Hints & Tips

• What you need before you can buy or sell a property
• Planning your move
• The house buying process
• House price indices

What you need before you can buy or sell a property

From 1st March 2004, legislation came in to force imposing obligations on Estate Agents to implement internal procedures to combat money laundering by confirming the identity of all sellers and purchasers of property. Therefore you will need: -

• A photo-card driving licence and counterpart or
• A National Identity Card showing a photo and confirming name and address or
• A current passport together with a utility bill or bank statement showing your current address.

No Estate Agent is exempt from these requirements. Failure to comply could be deemed breach of the regulations and lead to up to 2 years imprisonment.

Planning your move

• Arrange removals
• Contact service suppliers (i.e. Gas, Electricity, British Telecom) to arrange for the reading of meters at your current address and continuity of service at your new address
• Arrange re-direction of mail
• Settle outstanding bills in respect of your current address (i.e. paper bill, window cleaner, etc)
• Notify all interested parties of your new address (and date of move) including the following (as applicable): -

• Friends
• Family
• Bank / Building Society
• Employer
• Service Suppliers
• Credit Card Companies
• Insurance / Pension Companies
• Inland Revenue
• Local Authority (Council Tax Dept)
• Dentist & Doctor
• DVLC
• Hire Purchase / Rental Companies
• Schools / Colleges
• TV Licence Authority
• Professional Associations
• Motoring Organisations
• Clubs & Other Associations

The House Buying Process

Where to begin

• Work out exactly how much you can afford to spend – mortgage quote
• Make a list of precisely what you require (No. of bedrooms, garden, etc) as well as the amenities you would like locally. Consider how your life might change over the next few years.
• Check estate agents windows in your chosen area to get an idea of prices. If they match with what you can afford, register with as many as possible.

Property hunt

• Ask the sellers some questions: how long have they lived there and why are they moving, what recent repairs have been carried out, when was the roof last tiled, how old is the central heating, has it been serviced by a CORGI registered engineer. Look in the cellar or attic if applicable. Check whether they have ever had any problem with their neighbours.
• If the property is leasehold, ask the seller how much the service charges are and what they cover.
• Call your estate agent once a week to check if any new properties have come on.

When viewing a property, check for: -

Outside
• Cracks in the walls
• Missing roof tiles
• Damp and mould patches around drains and gutters – signs of water leakage
• Signs of rot in the window frames
• General condition of neighbouring properties
• Condition of path / drive
Inside
• Signs of damp
• Cracks around window frames
• Cracks in plasterwork
• What fixtures and fittings are included
• The central heating system

Putting in an offer

• Negotiate – it’s always worth starting lower than the asking price. (Remember, the Estate Agent has to put forward to the seller, any offer you make – that’s the law)
• Make it clear to the Estate Agent and seller that your offer is subject to contract and survey.
• If you are a first time buyer, make sure the sellers know this, as it will help speed up the sale.
• Make sure that the Estate Agent takes the property off the market once the offer has been accepted. Check they are the sole agent. If not, ask them to get the other agents to take the property off the market too.

Find a Conveyancer / Solicitor

• Get a quote and ask what is included in the fee.
• Be prepared to pay your solicitor for a local authority search as soon as you make an offer on a property (this usually costs between £80 - £150)
• Supply details of the property, Estate Agent, sellers name and sellers solicitors details to your solicitor / conveyancer and your mortgage lender.

Survey time

• Find a surveyor. Your mortgage lender may be able to recommend a local firm. Check their fees and qualifications.
• If the property was built in the past 30 years, is conventional in type and construction and is apparently in reasonable condition, get the surveyor to carry out a home-buyers report.
• If the property is old, unusually constructed, extensively altered or if you are planning a major conversion or renovation, commission a building survey.
• Check the property has a National House Building Council certificate if buying a new home, if not, commission a home-buyers report.
• Make sure you budget for the cost of more than one survey (if the results are bad, you may need to commission specialist reports or even look for another property)
• Read your report thoroughly when you receive it and if there is anything you don’t understand, contact your surveyor and ask for more detail.
• Ask your surveyor for a rough estimate of costs if particular problems have been identified as needing attention.
• Seek your solicitor’s advice if the survey highlights any legal issues.

Exchange time

Before you exchange contracts make sure: -
• You have read and are happy with the draft contract sent by your solicitor
• You check and agree with the list of fixtures and fittings included in the price of the property
• Your mortgage is in place
• Your mortgage lender is satisfied with the survey
• Your solicitor has received satisfactory responses to all Land Registry and local authority searches
• You have reached the same stage on any property you are selling
• Details in the draft contract correspond to all answers given in the pre-contract enquiries (which should have been forwarded to you by your solicitor)
• There will be vacant possession of the new property
• Your buildings insurance is arranged to start on the date of exchange
• Your deposit will reach your solicitor before the day of exchange
• You agree a completion date with the seller, normally via your solicitor.

House Price Indices

On a regular basis, you will hear about what house prices are doing on a regional and nationwide basis, whether they are falling or rising and what expectations are. The following are a list of indices and their origins so you can make up your own mind as to their reliability: -

Land Registry
All property sales must be registered with the Land Registry upon completion. Therefore this index is based on virtually all transactions in England and Wales including cash purchases. This is considered by some to give the most comprehensive and accurate picture of house prices nationally and also provides localised data by postcode. However, as it comes out every 3 months, it is out of date by the time it is published.

ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)
This index gathers information from around 50 mortgage lenders and is based on the completion price of 25,000 properties bought with a mortgage. Some say this is more accurate than the Halifax and Nationwide, which are based on sales approved each month. However, it has attracted criticism because it can take up to three months to process and it doesn’t include the 25% of property purchases made with cash.

RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
This index asks surveyors working in the residential market in England and Wales about how they feel it’s doing and as a result affects confidence rather than actual prices. It asks whether they feel prices have risen or fallen over the previous 3 months, along with other questions such as whether the number of first time buyers has increased or decreased. The index is then calculated based on their responses.

Halifax and Nationwide
These indices from two of the UK’s biggest lenders are the most high profile of the house price surveys. They are calculated based on their lending data relating to post survey asking prices. The advantages are that they cover the whole of the UK, are seasonally adjusted and the data used is more immediate than with surveys based on completion price. However, they don’t include cash purchases or reflect actual sale prices.

Hometrack
This was the first index, having been set up in 1999. It is compiled from data gathered monthly from up to 3500 Hometrack approved estate agents in England and Wales. It can give local information about the market down to postcode level. As it’s based on asking prices the survey is relatively up to date, although it obviously doesn’t reflect actual prices achieved.

Rightmove
This is the UK’s largest property website and bases its index on the asking prices of properties advertised on it. Half of the UK’s top 100 Estate Agents use it and it displays details of around a third of all homes for sale, so its sample is extensive and up to date. However, it doesn’t take in to account actual prices on completion.

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