Home buying process in England

Val Watson
Authored by Val Watson
Posted Friday, December 24, 2021 - 7:10am

Despite multiple pandemic waves, UK average house price increased by 10.2% over the year.

It indicates a sharp increase in property sales in England and adjacent areas. If you too are planning to buy a house in England, make sure your planning falls right in place. 

This is because property transfers in England involve several complicated stages and missing any part may give you an unpleasant experience. 

Therefore, it is always a good idea to have an overview of the home buying process in England. 

Here is the step-by-step process of buying a home in England:

1 - Searching Potential Sellers

A great way to start searching for potential sellers is within your immediate relatives or friend circle. Besides, magazines, newspapers, and property advertisements on websites like rightmove.co.ukzoopla.co.uk, etc. are always an instant alternative. If you find a suitable home that fits your requirements and budget, you can start with your initial conveyancing procedure. 

2 - Hiring Conveyancing Services

After finalizing the property, you would need to hire a reliable and renowned conveyancing solicitor, such as AVRillo.

Conveyancing is the legal proceedings involving several steps and complex documentation during the process of property transfer between a property seller and a buyer.

An expert conveyancing solicitor eases the technicalities involved in the process and makes your transfer journey smooth. Conveyancing can also be done by an individual or even online. But until and unless you are well-equipped with the legalities, it is tiring and is likely to attract unnecessary hassles, legal troubles, and penalties.

3 - Deciding on Payment

The next stage is to finalize the payment details and decide the mode of payment. The majority of buyers opt for a mortgage along with a cash deposit of 10% of the property value. If you want to avail the best mortgage deals, you must have a credible credit score. In case you have a poor credit score, take action to improve. Having a higher credit score may also get you government housing schemes at lesser rates.  

4- Initiating Conveyancing Process

The finalized solicitor will begin the advanced conveyancing process and will contact the seller or his representative to discuss the draft contract and understand the conditions in the sale.

The solicitor will verify the credibility of the sale offer and the background verification of the ownership of the property.

Further, he/she will commence multiple searches to ensure that there are no underlying issues and all the loopholes are covered.

A surveyor is also involved, who calculates the property’s value and any additional cost associated with it. Primarily, a surveyor performs a property’s valuation survey and building or structural survey.  

5 - Locking the Deal

In the next stage, the solicitor collects all the documents and verifies all the required details for documenting the contract. The solicitor gets the contract checked by you before proceeding further.

Then, the buyer shares the contract on a mutually agreed date after the deposit amount for the property is transferred. On the same day, the completion date of the conveyancing process is finalized. Until and unless, any other issue arises, the completion date is fixed, and the transfer will be complete.

Once the contract is signed, it is sealed and the seller can no longer look for any other prospective buyer. However, if you change your mind, then you would lose all the deposit amount.

6- Completing the Deal

On completion day, the buyer transfers the rest of the amount, and the seller signs the property transfer papers, after which the buyer becomes the new owner of the property.

The keys of the property purchased are handed over to the buyer by the seller’s solicitor or the property dealer. Here the process of the property transfer completes.

7- Clearing Dues

After the completion of the property transfer, the buyer has to file the stamp duty and land tax returns, within 14 days from the completion process. Also has to pay off any unpaid tax dues with the England government. All these dues are managed by the solicitor.

Summary

Buying property in England is hectic and long. But the knowledge of the process and assistance of an expert solicitor can make the process hassle-free and shorter than usual.

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