Buyers Guide

Buying a home can be as easy as one-two-three if you have the right estate agent supporting you though the process. At Equity Estate Agents we’re passionate about making every purchase a quick, simple and stress-free experience. So here’s our step step by step guide to buying your dream home:

10 Steps To Buying in Enfield

 

What’s your budget?

Buying a property can be costly, so you’ll need to factor in every expense to know how much you have left over to spend. There are mortgage arrangement fees, valuation fees, legal fees, stamp duty, survey costs, removal costs, renovation costs, and service charges to name a few of the most common ones. Don’t forget that if you have a property to sell there are also agency fees, conveyancing fees, and the potential of early redemption fees from your existing mortgage company.

Get yourself into the strongest buying position

  • Is your current home for sale? If you have a property to sell, exploit our local knowledge and ask about a free and accurate valuation today and find out how we get higher offers, more quickly, than anyone else. Selling an existing property puts you in a great buying position.
  • Is your mortgage arranged ‘in principle’? Proving to a seller that you have access, in principle, to the funds needed to buy their property puts you in the best buying position. Speak to one of our friendly independent mortgage brokers for advice and the best mortgage deals around.

Register with us

Well, you could make this Step 1 if you like and we will guide you through the entire process, but this is where we can help you the most – providing you with local knowledge, helping you to get yourself into the best buying position and, of course, giving you access to the best properties in the area – sometimes before they have even been advertised.

Finding the right property for you

With hundreds of properties available in the Enfield area, how can you find the one that’s right for you? We’re experts at uncovering your property wish- list and won’t waste your time with rubbish viewings. We will provide you with a select list of contenders and can discuss them with you in detail so you can decide whether to visit them; we’ll then keep you updated, as new properties are taken on every single day.

Making the most of viewings

View as many properties as you like - your consultant will have the patience of a saint and the knowledge of a local encyclopaedia and the best way to know all you need to before you even step foot inside a property, is to ask. Know what you want and go prepared with questions to determine whether this really is the home for you.

Offer time

When you are sure that you have found the home of your dreams, do not delay - contact us immediately before someone else does. Our expert negotiators will liaise between you and the vendor, gathering all pertinent information to ensure that we fully understand your buying and their selling position so we can manage the sale through to a successful conclusion.

Offer agreed

Congratulations; it’s almost time to bring out the bubbly, but not quite yet. Communication is key to the success of your purchase, so stay in touch with us, your solicitor and mortgage broker so we are able to progress your purchase as quickly as possible.

The legal minefield

The legal side of buying a property shouldn’t be complicated, but often is. Your solicitor needs to keep you and us informed of progress and gather information from local authorities and vendor’s solicitors. In our opinion, a solicitor with local knowledge is the best option, and we can of course recommend some excellent firms that we have worked with before, all of which are efficient, fast and affordable.

Survey and mortgage offer

Your mortgage company will almost always request a valuation survey to determine whether the price you are paying for a property is a fair one. Based on the result of this they will decide whether to lend to you, and how much. You may also decide to have an independent survey carried out on the property. Generally speaking there are two levels of survey you can ask for:

  • A Homebuyers Report, where the surveyor checks the most visible areas of the property for damage, function and signs of structural issues.
  • A Building Survey, which is a far more detailed report including a structural review of the property.

Exchange and Completion

That bottle of bubbly you’ve had on ice for a while now… it’s time to get the glasses. On exchange, your solicitor and those of the vendor confirm that they have all relevant paperwork, have agreed the completion date, and they are happy for the deal to proceed, so they arrange for you to sign the contracts. On the day of completion you will be informed by your solicitors that the property is now yours and you can come to us for the keys. Congratulations! You are now a homeowner.

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