Steps to Buying a House UK
Buying a house is without discussion, the biggest investment you’ll have to make in your life. That said, in order to make the best decision for you, you must be informed. Happies made a guide to assist you in this wonderful phase of your life and provide you with all the information you’ll need to know and steps to buying a house UK
#1 Steps to Buying a House UK: People You Will Need
Lender
A lender is someone who’s able to lend you some money to buy a house.
Insurer
An insurer is someone that can provide you with a building insurance policy in order to buy a property and protect your belongings.
Legal Representative/ Conveyancer
A legal Representative or Conveyancer is someone that carries all the legal paperwork you need to buy a house.
Surveyor
A surveyor is someone who’s able to assess the physical condition of the property and can give you an independent valuation.
Mortgage broker or adviser
A mortgage broker or adviser is someone that gives you information on which property would be best for you.
Specialist professional or tradesperson
A specialist professional or tradesperson is someone that advises you on any maintenance or building works identified in the survey.
Energy Assessor
An Energy Assessor is someone able to answer queries on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Estate Agent
An estate agent is someone who can guide through the buying process while working with other parties to help the sale progress.
#2 Steps to Buying a House UK: Budget Planning
Before starting to see properties you’re interested in, you need to make sure you have your budget planned.
It’s widely common for buyers to need a mortgage in order to buy a home. You can typically borrow a multiple of your household income and this amount will be influenced by your credit score. You can add this sum to your deposit to have an idea of your budget.
The UK Government has a range of schemes to help people buy a house:
Help to Buy: Equity Loan – for those buying a house for the first time, this loan from the government itself, that you put towards the cost of buying a newly built home. You can borrow a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 20% (40% in London) of the full purchase price of a new-build home. But you have to buy the house from a home builder that’s registered in this scheme.
Help to Buy Wales – this scheme provides a shared equity loan to buyers of new-build homes and can support you to up to £250,000. Again, you can only buy houses from homebuilders registered. And you have to provide a 5€ deposit and you have to take out a repayment mortgage to cover the remaining amount.
Homebuy Wales – this scheme provides a loan to buyers that otherwise couldn’t afford to buy a home. It can support you with 30% of the total home price. However, this scheme is not available in all areas and it’s subject to local eligibility criteria.
Lifetime ISA – this scheme is like an online saving account. You can deposit your money by creating a profile, to up to £4,000 per year and the government will give you a bonus of 25%. But remember that you can’t open an account with someone else and although you can have multiple accounts, you’re allowed to one account per tax year.
Rent to Own Wales – for those that are already renting a place and want to but it, this is a perfect scheme to consider. This scheme will enable you to build up a lump sum toward a deposit whilst you rent the house. The lump-sum toward the deposit can then be used to help secure a mortgage to enable the purchase of the home.
Other Expenses
You should remember that buying the property you want, won’t be the only expense you’ll have. You also need to pay:
Reservation fee to hold the property
Stamp Duty in England of Land Transaction Tax in Wales (unless you’re a first-time buyer and fill all the criteria needed.)
Getting up-to-date Surveys or Reports
Conveyancing Fees
Search Fees
Building Insurance
Moving Costs
Essential Home Repairs or Improvements
Mortgage Costs and Life Insurance
Service Charges and Ground Rent in Leasehold Properties
#3 Steps to Buying a House UK: Get a Mortgage
Before you speak with a mortgage broker or adviser, you should check your credit score. Having a good credit score will dictate and allow you to get the house you want easier. A mortgage lender will consider the total amount you can borrow and how affordable your monthly mortgage payments will be when deciding how much to lend. The affordability assessment will consider your income and your current outgoings and even consider any changes that might affect whether you would be able to afford repayments.A good idea to get a better score for your credit is to pay any debt you have before buying a house. This way, you won’t need to worry about not having the money to pay for everything.
#4 Steps to Buying a House UK: ID Check
It’s required by law to get your ID checked by anyone involved in the process of buying a house. From estate agents to lawyers, in order to prevent money laundering and fraud. Get every documentation you need together, including proof of identity, proof of address and proof of source of funds.
#5 Steps to Buying a House UK: Choose the best
It’s time to look at properties you’re interested in. I don’t know where to start looking, consider all the criteria you want to get a house that suits you the best. Think about:
Affordability – if you need help with this one, check our post on the Cheapest places to live in the UK.
Location – think about what location suits better for you. Rural, metropolitan, calm, or super busy?
Transport links.
New building or second-hand?
Schools – if you have children or will eventually have, what’s the rank of the school nearest to the home you want?
The number of bedrooms?
Type of house – again, if you need inspiration, check our post about the types of houses that exist in the UK.
Garden or no garden?
Car Parking.
Once you figure everything out, you can start speaking to estate agents and so on. If you need more information, check the UK Government page on how to buy a house. Good luck!
