Step 1. Register with Dawson Estates
Give us a call, or pop-in to our office for a chat. Let us find out what you’re looking for, where you'd like to live, and what you’d like to spend.
This lets us match you to the right properties as and when they land on our radar, and can help make sure you don’t miss out on that dream home.
Step 2. Get your finance in place
We recommend to all our buyers that they try to get their finance to purchase a new property in place as early as they can. This lets you move quickly, and puts you ahead of the competition for a popular house, cottage or apartment. Even having everything agreed in principal works to your advantage.
Paying in cash? Ensure you can access your funds quickly and easily. And don’t forget to budget for any repairs, renovations and removal costs, as well as stamp duty. Stamp duty is currently charged at the following rates - https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates.
Step 3. Making the offer
When you’ve found that dream property, we’ll have a chat with you about the offer you’d like to make, offering advice based on our 20+ years experience in purchasing properties.
We’ll clarify how you intend to fund the purchase, and talk about details such as the deposit, and evidence of finance if you’re paying by cash.
If you have a mortgage arranged, we’ll ask you to provide an agreement in principal (AIP) document, which will help to clarify the timeframe for processing your application.
Step 4. The Survey
If you’re buying your new home with a mortgage, your lender will arrange a survey of the property.
This just makes sure that your lender is offering a mortgage that’s worth the offer price, and highlights any defects that could affect the security of their loan.
Step 5. The Mortgage Offer
Once the survey report comes back to your lender, they’ll get in touch with you to confirm they’re satisfied that the loan amount is realistic to that of the valuation, and issue a mortgage offer to your solicitor or conveyancer.
Step 6. Conveyancing
We’ll contact each party’s solicitor when an offer has been agreed between you and the seller. And we’ll confirm details of the sale.
Offers aren’t legally binding until the exchange of contracts and we’ll liaise between each party to keep track of the progression of the sale, and any other sales that might be in the chain.
Step 7. Exchanging Contracts
This is the really exciting bit. When the sale becomes legally binding! This happens when you’ve paid a cleared deposit to your solicitor’s account.
Once everyone has been notified of exchange, a legally binding completion date is set by mutual agreement.
Step 8. Completion
Ok - maybe THIS is the really exciting bit!
Once purchase is finalised, your solicitor and mortgage lender will transfer the outstanding funds to the seller’s solicitor. Your solicitor will contact you and us when this has happened.
That’s when we’ll hand over the keys, allowing you to crack open the champagne, and move in.
You can find out more details about buying a home on the government website.
Ready to buy your new home? Get in touch with Dawsons Estates today.