What the Buyer will need to do before Contracts are Exchanged

This page is about what the Buyer will need to do once an offer has been accepted subject to contract.  If you haven't got that far then you might want to look at pages about Arranging the Finances and Choosing a Property to Purchase.  It also assumes that you have instructed this firm to act for you. Another firm might deal with matters slightly differently, but these pages should still give you a reasonable idea of what happens, and what you would need to do at various stages.

As soon as possible you should:

  • Instruct us to act - if you haven't already done so then you can Get A Quote from us. 
  • You will need to make sure that we have full details of the property, and of the seller and his solicitors. If estate agents are involved they should send this information to us.   Unfortunately some agents have the irritating habit of not supplying any details of the property, so we do not know what it looks like!
  • Submit a formal mortgage application to your lender so that a formal Mortgage Offer will come to you.   This typically takes about 2-3 weeks.
  • Decide whether to have a Survey and arrange it.

Once the process has got going:

  • You may get copies of various forms and documents from us.   The significance of some (e.g. the list of Fixtures & Fittings) will be pretty obvious, but in other cases we will give you some explanation.   If you do not understand this, or the information given is inconsistent with your understanding (e.g. plan sent shows very small garden but what you have seen is a lot larger) then please ask for more explanation or tell us about any inconsistencies as soon as you can.
  • Complete and return any mortgage acceptance form that your lender may require when you get your mortgage offer.
  • If you are arranging buildings insurance on the property, then complete and return any necessary forms so that the policy is ready to start when we get to Exchange of Contracts.   Your lender will usually want the insurance to be for a minimum rebuilding cost mentioned in the mortgage offer or its basic valuation report.   This is not necessarily the same as the market value of the property.
  • If you are moving to the property, make preliminary arrangements for removals.  A useful site is http://helpiammoving.com.
  • Have the money ready for the Deposit, which will be needed at exchange of contracts stage. This may not be needed if you are both buying AND selling.  This is explained in a page about Deposits when Selling and Buying Property.

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