Buying a new house can be a real test of patience, it can also be exhausting and like most purchases it brings along with it dilemma, confusion and drama. The journey is full of ups and downs and often more downs than ups. Sometimes the house of your dreams can be found in just a few days and sometimes even with months of touring around the city you may not find your humble abode. But while you’re on the hunt to find a new house there are certain things that you should not ignore and take into consideration. Pricing One doesn’t necessarily have to pay the advertised price of a home. Normally people make a bid which is quite below the asking price. For example, if a house is being sold for £160,000 and you can afford paying £150,000 then you should give a quote of £140,000. The worse that can happen is that your quote gets rejected by the seller. But you can always get back to them with an offer of a higher price. The quote should always be made considering the post purchase expenses such as stamp duty. There can be a scenario where you make a bid that stretches you to your threshold and later find that you do not have enough money to pay stamp duty. The bid is generally made through the seller’s estate agent and he is the person who takes your quote to the seller and returns with their response. A thing that usually happens is that another buyer swoops in at the last minute, offers a higher price for the house and takes it away from under our nose. But it may not always happen. Sometimes estate agents use this as a technique to make the buyer insecure and make them buy the property in haste. It is also important to remember that one shouldn’t get sucked into a bidding war. Bidding wars can benefit only the seller and agent, and possibly a buyer with insatiable pride. So for those who do not wish to throw away their money or are devout catholics wanting to abstain from at least one of the seven sins, bidding wars are absolutely futile. If you cannot strike a deal that is within your budget, then it may be better to walk away. Certain people need to sell their property in order to buy a new house and such people should be aware of the concept of capital gains tax. If you make a profit that exceeds the yearly allowance of £11,100 by selling personal assets then you are liable to pay capital gains tax. However when this tax gets combined with the cost of a new house it may get strenous for you to arrange the required finance. In such cases you should consider availing capital gains tax loans that are provided by certain lending institutions. Mortgages If you have insufficient funds to buy your dream house and are planning to take a mortgage then you should apply for it beforehand to avoid possible delays. In case you haven’t applied already but your bid has been accepted, then you should apply for it now. There are lenders who issue mortgage in principle agreements thatguarantee you a loan of a certain amount that is subject to status and valuation.By signing up for such mortgages you can convince the seller that you are serious about purchasing and not merely window-shopping. This can add some speed to the process of buying and selling. It is also advisable to give details of your solicitor to the agent. Solicitors Ideally you should find yourself a solicitor before making the offer but if you have not done it already then you should do it right away. There are several legal aspects related to buying and selling of a property and a solicitor can give you details of these legalities. If you have a personal solicitor then its best that their consultation is taken otherwise there are other ways you can find yourself a solicitor such as contacting the Law Society or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. A good solicitor is a wise investment and you should get several quotes before going ahead with one. Survey The last thing we want to scare you about is a sinister seller and a hideous agent conspiring to dupe you of your money. But better be safe than sorry. Before making payments for any house, it is a good idea to perform a thorough inspection yourself or by hiring agencies that survey a house. Surveyors conduct three types of survey which differ in the level of inspection performed. Usually mortgage lenders conduct a survey on their behalf to get an estimate of the valuation of property and the fees for it is charged from the buyer. In most cases it is worth spending some extra money to be sure of the property you are about to buy. The survey that is mandatory and least expensive will cost you in the range of £150 to £200. But this type of survey will not bring to your notice any of the major problems with the house as it is not an in-depth inspection. In some cases when potential buyers get this kind of survey done, the team doesn’t even visit the house. The survey that is slightly costlier is the homebuyer’s survey, which should cost you around £250 or £400, depending on factors like price of the house and its size. This survey will reveal the serious defects in the property. Conducting such a survey can prove to be really beneficial for the buyer as any serious defect will be brought to their attention before making the purchase and also saves them the expense of rectifying the damage if they have bought the property and were unaware of it. However, the most thorough survey is the one for which the buyer is charged around £1000. Apart from going into small details of the house they also make suggestions about the cost of repairing the damages. For buildings that are more expensive and have been built a long time back, it may be necessary to get this survey done as such buildings are more likely to have a weaker construction. It is worth remembering that even the full building survey will not reveal the darkest secrets of a house such as those that lie under floorboards or the roof. Conveyancing The transfer of ownership is known as Conveyancing and it is considered to be the most painful part of buying a house. However, this responsibility can be handled well if you have hired a solicitor. The solicitor ensures that the seller has the legal right to sell the property. They also perform background check on the property to ensure that nobody can make a claim for it later and that there are no land disputes. Both the seller and buyer have to be involved in this process as it is extremely important from the legal point of view. It can make your days feel longer and you may get frustrated through the long paperwork and probably make you hate the legal profession sincerely. The deeds to the property must be obtained by the seller’s solicitor. The building society or bank that is responsible for lending the money usually provides the deeds. The solicitor then prepares the contract. In certain cases the solicitor also needs to obtain the ‘memorandum and articles of association’ along with the accounts of the management company that owns the leasehold properties. Due to these factors the buying process could be delayed by some time. The solicitor hired by the buyer also performs a check with the local authority to gain knowledge of the ownership of roads or sewers and proposals such as road-widening that are likely to have an impact on the property. The efficient local authorities usually return with the information within two days but it could also take longer in certain cases. As a buyer you should insist on getting the Home Information Pack from the seller as most of these details are already present in it. Even if you are satisfied with the information provided in the pack you should still consult the solicitor regarding the same. This initiative should be taken from your end, as solicitors are often busy people who do not have the time to do tasks that they have not been asked to do. Pro-active solicitors are a rare breed and you cannot expect them to actively participate in every matter related to the purchase of a property. You should keep checking up, clear all doubts that you have and contribute in any way you can to make the process faster. There should be efforts to strike a healthy relationship with the seller as it can enable you to have direct conversations with them when required. This is especially useful in cases where the seller panics about things being right and considers revising his choices at the last minute. Exchange and Completion Exchange and completion are often referred to as the most important stages in conveyancing. In this process, contracts need to be exchanged between the buyer and seller. The buyer is usually liable to make a 10% deposit after exchanging contracts and after this step the buyer and seller are legally committed to the deal. If the buyer decides to back out from the deal then he loses the deposit that he has paid to the seller. Completion is when the deal has been sealed and the ownership has been transferred from the seller to the buyer. Difficulties often find their way into things that we plan most carefully and chances are that, despite following these steps you may encounter some hurdles before you find yourself a good place to live. But it’s important to not be discouraged in this quest and not compromise on any factor as there should be nothing to regret when you look back at your choices.
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