Home Buyers Guide

Home Buyers usually find the whole buying process to be drawn out and complicated. Indeed although buying a house is an exciting prospect it is still considered to be one of life's most stressful events. Most people are only homebuyers 3 or 4 times in their lives so the process remains unfamiliar to many.

Our Home Buyers guide can help you through the process:

1. Finance

The first decision for any home buyer is how much you have to spend. This is calculated by how much equity you have in your current home (obviously none if you are a first time buyer), and the amount of savings you have to put forward towards a deposit. You then need to see what mortgage you can get based on your salary. Banks normally give up to 4 times the income of a household. So, for example, if you have a 50k deposit (made up from savings, equity or help from parents) and earn 30k a year you can afford a �170k house.

2. Mortgage

The next stage is to arrange for your mortgage offer in principle. Your lender does a quick assessment (a credit check) and makes an in principle agreement to lend you a specified amount.

3. What home to buy?

Once you decide your budget, it's time to think about where you want to live, and what sort of house you want to buy. Do want a quiet area, or the busy city life? House or flat? Garden or parking?

4. Find a home

Have a look at what is available via your local estate agents or visit a property portal such as www.rightmove.co.uk. Once you've found a house that fits your requirements, call the estate agent and arrange a viewing.

5. Making an Offer

If you find a home you want to buy, then contact the estate agents and make an offer. You do not have to offer full asking price, most vendors will be prepared to negotiate.

6. Appoint a solicitor

Once your offer is accepted you should appoint a solicitor to carry out the legal conveyancing on your behalf.

7. Arrange Mortgage

Home buyers then need to complete a mortgage application which will also generally require proof of salary/identity. There is normally a setup or product fee charged at time of application. The lender generally requires a surveyor to visit the property to ensure the value is sufficient security to lend against, you will be charged for the cost of the valuation.

8. Home Buyers Survey

Normally the mortgage lender will only require a valuation survey. However it is often wise to get a Home Buyers Survey as this provides more in depth investigation into possible issues with the property such as damp, subsidence and structural issues.

9. Conveyancing Process

Your solicitor will request a draft contract, make standard enquires and apply for local searches. Once your solicitor is satisfied with the responses they will approve the draft contract. Your solicitor will then explain all of the information that has been received and the responsibilities you will have as a home owner and borrower. When this is done you will be asked to sign the contract.

10. Mortgage Offer

Your solicitor will receive the mortgage offer from lender. Remember when you take out a mortgage your solicitor also acts for the lender. They will need instructions from the mortgage lender before exchange. When this is done they are asked to sign the contract.

11. Pay Deposit

As the home buyer you normally need to pay a deposit to the seller's solicitor. This is usually between 5% and 10% of the purchase price. If you are also selling a property, the deposit paid by your buyers can sometimes be used.

12. Exchange

When your solicitor has a signed contract, mortgage offer, and an agreed completion date, they will inform the seller's solicitor that you are ready to exchange. Once all the legal issue have been dealt with, contracts are exchanged. You are now legally bound to buy and the vendor to sell.

13. Completion

Upon completion of contracts funds are transferred from the home buyer to the seller, and you legally own the house. You would then take possession of the keys and move in. Failure to complete on the agreed date will result in the party at fault being in breach of Contract.

The home buyers process is relatively complicated and even in good market conditions will normally take over 12 weeks, which is twice as long as in Europe. If you are selling your house as well as purchasing, it's normally considered good practice to sell your house first, which saves a lot of hassle and uncertainty.

Remember if you need to sell your house quickly to buy a new home, Quick Move Now can help. We are the UK's leading home buyers and will buy your home using our own cash. This guarantees the sale and lets you avoid the pain of a chain break or of a buyer pulling out at the last minute. Call us today on 0800 068 3366 or complete our free online estimate.