Rose and Sargent
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Whether you are buying or selling your home, or a Buy to Let investment property, it can be one of the most stressful decisions you can make, not to mention being the largest financial commitment you will undertake in your lifetime.

 

At Rose and Sargent, we strongly believe that we can help to make this transition as stress free as possible. We aim not only to sell your property, but also help you find your next home or investment property. We can help you every step of the way, through negotiations, to offering our expert advice and knowledge of the local property market.

 

 Below is a list of procedures, that if followed can help make buying a property an exciting and enjoyable experience.

 

MORTGAGE ADVICE - We always recommend that you speak with either a lender, or an independent mortgage advisor, to establish how much you can actually borrow based not only on your salary/deposit, but also by ensuring the monthly repayments are set up to be both achievable and maintainable. Once you have been recommended a lender and a product that you are happy with, it is always a good idea to have an 'Agreement in Principle' with that lender, as it is only once this has been done that you can have the peace of mind in knowing that you can borrow the amount you need.

 

REGISTER YOUR INFORMATION - Either online, by telephoning or by popping into one of our offices, you can register your information. By telling us what your search criteria is, or if you would like us to help you identify your search criteria, we can then proceed by matching all our properties to your needs. We can then notify you by post or email every time a property comes onto the market with us, matching your search criteria. 

 

VIEWINGS - Once you have seen the detailed sales particulars on a certain property, and you would like to view it, simply request a viewing online following the link on the full details page, and we will call you back to confirm. Alternatively call our office and speak with one of our friendly staff, who will arrange the viewing for you. We will meet you at the property and answer any questions about the property you may have.

 

MAKING AN OFFER - Once you have found your dream property, your offer will be submitted to the vendor via us. This shall be done both verbally and formally, via a letter. Please note that once an offer has been accepted, the offer will be subject to contract, thus will not be legally binding until the contracts have been signed by both parties.

 

CONVEYANCING SOLICITORS - Once your offer has been accepted, you should instruct your solicitor so that they may apply for the local searches and draw up the contracts. We can help by offering a quote from a recommended solicitor firm. You should also have your mortgage broker apply for your mortgage formally and instruct a survey of the property.

 

SURVEY - There are three types of survey availible to you.

 

•A basic mortgage valuation

This is a basic survey, and is condusted on behalf of the mortgage lender to ensure the property is suitable security for the lender. 

 

•Homebuyers Survey and Valuation (HSV)

This survey is done to a precise format set out by the RICS. It is a nine-page form which includes all major sections of the property that are clearly visible to the surveyor. The aim of this survey is to provide a snapshot of what the overall condition of the property is, and to identify which areas are in need of further tests or more specific investigation, rather than detailing every aspect of the property. Wiring, drainage and gas are not included in the survey, so many people choose to have further reports done on these areas as well. This survey is most suitable for conventional properties that are in a reasonable condition, have been built within the last 150 years, and are under 2000 square feet. It is cheaper than a building survey, but is not suitable for unusual properties, ones that are particularly old, or if you are planning on renovating the house. It is recommended that all buyers have a HSV performed on the house which they want to buy.

 

•Building Survey

These surveys are much more detailed, and provide a comprehensive report about the current condition of the property. This type of survey is the most thorough one available, and each one can take several hours to complete. The survey will examine all accessible parts of the property and, if you wish to have any specific areas looked at, this type of survey is the right choice.

The Building Survey is suitable for all types of property, whether they are listed, unusual or old, whether you wish to perform renovation work on them or whether the property has already had extensions added to it. This means that this survey is preferred for all buildings which cannot be included in the HSV, largely because it is more expensive. The price of the survey will fluctuate according to the size of the property and its condition, the approximate value of the house, its location and which surveyor or company is used to carry out the inspection. Sometimes these surveys can be used instead of the Basic Mortgage Valuation (see below), but only if the surveyor you use is approved by the mortgage lender. The actual survey does not provide a valuation, but the surveyor will include one if you request it. However, it is more likely that the Building Survey will be done for other reasons, as it provides such an extensive survey compared to the HSV.

 

DRAFT CONTRACTS - The draft contract will be drawn up by the vendors solicitor and sent to the buyers solicitor. From the draft contract, the buyers solicitor may raise further enquiries which the vendors solicitor shall respond to. The draft contract shall then be amended for final approval.

 

MORTGAGE OFFER - At this stage, your mortgage lender will have possession of the valuation report and all the information requested to have processed the buyers application. Once processed, the buyer, along with their soicitor, will receive a formal offer of the mortgage. The buyers solicitor will ensure the offer is correct. The document is then signed by the mortgagee and returned. If all enquiries have been received then the buyers solicitor may then request the funds from the lender.

 

EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS - At this stage the buyers solicitor will ask for a deposit (payable by a bank transfer or bankers draft). Both parties can then agree on a completion date. At this point the contracts are legally binding.

 

COMPLETION - At this stage the balance of the purchase price is sent from the buyers solicitor to the sellers solicitor. You are now the proud owner of your new home, and can pick up your keys from the sellers agent. Congratulations!