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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 its always worth starting lower than the asking
price. (Remember, the Estate Agent has to put forward to the
seller, any offer you make thats 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 dont 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 solicitors 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 doesnt 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 its 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 UKs 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 dont
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 its
based on asking prices the survey is relatively up to date,
although it obviously doesnt reflect actual prices achieved.
Rightmove
This is the UKs largest property website and bases its index on
the asking prices of properties advertised on it. Half of the
UKs 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 doesnt take in to account actual
prices on completion.
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