You've found your dream home – what happens next?
From making an offer to picking up the keys – what happens along the way and who does what.
Making an offer
Once you've found a property you like and want to buy, you make a formal offer, letting the agent or seller know you'd like to buy it. Sellers usually say up front whether the price is negotiable or whether they won't consider anything below the asking price. Once your offer is accepted, the main part of the mortgage process begins, and the agent will ask for your broker's and solicitor's details.
The broker's role
Your broker checks the market again to make sure the deal suggested at your decision in principle is still the best one. They also help you choose the right product for you: the term of the mortgage, how long the rate is fixed for, and so on.
The application and the lender's decision
Next, the full application goes to the lender. An underwriter reviews the documents your adviser has gathered and prepared, asks any further questions, and makes the final decision.
Meanwhile, or soon after the documents are accepted, the lender sends a surveyor to check that the property is worth what you're paying and has no serious structural problems. The valuation is often free, but sometimes you'll pay £300 to £500 for it, depending on the lender.
If the lender is happy, it issues a mortgage offer, usually valid for six months. That's your window to complete the purchase. If your solicitor finds a problem with the property, or the seller changes their mind, you have time to find another property: your broker lets the lender know and the process carries on.
The solicitor's work
Once the mortgage offer is in, the solicitor (conveyancer) takes over. Their job is to carry out searches, checking that everything is in order with the property, and to put a series of questions to the seller. Above all, the solicitor checks that there are no debts secured on the property, no restrictions on the title, no problems with things like access roads, and, for a leasehold property, what the position is on extending the lease.
Exchange and the keys
When everything has been checked and there are no concerns, contracts are exchanged. The buyer transfers the deposit to their solicitor, who passes the money to the seller's solicitor.
After exchange, your broker arranges buildings insurance and life insurance, which the lender requires. When buying a resale property, completion usually follows the day after exchange of contracts – and that's when you pick up the keys to your dream home.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.