Stupid question, but how does one actually go about buying a house?!

[allthequeensmen]

DP and I are saving up towards a deposit (but would like to buy in SW London so got a loong way to go yet!).

Both our sets of parents bought property before we were born and haven't budged since, so neither of us have seen the house buying process in action.

Solicitor's fees, surveys, mortgages, stamp duty, I have no clue how these things work!

Might it be worth speaking to a mortgage advisor even at this early stage so we know exactly what we should be aiming for in terms of a deposit etc?

Don't know if its relevent to this post but we would be looking to buy a one or two bed flat, these tend to go for about 210k in the area we're looking at.

Ok, so you can either research mortgages yourself, lots of information including calculators on lenders' websites. Obviously, you'll need to know how much you can borrow and the amount of deposit available before you should offer on a property. You could get advice from a Mortgage Advisor but sometimes the range of mortgage products can be limited.

Once you have had an offer accepted, you'll apply for the mortgage paying the arrangement and valuation fee. The lender will then arrange a survey. It's up to you whether you go for a basic valuation report or a more detailed homebuyers survey.

As regards Solicitors' fees and Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty is payable at 1% of the purchase price (up to £250k) and would amount to £2,100 for a purchase price of £210,000.

Solicitors fees and disbursements should be in the region £1200. Obviously, this is variable. It's always best to go on a recommendation rather than the cheapest.

Good luck!

Is this site any good?

When it comes to mortgage calculators, they will tell you the maximum you could possibly borrow, not how much you can sensibly repay. Always look at how much the repayments will be and bear in mind that if you are going for a variable or tracker mortgage, rates now are as low as they will ever be - the repayments will only ever go up. The change can be quite significant (£100 per month or more) even for a 0.5% rise in the base rate.

Thanks folks, I really am clueless so every word is appreciated! Thanks for the link insancerre