Good planning is essential if your property purchase is to be successful. The entire process is generally anticipated to take around six months from start to finish. Here's a rough guide:
- 12 weeks from beginning the search to having an offer accepted
- Approximately four weeks from offer acceptance to receiving a mortgage offer
- Approximately four weeks from mortgage offer to exchange of contracts
- Approximately two weeks from the exchange of contracts to completion
This is the largest sum you are ever likely to spend on anything - until the next time you move. So, work out exactly how much you can afford to spend. Remember to leave cash for: stamp duty, the solicitor, the structural surveyor, land registry fees, local authority searches, the lender's legal fee, the lender's survey, the removal company and any immediate works that your surveyor advises (or mortgage company insists) should be done.
Buying a property always turns out to be more expensive than it appears at first. It is best to overestimate the cost of everything by at least 10%-20%. Be prepared for costly surprises - for instance, the vendor might take away essential light fittings that will have to be replaced before you can move in.
A conditional offer will give you a head start.
Find out how much you can afford. Ask your bank, building society or other lender just how much money they will lend you and the deals they have on offer. When you have decided upon one, ensure that they make you an offer in writing: proof that you have finance in place will make you more attractive as a buyer to vendors. You can usually borrow up to 2.5 or three times your current salary - but remember that you will still need something left at the end of each month to go out, buy clothes and take the odd holiday. As a rule, mortgage repayments should not exceed a third of your net monthly income.
You will also have to pay:
- Buildings and contents insurance
- Life assurance cover
- Council tax
- Maintenance costs (utilities, servicing, repair)
- If buying a leasehold property or a flat, there will be a service charge and/or ground rent
One-off costs when buying a house include:
- Solicitor/conveyance fees - allow around one per cent of the purchase price plus VAT
- Searches and disbursements - typically anywhere between GBP35 andGBP200
- Land registry fee dependent on value of property. For property valued between GBP100,001 and GBP200,000, the fee will be around GBP200
- Property below GBP125,000 is exempt from stamp duty, as are certain postcodes - it is always worth checking. Stamp duty of one per cent is payable on properties between GBP125,001 and GBP250,000
- Survey costs - anywhere between GBP250 and GBP1,000 depending on the type you commission
- Mortgage lender's arrangement fee - only applicable on certain mortgages
