Home Buying Guide
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Quick Outline of the Home Buying Process

Here's the basic outline of what's involved when buying a home

This will depend on :

A) Your earnings

Mortgage lenders will usually lend you 3.5 times your annual income. However it's possible to borrow up to 5 times.

If you are buying with a partner you can usually borrow 2.5 times the joint annual income - though there are several variations. Read more about how much you can borrow

B) How much you have saved up

For example what you've got in the bank or are bringing as profit from the sale of another property). Read more about the deposit here

C) You also need to think about

The other costs involved in order to know what your budget is for the both the purchase and running costs of your new home. Read more about this now

Read in more detail about What can you afford when home buying

First, you need to choose between a repayment mortgage or an interest only mortgage.

Then there are all the repayment variations like fixed rate mortgages, cash back mortgages, discount mortgages and so on.

You can read the full list at Types of Mortgage

You could use:

Estate agents

Internet property websites

Relocation agents

or even Property auctions.

When you've found your ideal property you make an offer

If your offer's accepted you have to move quickly to get:

• A confirmed mortgage. You can use a mortgage adviser - make sure they're truly independent (Read more about mortgage brokers)

• A survey/valuation on the building. (Read more here)

• All the legal side sorted out (This is known as conveyancing) You can use a solicitor or a conveyancing service (Read more about the legal aspect)
  

When all this has been dealt with you exchange contracts and agree a completion date - which is when the property becomes yours.

You an also checkout our New Flow Chart of the Home Buying Process

To read more on this subject please see the list below or your mortgage guide or your home buying guide

Read enough? Just want a quote? To get your best mortgage quote quickly and easily we can put you in contact with a recommended mortgage adviser. It's free, completely confidential and there's no obligation at all. Simply fill out the form below

Value of Property £ (eg 125000) Borrow How Much? £ (eg 92500) Your Mortgage Type    - please select - Re-Mortgage Purchase Buy to Let Overseas   First time buyer? Yes No Have you found property? Yes No Country   - please select - Andorra Australia Bahamas Barbados Belgium Belize Bulgaria BVI Cayman Islands Cyprus Canada Dutch Antilles France Greece Ireland Italy Jamaica Malta Mexico New Zealand Poland Portugal Spain St. Lucia Switzerland Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos USA Other.. Sorry ! The amount you want to borrow is less than £25,000. This is the minimum allowed for a mortgage. But don't worry ! You could get the money via a personal loan. I want a free no obligation loan quote Click OK No thanks. I will change my borrow amount to more than £25,000 Click Cancel

Your Enemies: What's working against you

Most home buyers encounter the following typical obstacles:

If you locate your dream home the chances are that others will also be interested in it. You might think that these guys are the opposition in the race to buy but actually the following are more likely to work against you:

The problem of getting the professionals to do their job in good time - and not hold you up (We're talking about lawyers / surveyors / and the mortgage lender); (See Completing Your Property Deal for further details).

The chances of being gazumped;

The chances that the survey/valuation may reveal problems with the building - though you may not think these are such a big deal as the seller and may be able to use it to lower the price.

Problems with the chain - if you're part of one.

Oh yes: You! If you're not organised and efficient you'll be one of your biggest obstacles. See how to get organised

If you're a first time buyer see also Your first mortgage and home for a few more things to watch out for.

Welcome to the wonderful world of home buying.