|
Buyers Information
- ESSENTIAL CONTACTS Buying a house is supposed to be one of the most stressful experiences you can go through, so here are some guidelines to help you. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give us a call. FIRST TIME BUYERS 1. Make an appointment with your Mortgage provider, a Mortgage broker will be able to find the best deal and save you time. 2. Decide what type of property you like and where you would like to live. Remember, large Apartment blocks have service charges in addition to your Mortgage repayments. 3. Register with Estate Agents, if you would like to view a property, the Agent should arrange a time to suit you - not them! 4. Having found your ideal home, make an offer, don't wait until later or the next day and find you have missed out. Remember "He who hesitates is lost". Your offer will be subject to a satisfactory survey report, final approval from your Bank and a report from your Advocate. SURVEY: Your bank will give you a list of Surveyors who will arrange access to the property through the Estate Agent handling the sale. BANK. When your bank has received a copy of the survey report and is satisified, it will issue an OFFER or FACILITY letter formally offering you a mortgage for your home. ADVOCATE. All Advocates charge the same - some specialise in property transactions - Trinity Chambers - and they will prepare a report on your property , including the ownership of the property and any rights or liabilities relating to it. LICENCE. If you are NOT locally born and are living here as an essential worker, you will be given a Rateable Value restriction from the Housing Authority. The Rateable Value applies in that you can only purchase a property with that value or above. HOWEVER, if you choose to purchase a small property i.e.with only one bedroom or a second bedroom which is less than 10' x 7' you may apply to the Housing Authority without having to consider the Rateable Value. If you require a Housing Licence then you will have to apply to the Housing Authority for a licence to occupy the property you are buying. The Estate Agent you are dealing with will be able to complete the form for you. This needs to be returned to the Housing Authority without delay. 5. You will normally have 14 days from your offer being accepted before you are required to actually sign Conditions of Sale. During this time the Survey will be carried out, your Advocates will do the required checks and you finance will be approved. Also you will discuss the date on which you will actually purchase the property, completion date. This must be a Tuesday or Thursday as these are the only days on which the Court sits. Generally the date is about 6-8 weeks after your offer is accepted. You have to attend the Court in person or give Power Of Attorney to your Advocate. 6. Now you have completed the essentials, your Advocate will arrange an appointment to discuss all the implications of the Conditions of Sale, the Title report and also check that you have a facility letter from your Bank. Now you are able to sign the Conditions of Sale and pay a deposit, which is usually held by the Estate Agent as stakeholder and any interest which accrues will be paid to you after completion. 7. Before completion you need to contact the utility companies and inform them of your new address. The Vendor(owner) will arrange final readings. You also need to arrange house insurance from midnight the day before completion. 8. Attend Conveyance Court with your Advocate, receive the keys and MOVE IN!!! MOVING ON Catch 22 - do you wait until you have found a property you want or do you put your house in the market first? This is a dilemma faced by everyone moving on. If you wait until you have found your ideal home then the chances are someone else will think the same and they may be cash buyers or have their house already under offer. Unless you are able to arrange a Bridging Loan, you cannot proceed. Always use an Agent who is a member of the NAEA, they will follow the correct procedure and make sure you understand the ins and outs and that you don't end up incurring costs. It is very tempting to make an offer and hope your property will sell, but your Advocate will not allow you to sign anything without checking you have the finance arranged. You can sell a property without using an Advocate but you must use one to buy. If you ignore advice and do sign Conditions of Sale you stand to lose all of your deposit and possibly be liable for any losses incurred by the Vendor. The recommended route is to put your house on the market with the strict understanding that you have not found a property and will need time to find one. This is much more common these days, and as long as everyone knows the situation you should be able to proceed. It is not uncommon to ask for three or even six months to find a new home. 1 Ask three Estate Agents who are members of the NAEA to value your property and give you advice regarding any minor improvements. Generally new kitchens and bathrooms are best left to new owners but as these are the most important rooms, new worktops, cupboard doors and a coat of paint will work wonders! Decluttering is essential, people are buying your house not your lifestyle. Kerb appeal is 95% of the battle, if people like the outside they will book a viewing, if they don't it can be imposible to pursuade them to have a look. Make an appointment to see your mortgage provider to find out your limits before you start house hunting. Register with Estate Agents to receive details. Place your property on the market. You may choose one Agent (Sole Agent) in which case your selling commission will be 1.5% of the sale price or if you decide to instruct more than one Agent, your sale commission will be 2%(Multiple Agent) of the sale price. It is essential to choose an Estate Agent who will work with you and for you! Remember - you only pay the successful Agent. Sit back and wait for your Estate Agent to call and arrange to show people around your house. You may prefer to be out when people come around - it can be uncomfortable listening to other people's ideas for your home. When you receive an offer make sure you ask your Agent the terms of the offer. For example: Do your purchasers need to sell their house? Is it on the market? If not, you may have a lengthy wait until they are in a position to make a firm offer. Have they been to their Bank - are they looking at houses within their reach? What time scale are they considering? If they have sold already they may need a quick completion which may not give you enough time to find another property. It can be very tempting to take a high offer but you need to know all the facts before making a decision and your Agent must find out the exact details on your behalf. Once you have accepted an offer, you are then able to put in an offer on your next property. The offer you make will be subject to Finance, which is the money you raise from selling your house plus the mortgage you have arranged, Survey, Property Matters and, if you are not locally qualified, Housing Licence. Your Bank will give you a list of Surveyors who will arrange access to the property through the Estate Agent handling the sale. When your bank has received a copy of the Survey report and is satisified, it will issue an OFFER or FACILITY letter formally offering you a mortgage for your new home. ADVOCATE. All Advocates charge the same and will generally be able to handle your sale and purchase - some specialise in property transactions - Trinity Chambers - and they will prepare a report on your new property , including the ownership of the property and any rights or liabilities relating to it. Licence: If you are living here under licence you will need to apply to the Housing Authority to occupy your next home, which must comply with the terms of your Housing Licence. The Estate Agent you are buying the property will be able to complete the form for you. This needs to be returned to the Housing Authority without delay. You will normally have 14 days before you are required to actually sign Conditions of Sale. During this time the Survey will take place, your Advocates will do the required checks and your finance will be approaved. Also you will need to discuss the date on which you will purchase the property, Completion Date. This must be a Tuesday or Thursday as these are the only days on which the Court sits. Having completed the formalities, your Advocate will arrange an appointment to discuss all the implications of the Conditions of Sale, the Title report and also check that you have your facility/offer letter from your Bank. Now you are able to sign Conditions of Sale and pay a deposit, usually 10% of the purchase price. Your Advocate will make sure that you do not sign on your purchase before you sign on your sale. Stranger things have happened and even though you very often sign in the same office at the same time the order is very important. You do not want to have two houses - or none! Before completion you need to arrange final readings with the Utility companies and inform them of the change ino wnership. You should re-direct your mail and maintain you house insurance until midnight on the Completion day. You are also required to keep the property in the same condition as when your purchasers saw the property. Broken windows must be repaired and any other damage made good.
|
