MORTGAGES
Applying for a mortgageI can only speak as someone who is self employed applying for a mortgage but it feels like a battle to outwit each other: you versus the lenders. Every time you feel like you've got everything you need, the lenders ask for something you don't have to hand. The HMRC website is probably now my most visited website trying to find each form the lenders require- and all the form seem the same!
Loan to value
The mortgage lenders will want to do their own survey to check that the property is worth what the estate agents have valued it as, and that the amount of mortgage you want is relevant to the property amount. The lenders will always value the house lower than the estate agents so they can justify not lending you as much; they'll usually value it 5-10k lower than the estate agents, meaning you have to find an extra 5-10k deposit. This is usually when most sales fall through. The bigger deposit you have, the more room for negotiation there is.
Find a broker who takes their commission from the mortgage lender
We were torn between 2 mortgage brokers. One got their fee from the mortgage company, the other wanted £425 for his services... it was a no-brainer for who we went with.
UPDATE: 27/04/2020: Don't go self employed when applying for a mortgage. Our mortgage was rejected as my profits were apparently 'not sustainable'... because they had nearly doubled. Where is the logic in that?
Also, avoid applying for a mortgage during a global pandemic.
SOLICITORS
If you're buying and selling a property, make sure you're stocked up on paper and printer ink!
Once you've signed all the documents and are re-scanning them back to the computer, make sure you've got a big chunk of time to do this. It may be because our scanner isn't the greatest, but having to scan each individual sheet of paper took 4 hours!
No news is good news
If you don't hear anything from the solicitors, this usually means that things are going ok.
Remember the budget!
Solicitors will request a portion of their fee before they commence proceedings and the remainder of their fee on exchange. They will also require an upfront payment (I had to pay £400) but this will then be reduced from the final costs.
Solicitors will find the smallest things to pick up on
They want to cover themselves in case the property was to fall down and they'd cleared everything. In the searches reports, they will pick up on things that they report as being a big thing, but once you comprehend it, it's usually just standard things you'd expect to find in a property, especially if it's old.
CONTRACTS
We're heading towards this stage. So far we've got a draft contract- which is slightly scary and making everything seem a bit more real.
It's normal to have some butterflies or to doubt what you're doing; it's a big commitment and probably the biggest purchase you will make (until you buy a bigger property!)
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