Once you have made that all important decision to buy a new property there are a number of steps that need to be taken in order to proceed with the proposed purchase:
- Mortgage – Unless you are a cash buyer you will need to obtain a mortgage agreement in principle.
- Find a property – Take your time to find that dream home and then make an offer based on the advice provided by one of our team.
- Sale agreed – negotiations to agree the final price of the property that you have chosen.
- Conveyancing – At this stage you will need to appoint a solicitor to handle all of the legal aspects involved in the buying process.
- Mortgage Application – Contact your mortgage adviser/broker and complete a full mortgage application.
- Survey – If you are buying with a mortgage your lender will organise a basic mortgage survey of the property. Alternatively if you are buying with cash you may wish to organise your own survey.
- Contracts – A draft contract will now be drawn up by the vendor’s solicitor and sent to your solicitor who will then make preliminary enquiries.
- Exchange contracts – Both parties will now be required to sign the final contract. It is now that it becomes legally binding and completion dates are agreed.
- Prepare to move – Now is the time to pay any outstanding utility bills and arrange for your post to be redirected.
- Completion – Your solicitor will now transfer the final balance and notify you as soon as the transaction goes through. Collect the keys and settle into your new home.
Buyer’s FAQs
There are a number of factors that can affect the speed at which the sale goes through but normally we would expect a straightforward purchase to take around 8 weeks to complete.
While we don’t officially endorse any firm we can provide you with guidance depending on the type of property that you are looking to buy and the price that it is on the market for.
● You will pay nothing on the first £125,000
● 2% on the next £125,000
● 5% on the next £675,000
● 10% on the next £575,000
● 12% on the rest (above £1.5 million)
From 1 April 2016 Stamp Duty Land Tax increased by 3% on top of current rates for purchases of additional residential properties above £40,000, which includes buy-to-lets and second homes.
If you are a cash buyer you are not obligated to have a survey carried out although you may wish to do so. If you are borrowing from a mortgage lender they will conduct a basic survey for their own purposes which you may then choose to upgrade to a homebuyers report if you so wish. This will identify any problems that aren’t immediately obvious as well as any repairs that they would recommend need carrying out.
After all of the conveyancing has successfully been completed your solicitor will request the transfer of funds from your lender which would normally take about 5 working days.
If we marketed the property then the keys would usually be available to collect from our office on the day of completion.
Need more info? Email us at sales@cosgroves.co.uk or give us a call on 02392 827 827 and we’d be happy to help.
