Buying

A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO BUYING A PROPERTY

Mortgage

As the housing market becomes even more competitive with many properties receiving more than one offer, it is important that you have a clear idea of how much you can afford to spend and to have a mortgage agreed in principle if a mortgage is required.

This will help a great deal as it shows estate agents that you are a serious buyer and will ensure that any offers you make are taken more seriously, putting you ahead of others who have not done this preparation.

At Thornton Robson we recommend using independent mortgage advisors that are what is known as 'whole of market'. This means they have access to all, or most of the possible deals available to you, thereby giving you the greatest choice and potentially keeping the cost of your mortgage as low as possible.

 

Register

Once you have your finances in place, registerwith us and we will try and help you find your next home.

 

Viewings

We accompany 100% of viewings to answer any questions you may have. We are always flexible and try to accommodate viewings outside of normal hours if required, such as to fit in with shift workers and people working unsociable hours etc.

Making an Offer

Once you have decided on the property you want to buy we will put your offer to the vendor. It is at this time that you will need to show your mortgage in principle to back up your offer.

Instructing a solicitor

If your offer is accepted we need to obtain proof of ID and proof of address for you before we can confirm out the sale to the solicitors. You need to choose an experienced and efficient solicitor. At Thornton Robson we can recommend a number of tried and tested solicitors who can assist you with your purchase if required.

Conveyancing

In law, conveyancing is the transfer of ownership of legal title from one person to another. The equitable interests are the exchange of contracts and settlement ( completion )

Completion is where the legal title has passed over to the purchaser.

We are able to source the most competitive of quotations for both buying and selling and we have solicitors that operate on a no sale no fee basis. This means if the sale does not go ahead for any reason, you will not be faced with a large legal bill for nothing.

Your solicitor will receive the draft contract from the vendor`s solicitor and will apply for the local searches. You will need to pay for the searches in advance but should not have to pay any further money until exchange of contracts which will be several weeks away. At this point you will usually pay at least 10% deposit but this can sometimes be reduced to 5%. The remaining balance will be paid by your mortgage lender on completion or by you if there is no mortgage.

During the process our sales progressor will keep in regular touch with you and both solicitors in order to progress the sale and keep you informed.

Survey and mortgage offer

When there is a mortgage involved the mortgage lender will instruct a surveyor to inspect the property to assess if it is worth the purchase price. This is mainly for their benefit not yours as they are usually lending a large portion of the money.

If you do not need a mortgage it is still essential to commission your own survey to ensure there are no major defects with the property, this is something we can assist with as we are able to recommend professional RICS surveyors.

Assuming you are having a mortgage and the survey is ok the mortgage offer will then be issued to you and your solicitor.

Exchange of contracts

When the solicitors have done all their searches and enquiries etc and the mortgage offer has been issued they will then agree a date for exchange of contracts between you and the vendor. Once contracts have been exchanged, this is the point as which you and the seller are legally obliged to complete the sale. If either of you withdraws after this point compensation will need to be paid to the other party, usually 10% of the sale price.

Completion

On completion day your solicitor will send all the remaining money to the vendor`s solicitor and the sale will be completed and you will be entitled to the keys for your new home.

Congratulations!

The above is a brief explanation, for any more information on the buying process please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01788 547000 or on sales@thorntonrobson.com or use the contact form on this site.

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