The festive season may be months away, but if you want to be in your new home by Christmas, you’ll need to start house hunting now. Stephen Ward explains how to ensure it all goes to plan…
It might be too early to start Christmas shopping, but now is the optimum time to house hunt if you want to spend the festive season in your new home.
Homebuyers often underestimate the time it takes from having an offer accepted to being handed the keys which currently, for the majority of transactions, is an average of three to four months, but can be longer.
That means that for those looking to be in a new home for Christmas, time is rapidly running out!
Recent changes to stamp duty aside, you may also get more for your money with house prices in June falling by 0.8% – their biggest monthly fall for more than two years – according to mortgage lender Nationwide.
Here’s our good practice guide to everything you need to do to ensure that your move – once you’ve found the perfect property – is as swift and smooth as possible.
Obtain all the vital information upfront
As a prospective buyer, it’s your right to request the ‘material information’ about the property you’re interested in. I explain more in this article, but that should include the price, whether the property is freehold or leasehold which can incur extra costs such as ground rents and service charges, and any rights or restrictions that might affect your living there.
These details should be available in the property listing or, at the very least, by request from the estate agent.
Being armed with this information upfront will help you seed out unsuitable properties at an earlier stage in your house hunting search, saving you valuable time.
1. Appoint a conveyancer
Estate agents will often recommend conveyancers – typically in exchange for a referral fee – but although it may take a little longer, it’s worth doing your own homework and shopping around.
2. Is your conveyancer regulated by either the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or the Solicitors Regulation Authority?
Being regulated means that they must adhere to certain professional standards, including having professional indemnity insurance which will enable you to seek redress should anything go wrong.
3. Do they have experience in dealing with the type of property you’re intending to buy?
This could be relevant to anything from leasehold to listed building status.
4. How do they communicate with clients?
Poor communication is consistently the most common complaint made against conveyancers so it’s important to ask how they will update you and how often. Many firms now have portals where clients can log in 24/7 to check on the progress of their transactions if that’s what they prefer; others might send updates via email or text. For you, face-to-face service might be important, and you’ll need to know whether this is something the conveyancer offers.
5. What do clients say about them?
Take a few minutes to see how other homebuyers rate the firm on independent sites such as Trustpilot or Review Solicitors.
Practices that are regulated by the CLC should have our secure badge prominently displayed on their websites which, when clicked on, will take you to the CLC site and confirm that they are genuinely regulated by us and that the website is genuine. You can also find a list of CLC-regulated conveyancers here.
Be prepared
People often think that a conveyancer is only needed once a property has been found and an offer accepted, but it pays to instruct one at a far earlier stage. Many lenders will not agree a mortgage offer until you have.
Appointing a conveyancer at the outset allows them to get a head start on essential tasks such as verifying your identity, establishing proof and source of funds, and carrying out anti-money laundering checks. You will be required to prove the above, so it is worth pulling together copies of important documents that verify who you are, where you live, and copies of your mortgage offer and bank statements detailing where the funds you are using to buy the property have come from.
Above all, be prepared that the multiple parties involved in a property purchase means that there will often be delays outside of your conveyancer’s control.
Taking this advice will give you the best chance of getting your wish and waking up on Christmas Day in your new home.
Stephen Ward, is director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers
