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The offer
Once you've found a property that matches your criteria, make an offer. The
estate agent will inform the seller. Offering to put down a deposit as an act
of good faith can significantly increase the chances
of your offer being accepted.
Make sure your offer is subject to survey and contract meaning that you are
not obliged to proceed until the conclusion of the survey and the exchange of
signed contracts. In England and Wales, of course, you can
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pull out at any time. We would seriously
recommend that you do not get involved in bidding wars for a property.
If you're emotionally attached to a property there is a chance that someone
else is too, and it is all too easy to spend over-the-odds for a property in
those circumstances.
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The offer is accepted
If your offer is accepted, it is time to get the whole legal and financial
process moving. If you have not yet arranged a mortgage, do it now. Arrange
for a survey of the property (usually your lender will carry out a survey
which you pay for but this is for valuation purposes only and will not
examine the structure and general state of the house).
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Find a solicitor
You need to find a solicitor to conduct the conveyancing.
This means checking the legal aspects of the sale, for example that the
seller has the legal right to sell the property, that no one has right of way
over it and that there are no land disputes. Your solicitor will also carry
out a local authority search which looks for planning proposals such as new
roads, changes to road layouts, building developments in the vicinity and
alterations to land use or public rights of way which might affect your
chosen property. Check out our legal centre for advice and information on the
legal side of housebuying.
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Exchange contracts
Once all the legal arrangements have been undertaken, your mortgage has been
agreed and you have had a positive survey (if the survey indicates a lot of
work needs doing, be prepared to negotiate with the seller) you will be ready
to exchange contracts. This will be done by the lawyers acting for you and
the seller and once contracts have been exchanged, both of you are committed
to the deal. If for any reason, you pull out, you will lose your deposit. Conversely,
the seller is bound to sell the property to you and cannot accept a higher
offer. This is also when the completion date - when you get the keys and can
move in - is set.
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Arrange completion date and move in
You've exchanged contracts and are getting ready to move. Use our guide to moving
to see what you should be doing and when. You can also get quotes for
removals and storage. Make sure you have arranged the necessary insurance for
your new home. See our insurance
pages to see what cover you need and to get online quotations.
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