BUYING A HOUSE CHECKLIST
Whether you’re buying your first property or apartment in London or just haven’t done it for a while below you’ll find our step-by-step house buying checklist to ensure you have everything you need.
Arrange Your Mortgage
Before you start your search for your next home we recommend you read through this buying a house checklist. Finding out how much you can spend can help prevent heartache later on. A great place to find out is either through an independent financial advisor or asking for advice from your bank. Once they’ve helped you work out what’s affordable they can help you obtain a mortgage in principle. This allows you to move quickly when you find the perfect property and also tells sellers that your finances are in place.
Register With Us
Once you’ve found out how much you can afford you can either register with us by sending an email or giving us a call. After we’ve got a few details we can keep you up to date with the latest properties as and when they come on the market.
viewings time
Victoria Park, Hackney wick, Homerton, Hackney Marshes, Mile End and Bow are a very popular areas and as such properties don’t hang around.  That’s why Robert Alan Homes does everything it can to ensure you get to see a property as soon as possible. We’ll be on hand to answer any questions you might have and if we can’t answer them be sure to pass them on to the vendor for you.
Make An Offer
After you’ve seen the property that’s right for you all you have to do is get in touch with one of our agents and make an offer – we’ll do everything we can to help you secure your dream home. The offer will be submitted both verbally and in writing to detail any special conditions you may have. At this point there are no legal obligations until a contract is signed. Having a good solicitor at this point can help make things a lot simpler. While looking for a property it’s well worth finding a solicitor who will be able to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s when it comes to buying.
Offer Accepted
Once you and the seller have agreed on terms that’s where our agents gets started on all the little things that make a sale happen. These include preparing a memorandum of sale, writing to all parties to confirm the price and asking you to get in touch with your solicitors to oversee all the legal aspects of the move. You’ll also need to get in touch with your mortgage provider and give them all the details of your purchase so they can arrange for your loan to proceed.
The Small Print
Your solicitor will then make sure the property’s ownership transfers over to you. They will also become the main point of contact between you and the seller’s solicitor. Your solicitor will conduct their own local searches, look over the draft contract to make sure there’s nothing awry and keep you informed with the progress of the completion.
Carrying Out A Survey
Your mortgage advisor will instruct you to carry out a survey to make sure the house is structurally sound. A surveyor will go to the house you want to buy and do a thorough inspection and also suggest whether the price you’re paying is in accordance with the condition. They will then file a report to the mortgage lender and you. Once your mortgage lender has received the report providing everything is A-ok they will issue a formal mortgage offer. This will have a time limit on it so sign it and return it as soon as possible.
Exchange
Once your contract has been received and your mortgage lender has sent an offer to your solicitor an exchange of contracts can take place. At this point your deposit – which is normally a minimum of 10% the value of the property – will be transferred to the seller’s solicitor. After leaping that hurdle and the money has cleared all parties can then agree on a completion date which is the day you can move in to your new home.
Party Time
Congratulations! Once the mortgage lender has transferred the balance to secure the property and the completion date has been agreed we’ll happily hand over the keys. We hope your found this buying a house checklist helpful.
