals.
5. Find a solicitor to carry out the conveyancing and to draw up any agreements if you are buying with a friend.
6. Start looking at properties that fit the bill and are within your budget.
7. Make an offer to buy the property based on what you have seen and information in the home information pack.
8. If the vendor accepts your offer and conditions, ask the estate agent to take the property off the market.
9. Instruct the solicitor you have chosen to act on your behalf and give him the details of the property location, and the vendor’s estate agent.
10. The solicitor will contact the vendor’s solicitor requesting title deeds to the property. He will initiate contractual proceedings.
11. Find a surveyor and ask for a home-buyers report or a survey to be carried out.
12. The mortgage lender will carry out a valuation of the property.
13. The mortgage lender, on sight of the property valuation and data backing up your application agrees to lend you the money for the property.
14. Send a copy of your survey report to the solicitor. He will send you his view on it and you may want to discuss any remedial work you want to request.
15. The solicitor will check the property, carry out local authority searches – which you may want to supplement – and find out if any alterations have been made.  This would be the time to negotiate fixtures and fittings.
16. The solicitor will finalise the details in the contract with the seller’s solicitor and confirms mortgage details with your mortgage lender.
17. You pay a deposit into your solicitor’s account. He holds it there until exchange of contracts.
18. On the day of exchange of contracts, your solicitor exchanges contracts with the seller’s solicitor and sends the deposit over. A date for completion (when you can accept the key and move in), which will have been proposed before-hand is agreed upon.
19. Your solicitor will liaise with your lender to ensure the mortgage is available on the completion date.
20. Your solicitor will prepare the property transfer deed, which is signed by you and the seller and lodged with the seller’s solicitor until completion.
21. The mortgage lender transfers the money into your solicitor’s account ready for completion.
22. On completion day, your solicitor transfers the money to the sellers’ solicitor in return for the transfer deed, Land Registry certificate and the keys. The sale is completed.
23. Your solicitor arranges for the transfer deed to be stamped, pays the stamp duty and sends the transfer deed to the Land Registry to record you as the new owner.
24. Your solicitor passes the deed to your mortgage lender as security for the loan and then he will send you the bill for his services and costs.

The main players:

Conveyancing Solicitor:
You may have friends or family who recommend a solicitor to carry out your conveyancing for you. Ring round a few and ask them how they structure their charges, whether it’s a fixed fee or a percentage, and what the costs might be. You might want to make sure they use email if that’s more convenient for you. Ask them what their searches cover, use this in conjunction with the home information packs to see if there is any other information you think you need about the area around your chosen property.

Estate Agent:
All the estate agents you contact will be eager to sell you a property. If first time properties are thin on the ground you will need to maintain a good relationship with them. However, don’t waste time on properties you know you would never buy or can’t afford. They can be a good link to the property seller so stay in contact with them.  Their costs are paid by the vendor.

Mortgage Broker and Lender:
It is possible to liaise with a lender direct and choose one of their first time buyer mortgages. However, the beauty of consulting with a mortgage broker or advisor is that you will have access to a much greater range of mortgages with the added benefit of his expertise of the different lenders, mortgages, rates and charges.

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