Home Solutions

BUYING

When you start the process of buying your home, you will have many questions that you need answering. It is an exciting time but it can be daunting as well as being hard to know where to start. At Home Solutions we want to take the anxiety and stress away and make the whole process more enjoyable. This guide takes you through the process from your initial research to moving in.

Affordability
Before getting serious with your search, it is a good idea to work out how much you can afford to borrow. At Mortgage Solutions, we look at your net monthly income, your outgoings and what disposable income you have. This is to ensure that you are not stretched financially and can comfortably afford the monthly repayments. We can work out how much you could borrow within minutes. We can also provide you with examples of what your monthly repayments might be on different mortgage agreements. We will ensure you have a mortgage agreed in principle, which will be required by all agents when making an offer on any property. Call Mortgage Solutions now to find the best deal for you.

Start looking
Now you know what you can afford, you can begin your search! Think over these questions first...

How many reception rooms would you like?
How many bedrooms do you need?
Are car parking facilities important?
Do you need a garden?
Do you need a school nearby?
Do you need to be close to your workplace?
Would you prefer new or older properties?
Do you prefer the town or somewhere more rural?

Once you have an idea of your basic requirements, Home Solutions can register your details and help you in your search for your ideal home.

Make an offer
Now you have found your ideal home, you will want to make an offer on the property. Remember that the price the seller is asking for is not necessarily the price they will finally accept. Your first offers can be lower than the asking price. Although, if there has been a lot of interest in the property it could be wise to make an offer close to the asking price. Once your offer is accepted, it will be confirmed in writing. However, do remember, the property is not officially yours until legally binding contracts are exchanged and the monies have been paid over. You may have heard of 'gazumping'. This is where a seller has agreed to sell their property to you but later accepts another (normally higher) offer and rejects yours. This can be frustrating and costly, but is not illegal. You have to think, it was not meant to be and you are sure to find a better property waiting for you around the corner.

Offer accepted
Congratulations! Your offer has been accepted. Now, you need to work through the legal steps to secure ownership of your new home. At this point, you should inform your mortgage advisor that your offer has been accepted so they can complete the mortgage and instruct a survey to be done on the property. If using Mortgage Solutions we will arrange this for you.

This guide will explain your legal requirements and how the law is different depending on which part of the UK you are living in.

England & Wales
The property can be advertised as "Under Offer" or "Sold Subject to Contract".

Under Offer, means that the seller has been made an offer for the property but has not yet decided whether to accept.
Sold Subject to Contract means that the seller has accepted an offer but the sale has not been finalised. Properties, which are Sold Subject to Contract, are usually pending surveys or completion of paperwork.

Scotland

Once your offer has been accepted it is legally binding and you will usually have arranged surveys and solicitors before making an offer on the property.

Choose your solicitor
Buying a home can be a complex process and many of the documents you will be asked to read and sign will include unfamiliar legal terms. Most solicitors will be happy to explain anything you do not understand, so if something is not completely clear, do not be afraid to ask.
Here at Home Solutions we work alongside local solicitors and with the same aim as ourselves, they will provide you with a professional but friendlier service making the whole process as stress free as possible.
Your solicitor carries out the conveyancing, which is the legal process of handing over a property from one person to another. They also have a duty to protect your interests so they will investigate the legal aspects of the property such as its boundaries and exactly what is included in the sale.
Your solicitor will carry out a ‘search’ to determine, for example, whether someone has gained planning permission to build something close to your home which could reduce the value of your property, then make sure the sale is completed once contracts are exchanged.

Have the property surveyed
A survey will give you a good idea of the property's condition and value. There are different types of survey, from a simple valuation indicating how much the property is worth, to a full structural survey. It is always worth spending as much as you can afford on your survey, as it will highlight potential problems such as damp and subsidence. Mortgage Solutions will help you decide which is the right survey for you. If problems become known, you are within your rights to try to re-negotiate or withdraw your offer. If you withdraw your offer due to problems with the property, you cannot get a refund on your survey. However, it is always worth spending a little money now, to prevent spending thousands of pounds in the future.

Exchanging contracts
You are nearly there! As long as there were no problems with the survey, the solicitors from both sides will draw up formal contracts for you and the seller to sign. These contracts are legally binding once exchanged so make sure that you are totally prepared to go ahead. On the day agreed by both parties for completion the mortgage funds will be released to your solicitor who in turn transfers them to the seller's solicitor.

Moving day!
The day has finally arrived! Keys to your new home are normally collected from the estate agent who will contact you once completion has taken place. If you have many possessions it is a good idea to book a professional removal firm to help you. You should also contact the utilities companies in advance to make sure that you have heat and light, and a phone connection ready for when you move into the property.
One of the most time consuming jobs is informing the various organisations of your new address, you will also need to ask the Post Office to redirect your mail.

There's no place like home!

Call Mortgage Solutions on 01482 877787

524 Holderness Road Kingston upon Hull East Yorkshire HU9 3DT

T: 01482 783111 E: www.homesolutionshull.co.uk