1st Time Buyers

As a first time buyer the whole concept of purchasing your new home will probably appear to be a daunting prospect. We hope to provide you with a simple guide to assist you in getting on the property ladder.

The Financial Services Authority does not regulate estate agency business.

The ‘rungs on the property ladder are as follows’:

1. Establish How Much You Can Borrow
   This is the first rung on the ladder. You would need to either contact a lender directly or you can contact ourselves; we have access to over 4,000 mortgage deals.
2. How Much Of A Deposit Have You Available
   Having established how much you can borrow you will now need to determine how much you can raise, by way of a deposit (if you are unable to raise a deposit there is always the possibility that we could arrange a 100% mortgage on your behalf). You should however be aware that in setting up the mortgage that there will be initial costs involved and you should have sufficient savings in place to cover these costs. These initial costs include valuation fees, legal fees (including Solicitor’s fees as well as local searches, Land Registry fees etc.) and Stamp Duty*. (extra fees may be payable with regards to solicitor fees. Higher lending charges may apply).
   
   * Stamp Duty is payable to the Inland Revenue on the purchase of a property whose purchase price is in excess of £120,000. The Duty payable is 1% of the full purchase price. If the purchase price exceeds £250,000 the Duty increases to 3% of the full purchase price. If the purchase price exceeds £500,000 the Duty increases to 4% of the full purchase price.
3. Find A Property
   Once you’ve calculated how much you have available to purchase your first home you can then start looking around for a suitable property, within your established price range.
4. Agree Price & Terms
   When you’ve found your ideal home you can contact the Estate Agent and let them know that you wish to make an ‘Offer’ to purchase the property and how much you are willing to pay. The Estate Agent will contact the ‘Vendor’ (i.e. person selling the property) and if your ‘Offer’ is acceptable they will let you know.
5. Apply For Mortgage
   At this stage you will need to apply for your mortgage. Once again we would be happy to assist in the completion of the necessary paperwork.
6. Application & Associated Paperwork Submitted
   Having submitted your application to the chosen Lender, together with any associated fees (i.e. valuation and/or administration fees) they will process your application. The initial processing will involve checking your credit worthiness as well as taking up suitable references. Once this has been undertaken and the Lender is happy to progress your application, they will instruct the Valuer to undertake a property inspection. Upon receipt of the Property Inspection Report and assuming there are no problems with the state of repair the Lender will issue their Mortgage Offer Letter
7. Instruct Conveyancer/Solicitor
   It would also make sense in appointing a Solicitor/Conveyancer to handle the legal aspects of the purchase. He/she will be responsible for carrying out the required local searches, Land Registry fees (generally these tasks are not started until the Solicitor is sure that a Lender is prepared to offer you a mortgage on the selected property).
8. Valuation/Survey (Lender will instruct their own Valuer) -
   At this stage your Solicitor will become more involved in the process of the purchase whereupon he/she will check the Mortgage Offer, complete the searches and Land Registry requirements and then liaise with the Vendor’s own Solicitor and the Lender’s legal department in drawing up the appropriate legal documentation and arrange for the transfer of purchase monies.
9. Lender Assess Application & Associated Paperwork
   Up until such time as you sign the completion documents (i.e. the Contract) you are not committed to the purchase of the property. If a problem arose regarding the purchase you are free to back out of the transaction up until this time. However, once Contracts are Exchanged (i.e. between the Vendor & Purchaser) you are legally obliged to proceed with the purchase.
10. Mortgage Offer Issued (copy to Conveyancer/Solicitor)
    
11. Conveyancer/Solicitor Completes Searches & Land Registry Requirements
12. Contract Prepared
    (liaison between buyer & seller conveyancer/solicitor)
13. Contracts Exchanged Between Buyer & Seller
14. Completion
    You are now the proud owner of your first home!

We hope this brief guide of the property purchase process has been helpful it is by no means to be considered a comprehensive or exhaustive appraisal of the purchase process it is merely a guide. Obviously if problems are encountered with the mortgage or the property itself then this could complicate the process.

Please be aware that Personal Touch Northumberland are always available to answer any queries that you might have and help you along the way!

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

FREE mortgage consultation! We do not charge a fee for arranging your mortgage. We offer a range of ways to pay for our service, including a fee and non-fee options. We would ONLY charge a fee of £250 if you, as our client, elected to pay us a fee rather than have us receive commission from the lender.

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