Before booking viewings
- Choose a monthly budget that includes council tax, bills, travel, insurance and maintenance.
- Keep legal fees, survey costs, mortgage charges and moving expenses separate from the deposit.
- Check your credit records and correct any genuine errors.
- Gather proof of income, savings and the source of your deposit.
- Write two short lists: what the home must have and what would simply be nice.
An agreement in principle can help you judge the likely borrowing range. It is only an early indication. The lender still has to assess the full application and the property itself.
Think about the area before the individual house. Visit at a busy time, check the journey you will make most often and look up the council-tax band. A cheaper house can prove expensive if every working day involves a long drive.
Take this list to the viewing
- Look at parking and public transport at the time you would normally use them.
- Try the water pressure and check how windows and doors open.
- Look beneath sinks and around the ceilings, chimney breasts and shower.
- Walk around outside. Note the roof, gutters, drains, walls and boundaries.
- Ask about alterations, past flooding, neighbour disputes and what stays in the house.
You are deciding whether to take matters further, not carrying out your own survey. A photograph of a suspect stain or crack will help you remember where it was when you speak to a surveyor.
Ask to see the garage, loft access and outside boundaries rather than assuming they are included. If a room is locked, arrange to see it before committing money. There may be an innocent reason, but it still needs looking at.
Once the seller accepts your offer
Instruct a conveyancer and send identification and source-of-funds papers promptly. Complete the mortgage application, choose a survey and keep the estate agent updated if anything is holding you up.
- Read the seller's property information and fittings forms.
- Make a note of answers that are missing or unclear.
- Check the address, price and buyer names on important documents.
- Tell the surveyor about anything that worried you during the viewing.
- Keep quotations, reports and important emails in one folder.
This part can feel quiet because other people are doing much of the work. Stay involved. A short, polite request for an update is reasonable when you have heard nothing for a while.
Keep your mortgage adviser told about changes to the price or deposit. Avoid taking out new credit or making a large purchase without checking whether it could affect the application.
The checks to make before exchange
By exchange, you should be happy with the mortgage offer, survey, searches, title and replies to enquiries. You should know the completion date, how much money must reach your conveyancer and what insurance is required.
- Read your conveyancer's report instead of signing at the marked places only.
- Settle any questions raised by the survey.
- Check the fittings list and any agreed price change.
- Confirm the buildings insurance start date.
- Make sure your deposit is in the right account and can be transferred in time.
Between exchange and moving in
- Put buildings insurance in force from the date you have been given.
- Confirm removals and read the cancellation terms.
- Arrange post redirection and tell the council and utility companies at the proper time.
- Pack documents, medicines, valuables and an overnight bag separately.
- Ask how and when the keys will be released.
Tell the insurer if either home will stand empty. Policies have their own definitions and time limits, and some cover may be reduced while nobody is living there.
When the keys are finally yours
Take meter readings before the day gets busy. Check the items that were meant to remain, find the stopcock and fuse box, and test the alarms. Arrange to change the outside locks.
Start a simple repair list. Put urgent safety and weatherproofing work at the top, jobs for the next few months in the middle, and decoration at the bottom. This saves a surprising amount of rushed spending during the first week.
Keep the survey, guarantees, building certificates and insurance documents together after the move. You may need them for repairs, a future claim or when you eventually sell.