Below is a brief overview of the steps to buying your home. For further advice check out our FAQs or contact us and we will be happy to assist.
Use this handy mortgage calculator to get a rough guide of your likely repayments but make sure to contact us for links to financial professionals.
Make an offer.
Getting the right solicitor is important. Communication is key in what can be one of the most stressful buying processes. This is not the time to save money when buying what could be your biggest ever purchase. Speak to us to help and advise you. Learn more about the conveyancing process below.
Speak to your broker (if you have one) or direct to the lender to do this. If you have yet to arrange financing please speak to us and we can point you in the right direction. However, your agent should have already handled this before the offer.
At Elliot Leigh we provide an end-to-end service. We will help progress the sale from start to finish by liaising with yourselves, mortgage brokers, solicitors, other agents that may be in the chain and anyone that may be involved in the process. Without this most sales stall and can even fall through.
This is when the sale is legally binding. Timelines can vary on a number of factors. See our helpful conveyancing process of a buying solicitor to get an idea of what is involved.
This is the day you pick up your new keys from us. Relax, the stress of the move is nearly over!
Conveyancing process
Conveyancing Process Flow Chart (Buying solicitor)
Receives Memorandums of sale from Eliiot Leigh Residential with details of sale
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Confirms instruction with Letter of engagement & copy of terms of business
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Requests your ID and proof of funds
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Receives contract pack from the seller’s solicitor/ licensed conveyancer
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Raises searches (on receipt of you sending money on account)
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Raises specific enquiries with seller’s conveyancer following receipt of contract pack
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Receives search results; checks them, investigates any issues & raises enquiries
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Receives mortgage offer (if applicable), checks condition and satisfies where necessary
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Receives satisfactory answers to all enquiries raised and checks made
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Sends you a conveyancing report summarising key findings and any concerns
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Negotiate completion date with seller’s conveyancer and write date into the contact
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Send you final agreed contact, transfer of title document (TR1) and draft completion statement.
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Receives agreed deposit (usually 10%) and your signed documents
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EXCHANGE
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Carries out pre-completion checks.
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Request mortgage monies from your lender to arrive the day before completion
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Issues you with a final completion statement
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COMPLETION
FAQs
This isn’t the worst place to start!
Contact us and we can point you in the right direction and put you in touch with the necessary property professionals. Essentially you need to work out your budget. We have excellent financial experts available to us. If you want a rough guide try this useful mortgage calculator.
The following link will help you with this request https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/ However contact us to ascertain whether this would be the best option for you.
This is a very common question and we see people fall into the same trap over and over. Even as property professionals we have been guilty of it ourselves!
Our suggestion would be to get your property on to the market first before actively viewing properties to buy. This is not an easy thing to do. Quite often a quick Rightmove or Zoopla search is the nation’s favourite hobby and it is very easy to fall into the trap of finding a property before you have even thought about selling yours. There is no harm in casually searching and scoping an area. However, quite often you will be down the bottom of the list of viable buyers unless you have an offer on yours. Many sellers think about their potential buyers too much. As a seller you need to be a little selfish and let a buyer wait for you to find a property rather than you falling in love with a place and then rushing to sell yours. All that will do is add undue pressure for you to sell quickly and compete with other buyers. This in turn could even mean achieving less on your property. As long as your selling agent is open and transparent about your position a buyer will not have a problem. Our handy valuation tool will give you a rough idea on your property value.
valuation tool
The old adage how long is a piece of string applies here. There are a number of factors and moving variables involved. On a straightforward freehold purchase with a mortgage then it can be fairly swift at around 4 weeks, assuming no chain. However, leasehold properties require a lot more information and enquiries to be exchanged between solicitors and mortgage lenders. Assuming everything runs smoothly then it can be approximately 8-12 weeks. Our handy conveyancing flowchart maps the solicitor’s process.
Use the following Stamp Duty Calculator to work out your cost.
Stamp Duty Calculator
The freeholder of a property owns it outright, including the land it’s built on. Most houses are therefore freeholds.
With a leasehold, you essentially own the property but not the land it sits on. Therefore you have a lease with terms to adhere to, one of which is the length. Once it expires the property then transfers back to the freeholder unless you extend the term. Most flats and apartments are leasehold properties. You will usually be expected to pay some form of yearly service charge or ground rent so be sure to budget for this.
Another common form of ownership is a share of freehold. You can buy the freehold from the landlord along with other leaseholders – for example, other people living in a block of flats. This gives you more control on how a block is managed.
