We've bought a house!!! What do I do now!!

[desperatetomove]

Some of you may remember my post in the past we have gone for and lost so many houses and my last post was about viewing a house that was out of budget - we have now bought that house!!! 😱 we can't quite believe it is happening and all the people who were saying to me 'what's for you won't pass you by' I wanted to kick before, I know what to squeeze and give them big dribbly kisses!

My question though, is what the heck do we do now? what am I missing? What should I expect? Any tips or tricks?? Any help we would be hugely grateful for - we have booked the formal mortgage application meeting where we will apparently also book the survey, and I have instructed solicitors who are sending a pack out.

Congrats! I’m getting close to putting in an offer myself so I’ll lurk around and see if you get any advice :)

Now you wait!
For the mortgage offer and the survey and all the searches!

Keep on top of your solicitor!!

Be prepared for a long wait OP!

er...you have an offer accepted, not the same thing! It isn't definite until exchange if England.

keep pestering the solicitor that you pay. Find out how long your council take to do searches. Start decluttering.

further along, you get removal quotes, get insurance quotes for the new place (you need to insure it from exchange), arrange post redirect etc etc. But you are way too early to do that yet.

fingers crossed.

That’s great news OP! I don’t want to burst your bubble, but try to stay calm and don’t get too emotionally invested yet (I know it’s exciting, but so many deals fall apart before completion).

Hopefully you’ve chosen a solicitor that comes highly recommended. They’re your biggest advocate/asset in the process if they keep on top of the paperwork and provide you with regular updates (keep pushing them, if not)!

Start window shopping for interiors, decorators etc, but don’t buy anything yet (try to wait until exchange).

Looking forward to hearing when you get the door keys in your hand 😊

Solicitor has come very highly recommended from most people who I have spoken to,we went loca instead of one through an agent, seems they are the quickest and abit more interested rather than say in a call centre somewhere.

We are first time buyers, and the house is empty, so there is no chain, just us buying this house and that's it, the seller wants it gone quickly, and we want in quickly so will make sure I keep on top of the solicitor.

We still feel like the rug is going to be pulled from underneath to be honest, but I can't help but feel super excited, this is the closest we have come so far, we have had many disappointments with regards to houses already so I know I shouldn't let me self get too far ahead 🤗

Engage solicitor now, get the mortgage and valuation survey sorted, book your own survey (valuation survey is for the mortgage company not for your benefit, get one that tells you about the state of the property). Keep on at the solicitors /estate agent but try to be patient - it is the most frustrating and slow process I have ever been through!!

Remember that it can all fall apart any point from now until exchange - hopefully it won't but keep it in the back of your mind and try not to get too invested in it until you exchange.

Also expect the exchange date to get pushed back once or twice because of something completely unexpected and/or ridiculous

hoa.org.uk/ has lots of useful info!

Also start thinking about thinks like broadband/sky now - they can take forever to get set up as you may have to wait for available set up slots, so we had everything decided and could press go as soon as we exchanged (as you fix the completion date at the same time) - meaning that it all got sorted the day after completion.

Also, as tempting as it is to exchange/complete quickly, give yourself a couple of weeks between if you can, you'll suddenly have a lot to do!!

That is excellent advice and info, thank you. About the survey, the one we are getting with the mortgage, will that be sufficient or would it be advised to get an additional one? It's not a very old house.

The survey that comes with the mortgage will only value whether the property is worth the price you are paying for it.

I am in a similar position to you (waiting to exchange), and I’m paying for an additional homebuyers survey which will assess the house in more detail, and will check over the condition of the wiring, plumbing, windows etc.

I booked via a company called iHome.co.uk - I don’t work for them or know anything much about them but will find out soon as my survey is taking place today.