Securing Your New Home

Before you pick up the phone to make an offer, you need three things in place. Without them, many estate agents will not take your offer seriously, and sellers will favour buyers who are clearly prepared.

The strength of an offer is not just the number. Sellers and their agents weigh up the whole picture: how likely is this buyer to complete, and how quickly?

• Your financial position: AIP in hand, deposit funds ready, and the ability to state your maximum borrowing clearly.
• Chain free status: As a first time buyer, you have no property to sell. This is a significant advantage. The seller does not have to wait for your sale before they can move.
• Speed of readiness: Solicitor already chosen, mortgage broker engaged, documents prepared. The faster you can progress after acceptance, the more appealing you are.
• Flexibility: If you can accommodate the seller's preferred timeline, say so. Some sellers value a later completion because they need time to find their next home.

We guide people on the Accelerator route, but if you're not, call the estate agent first with a verbal offer. Be clear about the figure and your position. Follow up the same day with a written email that includes your offer amount, your buying position (first time buyer, chain free, AIP in place), your solicitor's details, and confirmation that your deposit funds are available. Ask the agent to confirm receipt and request a response within 24 to 48 hours.

An accepted offer is great news, but it is not legally binding. Either party can still withdraw at any point before exchange of contracts. The goal now is to move through the process as quickly and smoothly as possible.

• Instruct your solicitor or licensed conveyancer formally (Day 1): Call them, confirm the property details, and provide the estate agent's contact information. Your solicitor will write to the seller's solicitor to begin the legal process.
• Submit your full mortgage application (Day 1 to 2): Your broker or lender will need all supporting documents. The sooner the application is lodged, the sooner you receive a formal mortgage offer.
• Book your survey (Day 1 to 3): Decide which level of survey you need (see the next section) and book it promptly. Survey availability can cause delays if left too late.

While you are gathering documents and waiting for your survey, your solicitor is working through a series of legal steps.

• Draft contract received (Week 1 to 2): The seller's solicitor sends a draft contract pack to your solicitor. This includes the title documents, property information forms, and the fixtures and fittings list.
• Searches ordered (Results take 2 to 6 weeks): Your solicitor orders local authority searches, environmental searches, and drainage and water searches. These check for planning issues, flood risk, contamination, rights of way, and other matters that could affect the property.
• Enquiries raised (Ongoing, often 2 to 4 weeks): Your solicitor reviews the contract pack and raises questions (enquiries) with the seller's solicitor about anything unclear or concerning.
• Survey conducted (Usually within 1 to 2 weeks of booking): Your chosen surveyor inspects the property and delivers a report.
• Mortgage valuation (Usually within 1 to 3 weeks of application): Your lender arranges a separate valuation to confirm the property is worth the amount they are lending. This may be a physical visit or a desktop valuation.
• Mortgage offer issued (Typically 2 to 6 weeks from application): Once the lender is satisfied with the valuation and your application, they issue a formal mortgage offer to you and your solicitor.

Your mortgage lender will arrange their own valuation, but this is for the lender's benefit, not yours. It confirms the property is worth enough to secure the loan. It does not check the property's condition in any detail. A proper survey is your protection.

Since 2021, RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) has standardised survey reports into three levels. Here is what each one covers and what it costs.

A survey flagging issues is not necessarily a reason to walk away. It is an opportunity to make an informed decision.

• Get cost estimates: Ask the surveyor for an indication of repair costs. For significant issues, get quotes from specialist contractors (e.g. a structural engineer for subsidence, a damp specialist for rising damp).
• Renegotiate the price: Armed with evidence of the cost to fix the issues, you can ask the seller to reduce the price accordingly. Your estate agent can facilitate this conversation.
• Ask the seller to carry out repairs: Less common, but possible. Be aware that you have no control over the quality of work if the seller arranges it.
• Withdraw if necessary: If the problems are severe and the seller will not adjust the price, walking away is a valid option. You will lose the cost of the survey and any searches already paid for, but this is far less than the cost of inheriting a major structural defect.

Exchange is the moment your purchase becomes legally binding. Before this point, either party can withdraw without penalty. After exchange, both you and the seller are committed. If either party pulls out after exchange, they face serious financial consequences.

• Formal mortgage offer received and reviewed
• All survey issues resolved (price renegotiated, repairs agreed, or accepted)
• Buildings insurance arranged to start from the exchange date (your lender will require this)
• All enquiries answered to your solicitor's satisfaction
• Signed contract returned to your solicitor
• Deposit funds transferred to your solicitor's client account
• Completion date agreed with the seller (and confirmed with your removal company)

Your solicitor and the seller's solicitor exchange signed contracts by telephone, following a standard Law Society protocol. Your solicitor sends the deposit to the seller's solicitor. A completion date is formally agreed and recorded in the contract. From this point, the purchase is legally binding.

The gap between exchange and completion is typically one to four weeks. This is your window to organise everything for the move.

• Broadband and phone: Check which providers serve the new address. Order installation and allow lead time, particularly for full fibre connections which may require an engineer visit. Action as soon as exchange is confirmed.
• Protection insurance: Finalise life insurance, critical illness cover, or income protection if you have not already. Your mortgage broker can help arrange this. Action before completion.
• Removal company: Get at least two quotes. Book early, especially if completing on a Friday (the most popular day). Alternatively, consider hiring a van if you prefer to manage the move yourself. Action immediately after exchange.
• Council tax: Notify your current council that you are leaving and register with the new council. Council tax liability transfers on completion day. Action the week before completion.
• Utilities: Contact gas, electricity, and water providers to close your current account and open one at the new address. Take meter readings on the day you leave and the day you arrive. Action the week before completion.
• Mail redirection: Set up Royal Mail's redirection service (available for up to 12 months). This catches any post sent to your old address. Action two weeks before completion.

• Confirm your removal arrangements. Double check the date, time, and access details with your removal company or van hire.
• Take final meter readings at your current property. Photograph each meter with a timestamp.
• Pack systematically. Label boxes by room. Keep essentials (kettle, mugs, phone charger, toilet roll, cleaning supplies) in a clearly marked box that goes into the new property first.
• Arrange time off work. Completion day is busy. You will need to be available for calls from your solicitor and physically present to manage the move.
• Confirm the expected completion time with your solicitor. Most completions happen between 11am and 2pm, but it depends on the chain.

• Take final meter readings. Gas, electricity, and water. Photograph each one.
• Defrost the freezer if you are moving it.
• Pack an overnight bag. Include essentials for the first night: bedding, toiletries, change of clothes, phone charger, any medications.
• Confirm completion time with your solicitor. Your solicitor will contact you once funds have been sent and confirmed.

• Morning: Your solicitor sends the completion funds to the seller's solicitor via bank transfer. This can take a few hours to process and confirm.
• Once funds are confirmed: The seller's solicitor confirms receipt. Your solicitor calls you to confirm that completion has taken place. You are now the legal owner.
• Key collection: Collect the keys from the estate agent (or as otherwise agreed). The agent will have been notified by the seller's solicitor that completion is confirmed.
• At the property: Check the property's condition against what was agreed. Take meter readings at the new property immediately. Test that utilities are working.

Your solicitor handles the remaining legal steps on your behalf: paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (if applicable, within 14 days of completion), registering you as the new owner at HM Land Registry, and confirming the lender's charge against the property. You will receive confirmation once registration is complete, which can take several weeks.