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Buying Tips

The housing market remains buoyant with some buyers experiencing the disappointment and emotion of missing out on the home of their dreams, below are a few tips to help you successfully secure a property.

With historically low interested rates and lenders now willing to lend to buyers with as little as a 5% deposit we have seen the return of first time buyers and the level of motivated buyers viewing and buying properties is at increased levels meaning that you need to be in a great position to ensure you are in pole position to secure the property you decide you want to be your new home.

Over the last few months we have seen properties selling within hours and days of coming to the market, way before reaching the internet, bidding wars leading to many properties selling at the asking price and sometimes over and above the asking price, leading to many potential purchasers feeling disappointed that they either never had the chance to view the property or losing the property by either being too slow to react or not being in the position to move forward to offer on the property.

Before you start viewing property and end up being disappointed, please consider the following:

Make sure you are in a position to purchase the home of your dreams before viewing, ideally sell your current home or at least have it on the market, take formal mortgage advice gaining a mortgage in principle for the amount you can borrow allowing you to offer on the property with confidence.

Confirming your purchasing power will ensure you look at suitably priced properties saving both you and the vendor’s valuable time and emotion should you not be able to proceed.

We are delighted to be able to recommend the services of a fantastic mortgage company which is owned by the same mortgage broker who I started our sister company Castles with 17 years ago. Jeremy and his team will help put you in the strongest possible buying position and will then process your mortgage application to its conclusion, keeping you updated every step of the way.

To arrange a free mortgage consultation please contact us or click here to send us a message.

In today’s market where there are increased numbers of purchasers those who can prove they are in the best position to buy are most likely to be contacted by the estate agent when a new instruction comes to the market.

If you are motivated to buy you need to be prepared to move quickly to avoid missing out, be prepared to view quickly, most good estate agents will phone out to prospective buyers immediately the property comes to the market so waiting for it to appear on the internet 48 to 72 hours could be a flawed tactic. Many properties never make it to the open market.

Ensure you have researched the areas you wish to live; the internet now provides a wonderful array of information available at your fingertips including schools, crime levels and local facilities.

Consider other costs you may incur so there are no nasty surprises around the corner, get solicitor quotes (choosing the right solicitor can be the difference between a smooth and potentially painful transaction or in some cases whether you move at all.

Like anything in life, you get what you pay for, the cheapest solicitor doesn’t normally mean the best service, a great solicitor is worth their weight in gold.

Selbon conveyancing can offer you the service you need for a smooth and successful transaction, we would be delighted to offer you a free quote which is offered on a no sale no fee basis, please read more about the service by clicking here or contact us to arrange your free quote (if you are selling a property you can instruct Selbon conveyancing at the point of instruction without cost and you can get your property ready for sale and ahead of the game).

Decide what type of survey you want, your building society will carry out the basic mortgage valuation and dependent on the age and condition of the property you are looking to purchase you might want to consider having a homebuyers report or full structural survey, carried out for peace of mind.

Is there anything like notice periods for rental accommodation that will stop you being able to proceed to an exchange of contracts and legal completion as most transactions take between 10 and 16 weeks to complete.

Remember the home you viewed today and are thinking about offering on tomorrow could be the same home someone viewed yesterday and is thinking of offering on today! Don’t hesitate and miss out, if it is the home for you, go ahead and put in an offer!