Aibu to not know the process of buying a house?

[Freddiefox]

And can someone talk me through the process, I’m single and don’t really understand the processes and feel I need to be a bit more prepared in what happens so I can negotiate the world of estate agents.

Is anyone able to explain the whole thing from start to finish?

Get a solicitor and they will guide you through. Keep constantly checking all parties. No one knows. You learn by doing it.

www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/first-time-buyers/buying-a-home/how-to-buy-a-house-alm0r9l4yf5x

Process of buying a house: step-by-step guide

1. Save for a mortgage deposit
2. Find out how much mortgage you can borrow
3. Research your chosen area
4. Apply for a mortgage agreement in principle
5. Register with estate agents
6. View properties in person
7. Make an offer on a house or flat
8. Apply for a mortgage
9. Find a conveyancer or property solicitor

10. Get a property survey 11. Research removal companies 12. Arrange home insurance 13. Exchange contracts 14. Complete and move in!

Theres even a video

1. Find out what you can afford via mortgage broker and your deposit
2. Look on rightmove etc for houses in budget, maybe register with estate agents and view as many as you wish.
3. Once found a house you like in budget put in an offer via estate agent, be prepared for negotiations
4. If offer is accepted, appoint a solicitor and inform mortgage company.
5. Arrange surveys and valuations.
6. Read reports on property, exchange contracts if happy and pay your deposit to solicitor.
7. Once the seller has their new place sorted and you have arranged to leave your old place, you can complete. Your mortgage company will send the funds over and you can collect the keys.

I think that’s it!

Ok, thanks, maybe should have added, I’ve been left a flat, which I will use the money from to buy a property, so will be some cash (not loads) and mortgage. Do i need to wait for this to be sold before I put an offer in on somewhere.

Also someone put an offer in on the flat, and they had only just put their house on the market, so that seemed a bit of a waste of time and it could take months for them to find a buyer.

Had a chat with a friend yesterday and she said at exchange you pay your deposit and have to get get house insured but you don’t own it or can’t move in for a week or so.. is that right? Seemed a bit strange!

People can put in an offer whenever they like, it's up to you whether you accept it. You can accept, but make it clear the property is still on the market. That's why on Location location location you always hear Kirsty say we'll pay asking price if you take it off the market.

You don't insure or have access to a property until you have completed. It's not yours until then.

When you complete, your building society pays 100% of price. That's when your mortgage kicks in... and you start repayments.

Had a chat with a friend yesterday and she said at exchange you pay your deposit and have to get get house insured but you don’t own it or can’t move in for a week or so.. is that right? Seemed a bit strange!

Yes, it’s normal to insure buildings from Exchange onwards, because you’re committed to the sale then and need to be covered if the house collapses. Yes, you are also usually expected to pay the deposit at Exchange, but not necessarily the full 10% if you’re in a chain and relying on the sale of your old property to fund your new one. For instance, I sold my last house to a FTB, who did have to pay the full 10% deposit. I then passed that on up the chain, even though 10% of the price of the house I was selling wasn’t 10% of the price of the house I was buying.

You move in on Completion, as that is the day the balance of the money changes hands and the new house is yours.

You don't pay a deposit as such. Your deposit is the money you give to the building society to keep your mortgage as low as possible.

In the kindest possible way... your friend doesn't sound too clued up. Talk to your building society or solicitor if you have any questions.

Sorry ittooshallpass but I disagree with what you say about OP’s friend, because it matches my experience when I bought and sold in 2016.

Are you living in the flat at the moment? If not i would suggest you sell the flat first. You can then present yourself yo the estate agent in the position of being ready to buy and chain free. It makes you a bit more appealing!

insideconveyancing.co.uk/news/insurance-between-exchange-completion/

www.moneysupermarket.com/money-made-easy/moving-house-get-home-insurance-the-day-you-exchange/

conveyancingsupermarket.com/do-i-need-short-term-buildings-insurance-between-exchange-and-completion

Had a chat with a friend yesterday and she said at exchange you pay your deposit and have to get get house insured but you don’t own it or can’t move in for a week or so.. is that right? Seemed a bit strange!

if you're selling and buying simultaeniously you will never actually physically pay your deposit on the new place.

For instance, you accept an offer on your flat. You see a house, and put an offer in which gets accepted. You appoint a solicitor or conveyancer. You apply for your mortgage on the new place (generally purchase price minus the equity you have in the flat, or a percentage of that if that's what you want)

your solicitor will work with the chain you so complete on the sale and the purchase on the same day. The sale of the flat will go through, then your solicitor will get your equity which they will pass to the mortgage company (and if there is any remaining, to you) and then complete on your purchase (the mortgage company will transfer the funds you have borrowed to the people you buy from - or their mortgage company)

as for exchange, this happens at a mutually agreed point with everyone in the chain. Don't exchange on a purchase without exchanging on a sale, as before exchange people can pull out of the chain, after exchange this gets very expensive and messy so generally people don't do it.

You should insure the property after exchange yes, but no, you cant move in until completion. (you can exchange and complete on the same day if everyone in the chain is happy with it. We did but I wouldn't recommend it personally!)

Buying a house is no difference to buying anything else - except that it's not complete until it it's done.

If you agree to buy a car verbally, it's a legal contract. If you agree to buy a house, it's not a legal contract until you both sign. (In England anyway)

Because a house is so expensive you need to do a lot of background work checking that everything is straight up, and none of this is refundable, so a deal that falls through can cost you a lot. And a dodgy house can cost you a lot.