If you are a first-time buyer and wondering what you need to buy a house or flat, here are some handy tips from Daveena Seepaul of local solicitors Edwards Duthie Shamash
Before looking at properties, you need to have organised your deposit. As a general rule, you need a deposit of at least 5% to 20% of the cost of the home you would like. You should seek financial advice in respect of the mortgage; you may need to find out in advance how much you may be able to borrow.
You will need to budget for your disbursements, such as search fees, land registry fees and any mortgage valuation fee or arrangement fee that might need to be paid up front.
One of the first stages in the conveyancing process, after instructing your solicitor, is to provide them with your ID, both photo and proof of address. It is also a legal requirement that a buyer provides adequate proof of the source of their funds to their solicitor.
Your conveyancing solicitor will obtain the contract and title paperwork from the seller’s solicitor, who will send your solicitor the contract with a copy of the title deeds of the property, along with supporting documentation.
Your solicitor will also apply for the searches, including the local authority search, which reveals any rights over the property – public rights of way, planning permissions or notices, for example. Once you have paid for your search fees, your solicitor can start the search applications.
If you are not buying a new build and the seller is living at the property, they may have a related purchase that would need to complete simultaneously. You can only exchange contracts after your solicitor is satisfied with the searches, replies to enquiries, a formal mortgage offer has been received and arrangements made for the agreed deposit, payable on exchange. When you exchange contracts with the seller, you become legally committed to buying the property, and they are legally committed to selling it to you. At the point of exchange, the date is set for the legal completion. You are advised not to book a removals firm until you have a completion date finalised! If the date changes further down the line, it could cost you to cancel or rearrange.
You need to ensure you take out buildings insurance for the property from the date of exchange of contracts, as you are responsible for it from then on, unless the property is in a block of flats.
Completion is when you pay for the property and take ownership. On the day of completion, money is transferred and the deeds of the property are transferred, all dealt with by the solicitors.
Edwards Duthie Shamash is located at 149 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL. For more information, call 020 8514 9000 or visit edwardsduthieshamash.co.uk
