THE BUYING PROCESS
So you’ve found a property you’d love to buy. How exactly do you go about it? Here, Carrie Hunter enlists the help of some solicitors and estate agents, and maps out the essential steps you’ll need to take before getting your hands on the keys to your new home.
Photos: Colin Hattersley-Smith
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CAN YOU AFFORD IT? Buying a house can be an une\pectedly expensiy e business. Start oll by thinking through what the costs will be. and rrrake a btrdget. It is important to accotrnt tor each time you'll need to dip into your pocket and do all your sums. Stephen ()'.\'eil| ol Newton says: ‘Sometimes solicitors tend not to discuss linancial reslmnsibilities. ll" they don't tell you. ask. It‘s up to you to enquire about all the lirrancial burdens that go with buying a house and map out the real costs. Remember the smaller charges like l'actors.‘ l’hil (iraham ol .-\l|en & Harris points otrt that 'a first time buyer should not lime to pay a penny until they instruct a suryey'. .‘\nd there are no estate agent lees when you buy a property.‘ But check out all the costs associated \\ilh buying. plus the lrousehold bills you‘ll haye to coy er. below you e\ en consider passing (io.
Valuation suryey lees start l‘rom £90 and could cost anything up to £400 depending on your choice ol suryey. Stamp duty is an Inland Reyenue tax and yet another burden but it does cost less the further down the ladder you are. If your property costs less than £l20.000 you are exempt from paying. but il‘ your property costs between “20.000 and {250.000 you are required to cough up l‘r' ol' the purchase price. and 3‘} il. your property costs more than £250.00]. Legal l'ees should cost no more than
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L * \ a ‘ I V ¢ 1"?" Q h K ‘- 4‘ ‘ ‘ £500 plus VA'l‘. ‘You only get what you pay l'orf says (‘alum liraser ol' llannay Fraser.
A Registration l’ee is paid to the goyernment in order to register the title ol' your property. It costs
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THE NITI'Y (3le OF GETTING ON THE PROPERTY LADDER
{I l for eyery £5000. so it your property cost {80.000 you would pay L‘ I To to register. Security lees are important and cost £22. .-\ standard security is the name for the lender's mortgage tlcctl. which gi\cs them the right l0 rcpttssc‘ss the property it you default on your mortgage.
Rctnoyals companies can be e\pensi\'e. so make a few enquiries to get the best deal if you can't do it yoursell'. Insurance lees can yary depending on the lender. so shop around for best deal. It probably sounds like oby ious adyice. but keep aside a lot more than you think you might need for appliances such as cookers. fridges and washing machines. And it you're doing tip a flat that looks like it doesn't need that much improying. chances are there'll be loads more hidden costs than you anticipated.
OFFERS OVER VS FIXED PRICE
In Scotland there are two systems used to agree the price you‘ll pay for a property. The simpler one is the Fixed Price system. in which sellers announce their price. and the property stays on the market until a potential buyer is prepared to oll‘er what‘s being asked or something close to it.
The second. essentially auction-based approach is the ()l‘l‘ers ()yer system. Here. sellers set an ‘ol'l'ers oyer” price which represents the lowest bid they’d be prepared to consider. If you‘re interested in making an offer. you announce your intention to the seller. and once there are enough ‘notes ol’ interest'. a 'closing date' is set. Through your solicitor. you make an offer which you hope will be the highest of all the bids. ()l‘ten this is at leastt 20‘} higher than the 'ol‘l'ers oyer' price. but there are wide variations. ll. you're desperate to get the property. you haye to be prepared to risk ol’l’ering many thousands of pounds more than your closest riyal — although the seller is under no obligation to take the highest bid. so be friendly to them. ~itrst in case they‘re sentimental about who moyes into their home.
FlHDlNG 14C)l.ii(.l'§'t‘f¢,;:. Try to ayoid cold calling. The best way to lind a solicitor is through a personal recommendation or by contacting your local (ESPC or liSPC branches. who'll be happy to help point you in the right direction.
'Make sure that you get a solicitor who really knows their stui‘l‘ and about the market.’ says Stephen ()‘Neill of Newton.
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