YOUR GUIDE to buying YOUR PROPERTY

 1 - Arrange your finances

Most people will start to look at available property, to get an idea of the type of property they can afford, before actually finding the property they want to ultimately buy.  This is a great approach to understand what funds will be required to complete the purchase.  We would always recommend using a Mortgage Broker to secure the best deal available on the market and the type of product to suit your requirements.   The Broker will also establish the maximum amount of borrowings you can secure, to confirm the budget you can use for your property search.  If you have funds in a savings or notice account or perhaps overseas, it's worthwihle to ensure that they are available within 2 days, of being required in a UK bank account.  International bank transfers can take up to 7 working days from some countries.

2 - Research and locate the property you want to Buy

We thoroughly recommend that you research the property market well and we can help you do this, to short-list the type of property that you ideally want to buy.  You can either register on-line with us, send us an email or call us to discuss your requirements and budget.  We will then appoint a Property Agent to help you short list those properties that you would like to view.

3 - Monitor the market and get to know the Location

Once you have viewed some properties, since a property transaction is typically the most expensive transaction most people will make in their lifetime, we recommend that you monitor the market and keep in touch with your Property Agent, to ensure that you buy the property at the best time suitable.  If you have registered your interest with us, we will also keep you informed of new and changed property details that now match your requirements.

4 - Viewing property

M2 Property is available at your disposal, to help you find a property to buy.  Our office opening hours are 9am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 10am – 4pm Saturdays.  It is also possible to request viewings on Sundays and Bank Holidays, depending on availability (of staff and property viewing access arrangements). 

Our Property Agents have access to our fleet of BMW cars and we will be happy to meet you at the properties or to drive you around central London to help you understand the area.

Each property should have a fully comprehensive sales brochures, detailing all the aspects of the property involved in buying, including tenure, e.g. lease, ground rent, service charge, reserve funds, price, property address and sometimes details of any contents included in the sale.

It is advisable to view your favourite properties 2 or 3 times and at different times of the day, to ensure that you are certain of the property you want to buy.  At M2 Property, we want you to be fully confident and will always encourage additional viewings.

5 - Securing the property you want to Buy

Once you’ve found the property that you want to buy, the next stage is to put forward your offer to buy the property and any relevant conditions.  We will put this in writing to the seller (vendor) and make clear the conditions of your offer.

If the offer is accepted, we will again, provide this in writing and a sales memorandum will be drafted for sending to both Buyers and Sellers Solicitors.  It is therefore important to brief your Solicitor once you’ve found the property you want to buy, so that they are prepared to act quickly for you to secure the property.  It is worthwhile noting that buying property in London, is quite specialised – mainly due to the type of historical leases, obligations and restrictive covenants, therefore appointing an experienced Solicitor, is a must.  Most Solicitors will require funds on account to commence the conveyancing process on your behalf.  It is also key to notify your mortgage broker, so that the specific level of funding can be secured and ready awaiting your purchase.

If the offer is declined, we will help in assisting you to understand the reason for the offer being declined and will advise you what may be required to achieve an accepted offer.

Until legal exchange of contracts, where both parties sign the contract for the sale, both parties can change their minds without any legal obligation, therefore there is a risk at this early stage that either party could pull out of the transaction.  It is therefore critical to the buying process, to prepare your Solicitor and Mortgage Broker in advance of finding the property you wish to buy, to make the process as quick as possible.  For those buyers not requiring funding, the vendor may request proof of funds, as this can make the buying process much faster and therefore can be more attractive to the vendor.

6 - Secure your funding

The mortgage lender will want a property survey to be completed, so they can understand and manage the risk involved in underwriting the loan against the property you wish to buy.  This will also enable you to have the confidence of another property professional, also visiting the property with the specific remit to value the property on behalf of the mortgage lender.  The survey is typically paid up front by the buyer and the Surveyor will contact the Selling Agent to gain access to the property.  Upon completion of the survey, a report will be sent to the mortgage lender within 2-3 working days, confirming the details of the property and their independent valuation.  The mortgage lender will then produce a mortgage offer, which will be sent to your Solicitor and is normally valid for 90 days.

7 - The legal and contractual buying process

Your solicitor is key to the whole transaction and will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of purchasing the property on your behalf.  They will request a draft contract from the vendor’s solicitor, submit their standard queries for the property, request local searches, e.g. local authority, water, etc., review the lease/title deels/title plan, agree payments to be made in all respects, review all documentation provided by the seller and agree proposed exchange dates and completion date for the purchase.

As property professionals, we will communicate with both Solicitors throughout the buying process to help facilitate the sale, but it is important that you also keep in regular contact with your solicitor and review all documentation received.

8 - Exchange of Contracts

Once your Solicitor has completed their conveyancing, they should explain to you, all of your obligations and walk you through all the documentation, including the contract, key points of the lease or title deeds and the mortgage offer from your mortgage lender.

In addition to signing all the necessary paperwork, you will typically be required to pay a 10% deposit of the agreed purchase price to the vendors Solicitor.  The terms of this deposit are agreed in the contract itself and is typically non-refundable.  Once the deposit has been received by the vendors Solicitor and contracts have been signed by both parties, the final part is to agree when completion can occur.  This will typically be driven by either the requirements of the lease of the property and/or the amount of notice required by your mortgage lender, to provide the funds for purchasing the whole property.

It is only at this point that both parties are legally obliged to complete the purchase of the property.

Step 9 Completion of Sale

Both Solicitors may have various obligations to meet to ensure completion can occur by the date in the contract, so it's worthwhile checking that everything is ready prior to completion.  Your Solicitor will also liaise with the mortgage lender to ensure that they receive funds in time for the completion to occur as planned at Exchange of Contracts.  Once all obligations have been met, and the remainder of funds payable  have been received by the vendor’s Solicitor, we can then provide you with the keys to your new property, but this can only happen once the Vendor’s Solicitor has confirmed that completion of the sale has happened.

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PURCHASE OF YOUR NEW PROPERTY