Moving House Part 1
At mortgagesplease, we work with you to find the best possible loan arrangement for your circumstances. We ask questions of you, answer questions from you and compile a Fact File for every client. This contains not only the bare facts and figures about your income and expenses, for example, but also something of your hopes and intentions that all contribute to our trawl of the market for the right mortgage for you.
Once you have decided to embark on becoming a property owner or to move to a different property, the journey is under way with the search for the place that is just right for you.
- You will probably have one or two specific areas already in mind anyway, but it always makes sense to have a defined area in mind on which you can focus your efforts. Try to visit it more than once, just to get a feel for the area. Note the transport links and check out what schools are available, if relevant to you. What relevant amenities exist, too, from libraries to sports centres, local shops and entertainments, depending on your interests and the nature of the area.
- Sign up with several local estate agents. Trawl the Web to help identify them and give you some idea of the way they work. Give them as tight a brief as possible, including your maximum budget: they will invariably push properties your way that exceed that budget but, while a certain amount of bargaining is always possible, do not be tempted to exceed the limit you have set. That figure will also have to take into account the costs of moving home (see Buying a house – the costs involved). Make clear the areas you will consider, the “must haves” of the property, such as the minimum number of bedrooms and the “would be nice” things, such as a secluded garden. You will soon discover which estate agents will take your enquiry seriously, particularly if you are currently living away from the area and cannot easily turn up to rattle their cage in person.
- When you visit properties, aim to take as much time as you feel is necessary for you to explore that property’s potential to meet needs. Try not to be rushed or diverted by an over-eager occupant or estate agent; current owners will often hover. If you are house hunting as a pair, decide which one of you will be free to take in the property while the other takes part in any chat.
- Try to visit a likely property several times, at different times of the day: you can watch out for levels of noise and traffic congestion if it is a busy road, for example, and light and shade in and around the property. It may be the first or twentieth property that makes the most impact on you, but aim to be alert for any obvious defects, such as damp. It is quite acceptable to ask the owner for utility bills to get an idea of how much the property costs to run.
