Feeling so overwhelmed and only just starting

[Unexpectedbaby]

Me and my husband are just starting our house buying journey. Spoke with a mortgage broker this week. Should have a DIP mid next week. We are budgeting about £75-100k lower than our affordability and our broker see no concerns at all.

We are viewing a house tomorrow that 'looks' like it ticks all our boxes from a non negotiable perspective and potentially want to offer if it is as good as it looks.

I have spent all week looking at this board and TikTok's about people in the process and it seems so complicated I'm terrified something is going to go wrong, not necessarily with this specific house but with us being successful in buying a home in general.

I can't figure out the step by step process from a solicitors perspective and am just so overwhelmed.

Does anyone have any advice? We are FTB and moved back in with my parents, along with our daughter, a year ago so that we could save and do this and I just want to be in our own home more than anything.

If it helps, I felt like this when we were FTB. We ended up viewing 3 houses, offered on 1, offer accepted and we were in in 10 weeks. Couldn’t have been more straightforward!
However even if there are complications, or it falls through, or it drags on for bloody ages, you will get there in the end! Best of luck

Thank you so much. I just feel so blind to how this all works. How do we not learn about these processes at school!!

Your 3state agent and solicitor will guide you. Estate agent will even recommend the solicitors to use, give a few. They take you through the process. Don’t worry.

OP every FTB manages to get through it, and you will too

The estate agent and your solicitor are key.. make sure you keep on at them

Just take it one step at a time @Unexpectedbaby

The EA & solicitor should advise you at each stage. Plus you can ask any specific questions on here. All you need to do right now is work out what you can afford and find a suitable property then make an offer you are comfortable with. Then you will need to appoint a solicitor once your offer is accepted. I would ask friends/family/colleagues if anyone can recommend one.

I felt like this a FTP too!

You somehow muddle through it.

Have a look at this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy

Good luck!

I mean, I wouldn’t be getting advice from TikTok. Find a good mortgage broker and solicitor. Essentially don’t get emotionally attached - have a prioritised list of what you want and compare each property against it. Don’t go after some ‘dream house’. Visit at least once more before offering. And go in low with an offer, especially at the moment, you don’t want to overpay. And do as much research as you can, read all the paperwork etc. you’re FTBs so it puts you in a good position, hopefully you can find a chain free property which lowers the risk a lot.

When I was a FTB I was single and still living at home so muddled through without any major issues. Although I was moving to a different town (for affordability) the fact I was still at home with no pressure to move out removed all of the stress.

The fun REALLY starts when you are selling AND buying, hold onto your hat for that one as it can be a bumpy ride.😉
Ours was a 2yr process only made easier by the fact we had another house we could move into between selling & buying, without that I think we would have gone mad!🤯

Don't forget that SM will only highlight 'horror stories' which make up a teeny-tiny percentage of house purchases. The vast majority go through smoothly or with only minor issues that a good estate agent and solicitor will deal with.

(Qualifications - I was a mortgage broker in London and Dublin for 20yrs!)

It's complicated and a bit confusing, but watching/reading about people fretting about their own experiences isn't going to bring you comfort or even the right information. Read reputable resources and ask questions from your conveyancer. Use someone with good reviews, or recommendations from friends/family. You'll get there.

Agree with PP Rosesanddaisies1 above.👍
Don't go looking for your "dream" or "forever home", this is your first step on the housing ladder and compromises are almost certainly going to have to be made. Very few people move into their "perfect" home immediately, if they do they are very few & far between.
When you have chipped away at the mortgage, have some equity, know how big your family is going to be, have progressed at work (earning more) etc, that is the time to find your long-term home.

And initially you may get all the properties the EAs haven't managed to sell, check how long they have been on the market, if it's a long time they are probably over priced or there is some other problem.

Unless your in a "hot spot" you should have plenty of chance to view the property at least twice. Try to do them on different days and times.
Also don't let the Estate Agent pressurise you into making a quick offer. I would actually avoid certain "pushy" agents if possible. I always ask the Agent how much they believe the seller is willing to accept. They often give you a good idea.
Do also talk about alternative properties with rival agents. They may try to put you off but may also highlight things you might not of thought of: eg one posh rd I know the houses on one side have far better panoramic views than the ones on the other.

I'd say that once you've had an offer accepted, the process sort of happens to you. You respond to requests during the process rather than driving it yourself.

Your mortgage company will arrange a valuation survey - the estate agent will arrange the practicalities of that with the seller. You may choose to have a more detailed survey or not - again the estate agent will arrange time and place.

Your mortgage broker prepares the application and submits it for you so you just provide the information requested by them. They should keep you up to date progress. They should als

Your solicitor then liaises with mortgage company on money transfer once close to completion. Your only action will likely to be to transfer your deposit to the solicitor's account at some point.

A good responsive solicitor is important so ask friends, colleagues, family if they have used anyone recently that they recommend. Estate agents get commission for recommending solicitors so I wouldn't rely on them to give a good choice.

Now when it comes to selling and buying simultaneously it becomes more complicated! But first time buying is fairly straightforward in terms of process.

Thank you all. It's good to know this is a daunting process for all that do it. I have like a constant nervous excitement right now.

We went to view our first place today and it was a great learning experience of how misleading photos can be! We were sure it would tick all of our boxes but there were so many things that were deal breakers almost straight away. We were in and out in 5 mins. Top end of our budget with far too much that needing fixing!

That being said we have 2 viewings Monday and about 8 enquiries we are waiting to hear back on. There is a lot for sale in our area in our budget and they either get snapped up straight away or sit there for ages.