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Buying a property, especially if it’s your first home, can be an exciting but daunting process. At Maslen, we understand this and can draw on our years of experience to make you feel prepared and confident. Here are our top tips to find your perfect place.
Buying property is an exciting, but often daunting process. With over 37 years of experience in helping our customers buy homes in Brighton & Hove, we want to share our knowledge and advice to make your process smoother.
Here are our essential top tips for you to consider to help you find the perfect place.
Work out how much you can realistically afford. You also need to consider how much room you have if you fall for a house that needs work. We recommend seeking advice from an independent financial advisor, we have Graham Griffin CeMAP based in house at our Lewes Road office.
Property prices vary considerably according to location. Consider what your priorities are in terms of schools, amenities. Would you consider a smaller property in order to live in a particular area? If an area is new to you, drive or walk around it at different times of the day to get a feel for it.
It’s a good idea, particularly if more than one of you is buying, to agree what your priorities are and make a checklist. This will help ensure you ask the right questions at each viewing, keep a clear idea of what you’ve decided is important and serve as a memory aid when comparing properties later.
Get the most out of your estate agent. It’s their job to find the right property for you. Help them by keeping in regular contact and being honest about what you want. That way they’ll understand what your priorities are and avoid time-wasting trips around properties that don’t match your criteria.
Consider how long you intend to live in the property and whether it could "grow" with you. Look at any outside space and consider how you could use it. If you like the property, view it again at a different time of day. Try to imagine living in it with your things around you, making it your home.
If you see something you like, snap it up as soon as possible! Take advice from the estate agent and make a formal offer. If your offer’s accepted, ask the seller to stop showing the property and be ready with financial arrangements and solicitor so you can get things moving quickly.
No need to break out the thesaurus. We'll let you know what we mean when we talk about conveyancing and indemnity contributions.
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