5 Steps In The House-Buying Process You Need To Know

Getting a property purchase right is a pretty important thing to do. It’s not like buying a pair of shoes that you can take back a week or so later when you realise the colour isn’t right or the fit isn’t working for you. A house is a lot more important than a pair of shoes, so it’s important that you get the process right.

Making the process straightforward is the best thing that you can do for your own peace of mind and stress levels, so check out the five steps that you can follow to make buying your first home simple and as uncomplicated as possible.

Sort Your Budget

Before you buy a house and before you start looking at houses that you could purchase, you need to set yourself a budget. Speak to a mortgage broker and speak to the bank about your affordability and remember that as a first-time buyer, you need to have a deposit of at least 5%, plus fees and taxes. Lenders often will offer you up to four times your current income if you are buying on your own. Not only do you need to budget for the house you are buying, but you need to ensure you can make the monthly repayments on the mortgage you get approved for. This is on top of keeping money aside for repairs and insurance.

Make An Offer

The next step in the house-buying process once you’ve found a home you love is to make an offer. By this point, you will have fallen in love with a home and made sure that you can afford the repayments. Always offer just below asking price, but not enough to make it look like you are taking advantage of the fact the house is on sale. Be aware of the condition of the property before you make that offer and always get a house inspected properly.

Conveyancing Next!

If your offer gets accepted, it’s time to instruct a solicitor to work on your behalf. They will need to carry out all the legal stuff for you to get the property into your name. You have to arrange surveys, get a valuation of the property with your mortgage lender and if possible, get an independent valuation as well. It may seem like a lot of cash to spend, but it will be worth it!

Contract Exchange

Once all the searches that are necessary have been completed, your solicitor will contact you to let you know. You will have been called with a firm offer from the lender, and you should be ready to exchange contracts at this point. This is where you will start looking at buildings and contents insurance, especially if this is a condition of your mortgage.

Completion

You’ve made it! You have crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on the biggest purchase you will ever make. Once you know your completion date, you can start booking movers to get you sorted for the big day!