The Property Purchase Process

What should you do before your offer is accepted?

• Ensure you get an agreement in principle (AIP) before you search for a property. An agreement in principle is a document from your preferred lender/broker who sets out how much you can borrow based on initial discussions around your finances. This not only gives you a more accurate indication of what you can afford to buy, but also shows estate agents and sellers that you’re well prepared. This bodes well when making offers and ensures you can get a full mortgage offer quicker as your lender is more familiar with you. Usually, a soft credit check is completed in order to provide an AIP.
• Speak to and hire your legal adviser before you have an offer accepted. No transfer of funds is required at this stage but choosing you adviser means you can start the process immediately on accepted offer. When your offer is accepted, a sales memorandum will be sent to all parties including your solicitor and so you will need their details relatively quickly. Search the solicitors register here to see if your solicitor is regulated.
• Ensure your finances and deposit monies are in check to set aside when you find a property.

Offer accepted - what to do now and the conveyancing process?

So you’ve had an offer accepted, but you’re unsure about the process between the offer being accepted and the completion date (when you get keys to the property). This can be quite an intimidating part of the process, especially if this is your first property, as there are various parties working together to complete the transaction. Just to give you an idea, lawyers/conveyancers, lenders, estate agents and even the tax man will be involved.

For this post, we have assumed that sale is through an estate agent rather than a private sale. We have also assumed that this will be a residential purchase rather than a buy to let.

What should you do after your offer is accepted?

• Ensure that the property is taken off the market and no more viewings take place once the offer has been accepted. This mitigates the risk of being gazumped (another prospective buyer outbidding your accepted offer, and the seller changing buyer). Additionally, this will give you peace of mind that you have secured the property.
• Ensure the estate agent sends out the sales memorandum as soon as possible. This is a formal letter sent to all parties (buyers, sellers and legal advisors) to confirm details of one another and basic information for the purchase – such as sales price, representatives and addresses.
• Fill out your mortgage application form/any other documents as soon as possible. You will be reliant on a number of third parties (e.g. the lender, surveyor) before you get an offer so it is in your best interest to get items completed quickly. A delay in the mortgage offer or any issues picked up by the lender (such as the property sales price being too high) may require re-negotiation and so it’s not always straightforward and stress-free.
• Do not get put off by small matters that come up – every property has its intricacies and there may be some matters which are brought to your attention during the buying process which can sound stressful but can be mitigated when dealt with correctly. For example, indemnity insurance can help protect against issues that were present before you purchased the property. These indemnities can be purchased for a range of issues from lack of planning permissions to restrictive covenants on the property. You should still seek professional advice on all matters.
• Keep in regular contact with your legal representatives and the estate agent. Estate agents and even your lawyers are handling multiple cases simultaneously and so they may be a bit delayed with their communication. It is recommended to speak once a week to ensure the sale is progressing as expected and to close out any issues.
• Consider a more detailed survey as there could be some issues that are missed on a basic bank survey. A more detailed survey such as a homebuyer’s survey may give you peace of mind of property condition and could act as leverage to re-negotiate the price. For example, if a homebuyer’s survey details damp within the property, the sales price could be renegotiated to account for a damp proof course.
• Arrange building insurance – leasehold properties generally have buildings insurance taken out by the freeholder (the organisation which owns the land below a leasehold property) however all properties need buildings insurance from exchange of contract and so it would be a good idea to start the search early.
• If you are using a buying scheme such as Help to Buy ISA, provide the relevant details to your legal advisor/lender well in advance so that you can take advantage of your government bonus without delays.

It is important to know what each party is responsible for to get an understanding of the expected timeline and process.