Contact your mortgage adviser
There are lots of reasons to move home, whether it’s buying your first property, needing more room for an expanding family, or downsizing once your children have left home. If you’re thinking of making a move, don’t go it alone. Mortgage advisers, like Dupree & Co, can help find you the best deals and sort all the complex paperwork. We don’t charge for our time either. We get paid by your lender once you sign up for a mortgage.
Get an agreement in principle
Get started with our credit and affordability assessment, then follow this up with a call with one of our team. We’ll quickly be able to establish what you can borrow, what it will cost and provide you with Decision in Principle.
The Decision in Principle document gives you a good idea of how much you can borrow based on a soft credit search and your name, address and employment and liabilities details.
Get ahead of the game and be prepared using our guide to the documents you need for a mortgage application.
Getting everything together and uploaded to our portal will speed up the process when you’re ready to apply for your new mortgage.
Check your budget
At this point, it’s always advisable to check your budget. Assess how much you have and want to contribute to your new mortgage. Also, while the lender may be happy to lend you a certain amount you need to be comfortable with the monthly mortgage payments.
You also will need a budget for other costs. To help with this, check out our guide to budgeting for your mortgage.
Request an estate agent valuation
Now you have a good idea of what you can borrow and what you can buy within your budget, if you have a property to sell it might be a good time to get your house on the market. We recommend you shortlist 3 estate agents and have them view your property. Choose agents who are selling properties like yours in your area and who come recommended. You can often negotiate the commission rate with your estate agent too, so don’t be afraid to ask!
View properties and making an offer
If you have a house to sell you might find estate agents will only allow you to view a property if you have accepted an offer on your house.
You can do a lot of research before you physically get inside. If you don’t know the area it’s a good idea to visit during the day and evening to get a feel of things, to find out where your nearest shop and GP is and public transport links. If you have children, local nurseries and schools are an important consideration.
You can find out online what other properties have sold for recently in the area and when. This will help you get a feel of how much you are prepared to offer for the property.
When you’ve found a property you like, you’re ready to make an offer to the estate agent. Your offer doesn’t have to be the asking price, sometimes you can go lower, other times you may need to offer more.
Make sure you let the estate agent know you’re already in a position to get a mortgage as this may help influence acceptance of your offer.
Then you need to wait! Be patient as it might take a day or two to hear if your offer has been accepted by the vendors.
If your offer is knocked back know your limit for the property and stick to it. Just because you can afford to buy a property for a certain amount doesn’t mean you should.
Instruct your solicitor
Once your offer is accepted, you need to contact your solicitor to act on your behalf. The estate agent will request a memorandum of sale from them for your offer accepted. Not got a solicitor? We can recommend one who we’ve found to provide a great service to our customers.
Review and apply
Now we can make your mortgage application appointment. This is an important and exciting step where we review your needs and circumstances for your mortgage, and any protection you might need. Your adviser will work hard to get the best possible package for you.
Once you’re happy, your adviser will put in your application. At this stage, depending on your lender, you may have a product fee to pay. Read our guide to budgeting for your mortgage.
Valuation
Next, just before submitting the mortgage application, your adviser will take the valuation fee if this is charged by the mortgage company to value your property. Find out more under ‘Valuation’ in our guide to budgeting for your mortgage.
Mortgage offer issued
Once your mortgage offer is issued this is confirmation that the lender has finished their checks and is happy to lend to you. They’re also confirming that they’re happy with the property as security for the mortgage.
Your offer will have a set offer expiry date. It’s important to consider this when agreeing to exchange contracts and setting a completion date.
This is also a good time to review and make sure you’re happy with everything. You have a reflection period, subject to lender, before you proceed. If you’ve got questions, your adviser will be able to answer them. You should also review any protection products and get them ready to start when you exchange to cover you.
Solicitor searches
Now you have the valuation back and the offer you can instruct your solicitor to apply for the searches. This is when your solicitor carries out a series of conveyancing searches to make sure there are no issues with your new home. You can find out more about this under ‘Solicitor searches’ in our guide to budgeting for your mortgage.
You’ll need to make the payment at this stage too. Keep your adviser in the loop so they can communicate with your solicitor to ensure a seamless process.
Exchange of contracts
Once the searches are back and the solicitor has received your mortgage offer, they’ll send out paperwork for you to sign. This includes the title deed, mortgage deed, fixtures and fittings list etc.
When this is complete, you’re ready to exchange contracts with the other party through your solicitor. You can also agree a completion date for moving. You are now legally bound to purchase your property. Congratulations!
Unless you are buying a new build property, it’s vital when you exchange contracts that you have buildings insurance in place for your new property. It’s also a good idea to have life insurance or a critical illness policy in place.
Our advisers can arrange this for you, ensuring you’re covered before you set foot through your new door.
Completion
This is the date set at exchange and the date the funds are transferred and your new mortgage starts. You’ll now pay the rest of your solicitor fees too.
Keys to your new home
Once your solicitor has called with the go ahead that the funds have been released you can now make your way to the estate agents and pick up your keys to your new home. Congratulations and happy moving!
