Buyers Guide

Home Buyers 10 Step Guide

  1. Obtain financial advice from a bank or financial advisor so you know what type of property you can afford to buy
  2. Find a property that suits your requirements, make an offer through the estate agent that arranged your viewing
  3. Acquire solicitor quotes, choose a solicitor, forward solicitor details to the estate agent, ideally within 48 hours of having a offer accepted
  4. Contact your financial advisor/mortgage provider to let them know you have found a property and provide all financial details required
  5. Instruct and pay your mortgage provider for the survey, follow up the survey and check the results, your mortgage offer should follow within a few days
  6. Contact your solicitor and pay for the searches
  7. Once your mortgage offer is accepted and all legal questions are answered you will be able to agree dates for the exchange and completion of your property purchase
  8. Ensure you pay your deposit and make an appointment to sign all outstanding paperwork with your solicitor including the contract
  9. Exchange contracts and then complete; sometimes on the same day but more usually 1 week apart
  10. You need to make arrangements to collect your keys either from the house you are buying or from the estate agent or solicitor. Congratulations!


* IMPORTANT- Keep in touch with your financial advisor, solicitor and estate agent, always return their calls asap and return documents when requested. Depending on your circumstances sales can take between 2 weeks and 3 months with the average for a first time buyer being 10-12 weeks.