How to simplify the house buying process

When you move home there are a number of people you have to deal with, and the process can seem unbelievably complicated at times. A decision to buy a home or move can be quickly made; you may even find your dream home very swiftly; but negotiating the only quick thing about the process is the speed at which it will bog you down!

Important people you will have deal with include the estate agent, a solicitor, a mortgage broker or lender and a surveyor. So what is it you should expect from these people?

These days more and more people are using the internet to begin their search for a home, but still most people use estate agents’ windows as their first port of call. The result of either will mean contact with an estate agent. Or, if you’re not sure at the outset what you’re looking for, you can register with an estate agent who will keep you informed of all the latest homes on offer in the categories you’re interested in.

Estate agents may ask you if you have a mortgage sorted out and the answer will probably be no at first, but vendors usually like potential buyers who are already in a position to move, so it is probably sensible to see a mortgage lender or broker to understand what you can afford. The estate agent may offer their own in-house mortgage adviser, but you should feel free to find your own.

These days there are mortgage calculators on the internet, or you can talk to your broker to see what you can afford. This will be especially relevant for first-time buyers who may have no idea what they can afford to borrow. Your broker should also advise you of all the other costs involved in moving home.

Going through the mortgage application process with a broker will also highlight any potential problem areas early on in the process, so there are no hitches at a crucial point later on. For example, someone not yet on the electoral roll will need several weeks to get on the list, and this is a pre-cursor to getting a home loan. Brokers can give you a clear indication of how much you will be able to borrow.

Many sellers prefer to have a buyer who already has their loan application underway, rather than holding out for a higher price. A solid offer to them strengthens their position as a buyer up the chain. Given two offers, one from a buyer with no mortgage in place, and the other from a buyer who has a mortgage approved, the vendor will usually opt for the latter.

Nevertheless a mortgage offer in principle is no guarantee of an offer on the property you want. The lender will make no offer until they have valued the property for themselves, and the valuation impacts the timescale of the process.

Once you have made an offer on a property you will need to notify your lender or broker so that they get a surveyor to value the property. You will need a surveyor for a full survey or a homebuyer’s report, and you can – but don’t have to – use the same surveyor. It is useful to do this as soon as possible so that you know if there are any problems with the property that might bring the purchase to a halt, or that the seller can be asked to rectify.

It is also a good time to instruct a solicitor, who will contact the estate agent foe particulars of the seller’s solicitor and begin to prepare contracts. Your job is pretty much done! There’s not much else you can do now, except rely on the professionals to carry the job through for you. The solicitors look after the legal aspect; the surveyor will visit the property and come up with a valuation, and the lender will make a decision on your mortgage application. The best you can do is to make sure you response to questions quickly, and call them every week if they’re not calling you to make sure everything is progressing well. Between you, the seller and your solicitors, you will decide on a completion date – that’s when you take ownership of the property – which will be put into the contract. Things can be slowed down if there is a long chain.

Searches will be carried out by the solicitor, and when the mortgage offer has arrived, and buyer and seller are happy with dates, contracts can be exchanged, at which point you are committed to the purchase. Time between exchange of contracts and completion is usually two to four weeks.

On completion day you will need to get the keys off the estate agent as soon as the monies have been transferred from your lender to the vendor. Your solicitor will tell you when this has been done.

From start to finish the whole process normally takes about two to three months, if everything goes fairly smoothly.