First time buyer - offer accepted - what are your top tips/what to expects?

[Stradivari]

Hello everyone! My DH and I have had an offer accepted on a house today. We are first time buyers, so was just wondering if anyone has any top tips, any what to expects or any advice for us as we embark on this journey to a home!? It would be great to get an idea of what steps come next. Aware we can ask our EA but I do enjoy the chat of mumsnet!

Some info, the chain is us and the vendor as the property is vacant. We are planning on appointing a solicitor on Monday as well as confirming our mortgage in principle - we have had multiple mortgage affordability conversations with brokers so we know that we can afford this house. When we give our solicitor details, the house will be sstc but the ea has said he won’t be booking further viewings as as far as he is concerned it’s our house.

We were told yesterday by a broker that it’s taking around 3 months to complete at the moment - does that ring true with you? We obviously want to exploit the stamp duty situation which is four and a half months away so I think we have adequate time?

Any hints tips and generally sage advice welcomed!

Apart from being infuriatingly slow, solicitors can make mistakes. Letters meant for me were sent to the other house. And yes, it was empty.

Be prepared for the mortgage lender to down value it.

I think my best advice is be proactive.

I would make sure you don’t leave more than a week between check ins with everyone on the process and certainly don’t assume they’re just quietly getting on with things.

At each check in I would always ask what they’ve completed since you last spoke, what they’re currently working on or waiting for and what they need to do next. Take notes! I sound really bitter but I have yet to meet the proactive conveyancer!

Also when you sign with the solicitor get them to spell out the full legal process for you so you can also see where you are in the overall timeline too.

It is taking a long time to get mortgage applications through at the moment too so make sure you have all your legal documents/evidence of deposit/iD etc sorted and ready to go. Check and double check figures, in our last move our mortgage company overcharged us £10k in a redemption penalty we didn’t need to pay and it took nearly a month to resolve, this exact thing won’t happen to you as you’re a first time buyer but it’s super important to check everything thoroughly and keep a very very close eye on charges and costs. Keep your own spreadsheets and always check all documents thoroughly

Don’t trust anything the estate agent tells you, they work for the buyer not for you.

Always look for where VAT is and isn’t added on a quote for conveyancing etc you’d be surprised how often things are ex VAT where it makes no sense what so ever.

Finally It is a long and stressful process so try to pace your stress levels, don’t replace one resolved worry with a the next new one and be patient. Not sure if you can tell but I didn’t manage any of those things! Keep gin easily accessible!

Sorry this sounds really gloomy and I’m sure you’re massively excited about buying your first home. It is worth it in the end though.

In Covid times book anything you might want like a survey now as everything is over stretched. Saying that we are waiting on the slowest part: local authority searches - everything else will be done by then so it didn’t matter that the survey took 3 weeks as searches we are being told are 9-12 weeks!

I’m like .... 6 weeks ahead of you but I pulled out of another house due to Survey (subsidence) so I’ve sort of done a lot of it twice!

Funny thing is our house has been under offer twice And they lost the buyer due to the buyer’s circumstances both times so I am imagining the local authority re:doing the same request 3 times - somewhere there’s searches for my house waiting to go and I won’t get them till near Xmas.

We are the same as you. Just had offer accepted so trying to negotiate our way through the next steps. We have instructed a solicitor, they got back to almost out instantly after we enquired and although weren’t the cheapest quote (the cheapest quote have a bad rep from our friends wife who is a solicitor in a nearby area).
We have 2 AIP from Lloyds and Halifax but are talking with a broker to see if any better deals. We aren’t borrowing the max based on income ratios so hopefully no issue getting an actual mortgage offer.
We have a friend who is a surveyor who is going to do an unofficial survey for us, we trust his judgment so if no issues all good and if any issues come up we can pay for a in-depth official survey.

