Moving House Part 2
- The sale price is what the seller hopes to get (and the estate agent hopes to get part of this as commission). You can reasonably offer 15% below the asking price (depending on the circumstances – often the estate agent can give you the background to the sale). You can always go higher later should you wish to – but make the second offer a serious, realistic one. Of course, many properties do go for the asking price or even above it.
- An offer is always made “subject to contract” and subject to a survey, so you can withdraw if problems arise. At this stage, there is no obligation on you to pay a deposit.
- The mortgage provider will send out their own surveyor/valuer to ensure the property is worth the money they are lending – but nothing more. It is carried out from the lender’s perspective and somewhat cursory. It is always to be recommended that you have your own survey carried out – well worth the cost if you end up moving in – to discover any hidden, but significant areas of concern.
- A conveyancer (usually a solicitor) carries out the actual legal transfer, checking documents such as title deeds or, increasingly, the Land Registry entry. They also check with the local authority that nothing immediate will affect the value of your property, such as pending planning permission for a glue factory. They check over the lease if relevant, rights of way and any bits of land included in the sale.
- Once everything is in order, you sign a contract and exchange it with the seller, who signs an identical contract. You then pay a non-refundable 10% deposit on exchange. From that moment, you are responsible for insuring the property, so you must arrange buildings insurance (unless you are buying a leasehold flat, in which case the freeholder is responsible for the insurance). You agree a date can for “completion” - usually within four weeks – and on completion day, the legalities are completed, monies exchanged, you collect the keys and can move in.
