Offer Accepted. What's next?

[validUsernameHere]

We had our offer accepted on Friday (yay) and have some questions. I have contacted my mortgage broker but haven't heard from them, so thought of checking here to get a head start. The EA is currently running an ID check, which I guess should be fine.

1. I have got a quote from solicitor that I want to work with. Should I start this process right away? I'm under impression that this is the first thing I need to do
2. When asked, the EA did confirm that they stop viewings, but no mention about taking down the listing. After reading online, looks like that's something they will do after we get a solicitor. Is that the case?
3. Am I right to understand that progressing with solicitor, mortgage broker (application) and survey should be done simultaneously? Do I deal with them separately, or is there anything that the solicitor will do on my behalf?

Thanks! Sorry if the answers are obvious.

Yes get all three started. There will be some comms between them e.g. mortgage advisor sends offer to solicitors, survey goes to solicitor if there is anything to consider, however you will need to push all three along yourself.

The estate agent won't take the listing down. They will mark it sstc when they issue the memorandum of sale - see next para!

The solicitor won't start until the estate agent has issued the memorandum of sale, which will be when they have completed their checks.

Assuming your chain is complete yes get on with everything. Have you got a memorandum of sale? I'm a bit surprised they've accepted an offer from you if you didn't show proof of funds through a decision in principle. Or do you have one of those? That's really urgent, a mortgage company saying they will loan you the money theoretically before the full application. Is there a reason you're going through a broker? As if your situation is straightforward you don't necessarily need to. Just apply to the bank you want to borrow the money from. Then yes instruct your solicitor asap and book a survey. Don't scrimp on the survey you want a decent one. If it's an old house then a building survey is a good idea.

@LadyTiredWinterBottom2 thanks! Do I just kick it off with the solicitor now, or wait until the EA releases the memorandum of sale? Not sure how long ID checks usually take tho.

@easilydistracted1 we're chain free. I've sent them proof of funds and DIP as well, and they initiated ID check at the same time. Is there anything that I need to be worried about here?
For broker, I prefer using one just to make it easier to find the best rate. And it's a broker provided by my employer as well, so might as well use them.

@easilydistracted1 and totally agree with not scrimping money on this. I'll be going with a solicitor that's a bit more expensive as well, just because a lot of my friends highly recommend them. Not worth losing the house over small savings here and there.

Definitely appoint them as the ea will be to know who to send it to. They won't do anything until they have the memorandum anyway.

@validUsernameHere The conveyancer at the solicitors will guide you. Yes. Get everything started. Obviously you can run up costs for a survey if the sale fails but a survey is vital so you can pull out if it’s awful! Hopefully it will be fine. But all systems go in my view!

Thanks everyone! Time to get the balls rolling it is. Wish us luck!

If your potentially in a big chain I would say take out buyers insurance in case it falls apart
it’s about 70 quid but worth it if your in a chain

If you haven't, find out the status of the upward chain. I wouldn't be investing too much until.it was complete and I knew what it looked like.

Just dropping in to recommend a book How To Buy A House Without Killing Anyone by Andrew Boast as a great guide to the whole process.

@validUsernameHere much easier you're chain free however I've been in the situation where people say they're chain free and they're not. Ah makes sense if your broker is free very nice. My solicitor literally got the sale through due to an amazing after sales progression. Everyone else was rubbish. And our full buildings meant we picked up on some issues re regs which saved us costs

Is your vendor suited and at what stage are they ?
As a previous poster mentioned I would spend some time investigating the chain your in - before you start spending out.

Whatever date they tell you that they will be ready by add another month maybe 2 😂

Expect things to cost more than you planned

if your in rented don’t hand in your notice until the very last minute even if it means your paying rent and a mortgage

Or stay with friends/family if there’s a gap. Spending what could be £1000 or a lot more on rent per month and having to negotiate another contract costing a lot is not worth it. Especially if it’s London rents! Thats really throwing money away.

Im going through the process of buying/selling right now.

Get solicitor appointed anyway. They usually don't do an chargeable work until the memorandum of sale comes through from estate agents. That way they can send out all the stuff you need to do with them and it just speeds things up once the paperwork comes through to them from the estate agent.

The mortgage takes around three weeks normally depending on your availability to talk to them.

Get quotes for surveyors and once the Estate agent confirms the chain is complete, book them in asap as it will then give you a good understanding of the condition of the property. Some mortgage companies will see if you want to book a homebuyers off their standard valuation survey but I always like to do my own research and appoint my own workforce and i cant guarantee the quality of their appointed surveyor.

A pro tip from me is making sure you answer all emails/calls in a timely manner to keep the sale progressing. The process takes a long time anyway so don't drag it out at your end. Another tip is keep the estate agent up to date with your progress. I called mine for the purchase milestones such as mortgage done, survey done etc so they know that you are on the ball and want to progress.