Can you help?

[CantWaitLondon]

Sorry i wrote a message earlier and i didn't write a title.
I will try again:
We are moving to UK and looking into buying a 4 bed house. Please can you give us some help in simple words what the steps are?
Is first step viewing the house? Or checking the HIP first? Then you do an offer? Or find solicitor first?
What checks you do? How and when?
Surveys?

Sorry, maybe the correct word is 'stages', not 'steps'? I'm not sure how to write it.

Thank you very much.

[CantWaitLondon]

Anyone can help?

[NoseyNooNoo]

HIPs were abolished last week.

You view house, make offer, it is accepted (or not) and then you provide Estate Agent with your solicitor's details. Survey comes after offer accepted. You are only committed to the sale once you have exchanged contracts and it is yours on 'completion'.

[CantWaitLondon]

Thank you. Do you know how much the survey cost in london?

[NoseyNooNoo]

Depends on the value of the house so could be anywhwhere from £150 to £1500.

[tootootired]

I would suggest you buy this book (bearing in mind HIPs have just been scrapped) - even worth paying international delivery, it will spell it all out for you and probably save you £££'s (or $$$'s or whatever! )

[LIZS]

Normally if you need a mortgage the lender would instruct a surveyor on your behalf for a fixed price within the mortgage application process. You can choose a level of survey from a valuation at one end of the scale (which basically gives the mortgage company a market figure upon which to base its "offer" to lend and relatively little information about the property itself) to a full structural at the other (which gives you much more information about the structure and conditions of the property and any potential maintenance issues). You usually won't instruct a solicitor until an offer is accepted via the estate agent then they run the relevant checks ("searches") and make enquiries of the vendor about the property and what they are including in the price. hth

[CantWaitLondon]

Thank you very much.

The book is a good idea. I will order it.
Thanks.