How Long Is The Process Of Buying A House?

If you are thinking about buying a house, one question that people ask is how long is the process of buying a house?

It is said to be one of the most stressful things that you can do in your life, so hopefully knowing a little bit about what to expect can help take away some of that confusion, even if it cannot take away the frustration of all the waiting that you are going to be doing for the next few months or so.

Moving House Costs

Before you even begin to think about looking for your dream home it is important that you work out how much it is going to cost you.  You might have saved enough for the deposit, but have you factored in all the additional costs that there are when buying your new home? For example;

• Deposit
• Stamp Duty
• Broker fees
• Surveys
• Legal fees
• Electronic transfer fees

How Much Can I Borrow To Buy A House?

It is important that you visit someone to get advice on how much you will be able to afford to borrow – you don’t want to be finding your dream home only to be told that you cannot afford to borrow that much.  There are a few different options that you can pick from to arrange a mortgage.

Online Check

This is good to give you an idea of how much you might be able to borrow or to start looking at the different options as well as giving yourself an idea of what kind of rates you can be expecting.

Mortgage Broker

A broker can be a good way of checking multiple lenders at once as they will shop around and see what deals they can get for you and can help to ease the process with their specialist knowledge.

Make sure that you check if they can source you any UK mortgage or if they are tied to a specific lender or panel of lenders.

It’s also worth checking if they charge and fee and what format this will take.

Bank or Building Society

Will sometimes offer deals to existing customers but won’t always be the best deal available to you.

You will normally need to obtain a Decision in Principle (DIP) as many estate agents will ask if you have this when booking viewings etc. to prove that you are potentially able to buy the property.

Property Searches

Now begins the fun part! Searching for and finding your new home.  Estate Agents can help to provide information on areas to think about as well as being able to register for alerts.

When it comes to viewings it can be worth doing a bit of research in advance and going in prepared with a list of things to look for and questions that you might want to ask. 

There is also something to be said for going for a drive past the property at different times of day, if you can, as this can help to give you a better idea of what the neighbourhood is like or if there is a school or shop nearby, when it gets busy.

How To Make An Offer On A House?

This can be a tense time but do not be put off if your first offer does not get accepted, and it is about a negotiation between yourself and the seller, so it is about finding the figure that makes you both happy. 

Try and have your budget in mind though and allow for any work that you might need to complete on the property.  Once your offer has been accepted you should receive a Memorandum of Sale to confirm that sale has been agreed, subject to contract.

Mortgage Applications

Now you will need to confirm the mortgage offer that you wish to take and arrange to complete the application.  This can also be a good time to start thinking about insurance to support you in the event of ill health or even death – most mortgages will require you to have insurance in place should anything happen to you.

At this time your mortgage provider will likely complete a mortgage valuation to confirm that the property is in fact worth the amount that you are going to be borrowing.

Conveyancing

This is the bit that takes the most time and will likely be the most frustrating aspect of the process, as you are buried under reams and reams of paperwork followed by seemingly endless periods of waiting. 

During this period your solicitor or conveyancer will be confirming property details, completing local searches, drafting contracts, and instructing surveys to be completed. 

Surveys can be one of the most important parts of the conveyancing process as they will give you more in-depth information on the property you are planning on purchasing, for example if there are any issues of subsidence, structural or electrical problems, damp, etc. 

You can opt for different levels of survey, dependent on how much information you would like and perhaps the age of the property. For example, older properties are more likely to be at risk of having out of date wiring or structural issues. 

If something big does come up on the survey, then you can use this to renegotiate the sale price.  For instance, if there is a damp issue that is going to cost you £4,000 to correct then you may wish to try and negotiate this figure off the sale price, or alternatively you can request that the seller completes the work prior to the sale of the property.

Once all searches and surveys have been completed then there will be a draft of the contract issued for you to sign, you will need to sign your mortgage deed and your deposit will be taken, prior to the exchange of contracts.

Exchanging Contracts

Once the contracts have been exchanged both parties are contractually bound to complete on the date discussed and agreed upon.  Money and paperwork will be requested and prepared ready for the completion date. 

It is important that by this point you have your buildings insurance set up, this will often be a condition of your mortgage.

Completion

Starting at the beginning of the chain, monies will be transferred across and once confirmed estate agents and solicitors will be notified so that keys can be handed over, the house will finally be yours.

After this your solicitor should arrange for any stamp duty or land taxes to be paid and then a couple of weeks later you should receive the title deeds with your name as the owner.

House Removals Near Me

At what point should you be contacting DPH Removals?

In general, the sooner the better.  Once you have had an offer accepted then it is worth starting to try and get some quotes together as this gives you plenty of time to consider your options, or if need be, find alternatives or make any necessary changes, as well as giving you an idea of the cost that you will need to factor in. 

We understand that there may well be some changes between the time that we complete the survey and when you move so there is always the potential for some change. 

We have found that it’s always better to work on a worst-case scenario basis, with the understanding that if there is a significant change we will adjust the price, rather than hope for the best and we turn up on the day with a vehicle that is too small for the job.

Once you are happy, then it is important to keep communicating with us as soon as you start to talk dates, as often our diaries can get booked up three to four weeks in advance.

We hope that this how long is the process of buying a house guide has proved useful to you. If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.