How to move home.
1. Booking removals before an exchange of contracts.
When moving home it isn’t done until it done, especially if you have a chain. One minute you have agreed a date to move and the next the solicitor needs another signature. As tempting as it is to get everything organised and planned out it doesn’t always go to plan. When it comes to booking removals or anything to do with your final moving date it is best to wait until you have a definite moving date.
Get quotes and check availability for proposed dates but done commit until exchange of contracts.
2. Taking your property off the market without any commitment from the buyer.
Its great news when you get an offer, and everything is agreed. But buyers can disappear as quickly as they arrived. If you have taken your property off the market before checking the buyer out, instructed a solicitor and booked a mortgage survey you may have wasted weeks of valuable marketing time and even worst money on your onward house purchase.
It is not unreasonable to leave your property on the market and continue to show people over until your buyer has got things going at their end. Once they are underway and spending money you can do the same on your onward purchase.
Shaky house sales tend to fall through in the first couple of weeks.
3. Using a low cost solicitor with terrible customer reviews.
The people you have working for you can make your house move a joy or hell and the solicitor that you instruct is key. If your estate agent is recommending a solicitor, the first thing to do is check out the online reviews for the firm and call and speak with them to get a quote and ask any questions about the sale or process that you have. If the online reviews are bad and the solicitor hasn’t got time to speak to you it isn’t going to get any better.
Generally, you get what you pay for.
4. Speaking directly with your buyer.
A weird thing happens when you are buying or selling your home and you are waiting for solicitors to send each other bits of paper and ask questions about a door that was fitted 17 years ago. You get a little anxious and stressed and start to wonder why everything a taking so long and look for someone to blame.
Then your buyer will call you….. alot…… and your relationship can quickly go from best friends to I’m not selling to that nutter!
The best thing to do is let all contact go through the estate agent as they tend to smooth over these difficult patches without anyone getting upset.
5. Choosing the wrong survey.
Many lenders with offer a free valuation of the property that you are buying and you may be tempted to take this.
This first thing to understand is this isn’t really a survey. It’s the lenders valuation report and it is to assess the suitability of the property for a mortgage. You may or may not receive a copy. There could be things that don’t affect the lenders decision to lend on the property but could end up costing you thousands to rectify months after to move in. Because the report wasn’t instructed by you there would be no come back on the lender or surveyor.
Most lenders will offer you the option of a home buyers report. This will cost you a few hundred pounds extra. You instruct the surveyor directly and will receive a very detailed report on the condition of the property and a recourse of you find anything down the line that was missed.
If you surveyor raises issues that you were not aware if you may be able to renegotiate the purchase price.
6. Under estimating the cost of home improvements.
Home improvements can cost more than you expect. Not setting enough aside to complete the works could mean having to apply for a further loan at a less favourable rate or worst still having to pay thousands in penalties to switch to a new lender.
Many lenders will allow over payments of up to 10% per year of the mortgage balance without penalties. We suggest you consider borrowing an extra contingency fund to cover any extra and if you don’t use the money it can be paid back to the remortgage lender if penalties don’t apply.
7. Making an offer before seeing a mortgage adviser.
It’s an exciting time we are thinking about moving and just booked to see our dream house.
You have just been to see the house and we have called the estate agent to offer full price, things couldn’t be any better!! Then you speak to you mortgage advisor and you can’t borrow the amount that you need to buy the house. This happens more often than you think and is heart breaking and embarrassing. Getting the right advice at the start means things go a lot smoother.
Speak to one of our mortgage team 0330 400 4242
8. Not checking out your new neighbours.
Meeting your new neighbours for the first time on moving day is always a bit risky. It is good practice to ask the seller about their neighbours and check out their gardens and how people in the street care for their properties. If their gardens are un-kept and there is rubbish everywhere it may be worth considering another property.
We suggest you visit the property 3 or 4 times on different days and times to get a feel for the community and if you will fit in. If you are buying an apartment pay particular attention to noise from upstairs or adjacent properties.
9. Not budgeting for costs and stamp duty.
There are always a few surprise costs when moving home because there is so much to pay out for. Sitting down with a mortgage advisor at the start, sets everything out and you could also talk about the different types of services that are available for marketing your property for sale, surveys and solicitors.
Stamp duty is a big bulk of many or our customers moving costs and needs to be estimated and factor in when deciding on a budget and purchase price.
10. Making an offer on a new property before your house is sold.
Offering on a property when you haven’t sold rarely works out. The estate agent will use it as an opportunity to get your property on the market but will still be looking for other buyers for the property you are interested in.
Because you haven’t sold the seller will push you to pay full price and your house may sell for less than you expect leaving a bit hole in your finances.
The best thing to do in this situation is let the seller and agent know you are very interested in their house and will make an offer once you have sold your house and know how much to you have to spend.
Want to find out more about moving home? Check out our home mover mortgages FAQ’s