Be prepared for everything to take forever. Make sure you nag solicitors and make sure you have some buffer in funds both in case they down value it and in case things cost more than you expect (they always do). Remember there will be lots of secret fees

• legal fees
• searches fee
• land registry fees
• If it's a flat there will likely be service charges and ground rent.
• Surveyor fees
• Mortgage fees
• moving company
• furnishing and their delivery fees
• fees to connect to new utilities - water, electric, gas and TV

I am currently on week 21 of the sale of a vacant flat and no end in sight. but that's cos my buyers are useless and have caused issues and delays at every turn

Btw - even if there was no stamp duty holiday ftb don't pay it.. unless the property is over 500k I believe.

After just buying our first house my top tip is don't scrimp on a solicitor, get the best one you can afford. Our sellers went with a cheap one and you could tell. Ours got us in so much quicker than estimated and she was on the ball with everything.

Don't buy any furniture until you're actually in. We had so many plans and so glad we didn't order anything because things like fitting sofas through the door didn't even cross my mind 🤦🏽‍♀️ and you need to get a feel for the place first

Do not engage with EA once you have instructed a solicitor, I cannot stress this enough. Too many cooks causes confusion.

Yes solicitors make mistakes so definitely questions anything that doesn't make sense, but they also have indemnity. This is same with surveyors, my brother is a surveyor and will happily do a survey for free but he has to qualify in his report that he didn't accept a fee and therefore there is no indemnity so we would use someone else (I trust my brother, obviously, but he also arranged a surveyor when he purchased rather than doing it himself solely to ensure he has the indemnity should he need it).

Our solicitor and broker have advised completion in 10 weeks, given there is no chain you have plenty of time!

We use an independent broker who does a lot of the leg work for us. For example he comes to our home to do the paperwork, arranges the mortgage and then chases the solicitor. We didn't really speak to anyone other than the broker except for the occasional query with the solicitor when we purchased. Though our solicitor was crap and we are using a different firm to sell who are much better and give us regular updates. Definitely make sure you get an itemised quote with indication of any fees.

Also double check everything the vendors are leaving. We all hear the stories but people do genuinely take the door knobs and light fittings and water softener!

Go to the property and check it is actually empty, just before you exchange. I was told it was vacant and turned up to three tenants and all their stuff, the day before exchange...caused a 4 week delay.

Do not engage with EA once you have instructed a solicitor, I cannot stress this enough

Interesting advice!!!

Most of the solicitors I speak to have around 150 individual files on the go at the moment and haven't got the spare time to chase as much as they might like, or to ensure their own clients are dealing with things as quickly as they should be.

A good agent can make the difference between a sale happening relatively smoothly and a sale that doesn't happen at all.

A good agent will have a clear understanding of where a sale is at any given time, and will be able to highlight potential issues, as well as act as an effective method of communication between the parties involved.

Not all estate agents will prove themselves to be useful sadly, but likely the majority will be keen to do what they can to help the transaction reach a successful conclusion. Do not automatically assume the agent is going to be a hindrance, despite the obvious past experience of some other posters!

I would recommend getting a full building survey.

Also - ask your solicitor to wait to get the seller pack with questionnaires completed before ordering/paying for searches.I wasted money on searches before realising there was a red flag in the questionnaire.

Agree with a PP about values being downgraded at the moment.

I had the sellers email from a second viewing and once we were exchanged, it was easier to communicate directly and ask any questions.
Good luck!

Hi, I'm in the same position. I've been waiting for our vendor to find a property and now they have so I just need to instruct broker and solicitor, but I'm a bit clueless from this point. Do I need to be finding someone to do survey or will my broker/solicitor advise someone?

Learn to be pushy. I'm not talking daily phone calls, but at least weekly catch ups with solicitors etc. Ours cost us months by being overly slow(even accounting for the covid situation they took the piss a bit).

Book everything asap. And just keep chasing everyone.

Check EA have checked buyers for proof of funds for deposit and not find out 4 months down the line when due to exchange that in fact the don't have a deposit as they aren't actually first time buyers but relying on another sale for the deposit funds!