 | Register yourself with as many Agents in the area that you are
looking as possible. |
| Do not be too specific on style or age of house, however be
specific on location of property, as the three most important
things in buying are location, location, location! |
| Go out and view some houses, you will be welcomed as a first
time buyer into any estate agents office and most will be more
than happy to show you several properties within your price range.
|
| Get a feel for prices by scanning the papers and viewing the
homes, look at what you think is good value, ask advice of agents,
friends, neighbours - soon it will be not be long before you have
an idea of what is good value and what isn't. |
| On making an offer for a property make clear to the
agent/vendor that you are a first time buyer, that you have a
mortgage arranged and what timescale you would like to work to.
Make an offer normally within 5% of the asking price but expect to
have to go up to within 2 - 2.5% of the asking price. |
| Instruct your solicitor as soon as possible and make sure he
applies for the local search. The local search tells you if there
are any impending road developments, airports, gasometers to be
built within a certain radius of your property or anything which
may affect your decision to buy. Local searches often can take a
while to come back and it is best to apply for these straight
away. |
| Speak to your bank/building society/independent financial
advisor and put a mortgage application in and pay your survey fee
straight away. |
| On receiving your survey if anything is unclear speak to the
agent and/or your solicitor for advice. Remember your agent and
solicitor are there to help and are experienced at looking at
surveys and something that potentially could look very frightening
may not be so. Do not be afraid to ask advice. |
| When your solicitor asks you to go and pay the deposit make
sure you take a bankers draft rather than a personal cheque. This
potentially could delay your moving in date. |
| On making your decision to buy a property do not be taken in
by fashionable decoration/gadgets. Buy the house on its merits,
firstly where it is, secondly will it sell again easily when you
intend to move, thirdly, is it within the budget as there is far
more to life than owning a house - holidays, cars etc. |
| We hope this basic guide is informative, however, if you wish
to discuss any of the points in further detail please call us now
0117 9670900. |
