The purchasing process
One in three offers actually ends up falling through. Purchasing your dream home first time round, may not happen. Your negotiating skills come into play at this stage, getting the right price and keeping things on track is extremely important.
As soon as your offer is accepted, process your application with your mortgage lender and arrange a date for a survey to be done. The survey will vary depending on how in- depth you want it to be. Your mortgage lender will insist that you have a survey; this will inform your lender of the property’s value. It is advisable to have a full structural survey especially if you are purchasing an older property.
Depending on the result of the survey, it may be possible to negotiate on the sale price or come to an agreement over repairs or upgrades. When the offer has been accepted and both parties are happy, a conveyancer should be employed to work through the legal process. A conveyancer will deal with the finances, exchange the deeds and be responsible for overseeing the contract.
Once the mortgage offer is on the table and the contract is acceptable, both parties will agree an exchange date. This is the time to hand over your deposit and agree on a date to complete the process. The mortgage loan is released on completion day and your dream property becomes your home. Usually the timeline for this process is anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months, but expect the unexpected, as issues can crop up and hinder the process.
The average cost of purchasing a property
Conveyancing Costs
£500-£1,500 (can be dependant upon the difficulty and time spent upon the transaction)
Mortgage fee
£0-£1,000
Survey
£300
Local authority search fees
£300
Land Registry fees
£259
Mortgage broker’s fee
0-1%
Stamp duty land tax
0-5% depending on the property’s value
Building insurance
£300
Service charges and ground rent on leasehold flats
£100-£4,000
