Guide To Buying A Property

There are various steps to buying a property, we summarise some of the main steps and what to expect at each stage.

Finding a property

The first step on your journey to acquiring a property would be to research what is out there and in your budget. You should also consider how you would fund the purchase, whether you would buy using cash or be looking to take out a mortgage in which case you should obtain an agreement in principle from a lender as most estate agents would ask for this when booking viewings.

Make an offer

After you have viewed some properties and are happy with one in particular, you can make an offer to the estate agent. They will then inform the vendor and if the vendor is happy with the offer, they will either accept or reject it.

Instruct a solicitor

Once your offer is accepted, you should instruct your solicitor and pass these details on to the estate agent. They will then handle the legal transfer of the property from this point.

Instruct a surveyor

You may wish to instruct a surveyor in order to assess the property and provide you with detailed feedback as to the properties condition and value. There are different levels of surveys that you can obtain depending upon your needs.

Enquiries and searches

Your solicitor will then request various searches such as local authority searches to make sure that there are no issues that you should be aware of. They will also raise enquiries with the vendors solicitor to confirm answers to questions that may not be clear.

Proof of funds

In order to progress, your solicitor will require proof of funds from you in the form of bank statements if you are a cash buyer or a mortgage offer if you are obtaining a mortgage.

Sign contract

The solicitor will then send you the contract and transfer form as well as mortgage deeds to sign, once you have signed and returned these back, they can then discuss completion dates with you.

Completion date agreed

At this point, the completion date is usually agreed and contracts can be formally exchanged. It is at this point when contracts are exchanged that both the buyer and seller are legally committed to the sale. On the completion day, when the sellers solicitor confirms they have received the funds, you will then be able to collect the keys from the estate agent.