Here is our Home Buying Guide to explain the process from start to finish.
Contact Us
Discuss your case with one of our qualified mortgage brokers. We will provide you with a copy of our terms of business and a FactFind for you to complete your contact, employment, income, credit and mortgage history details.
Consider Equity Release?
If relevant and something you wish to consider, we will review your personal circumstances and consider if an equity release plan might be a suitable option for you, bearing in mind any alternatives that may be open to you as well as any state benefit entitlements.
Apply to Lenders
Once you have completed the FactFind and returned it to us, with your permission, we can apply to mortgage lenders to find out your mortgage affordability figure. We will contact you to tell you how much lenders are willing to let you borrow, subject to a property valuation and credit checks. This is called a lending Decision in Principle.
N.B. There are some types of property that are not suitable as security for equity release loans.
Find a property and make an offer
You find a property that you want to buy, view the property and complete all the research so you know what you are willing to pay for it. Put in an offer to the estate agent. Good luck! Your estate agent may need proof of how much you can borrow, we can provide them with this. If your offer is accepted by the vendor, please contact us again and we can continue with the application for you.
Take care of the legal requirements
We can provide you with a quotation for solicitors to act on your behalf for the purchase. We can also provide you with a quotation for home buyers protection insurance to protect you in the unfortunate event that the purchase falls through.
You will need to provide us with documents to support your mortgage application: proof of your identity, proof of your address, proof of your income (payslips, accounts etc.), bank statements, proof of your deposit etc. We will send across all the paperwork that we require for you to read carefully, sign and return.
Submit full mortgage application
We will need to take debit/credit card details from you to submit with the full application so you can pay for the survey and any other fees which need to be paid upfront. You will need to instruct a solicitor to work on your behalf and they will usually ask for a deposit to start work for you. We will need all our paperwork signed and returned to us. On receipt of your mortgage application, the mortgage lender will then give instructions for the survey to be completed and will contact the estate agent/vendor to arrange a date for the survey.
Property survey
A Surveyor will visit the property with the main function to act on the lender’s behalf to check the general condition of the property and to see if it meets the lender’s requirements to be suitable as security for an equity release loan. Their other role is to value the property and to check that the proposed purchase price is fair in relation to the value. The lender will review the survey report and review the mortgage application and supporting documents to confirm that they are still willing to lend to you as the applicant.
Download a Which? comparison report on the different kinds of survey available to you.
Official mortgage offer
If they are happy with the survey, application form and supporting documents, they will issue a mortgage offer. The mortgage offer is sent to you applicant, us as your mortgage broker and your solicitor (the survey report is often attached to the mortgage offer and will be required by your solicitor to check that you have sufficient buildings insurance cover).
Insurance
We can provide you with a quotation for buildings and contents insurance (it is a legal requirement to have buildings insurance in place at exchange of contracts).
We can also provide you with a quotation for life assurance, critical illness cover, income protection and accident, sickness and unemployment cover to begin at the date of completion of your purchase.
Your solicitor will be completing all the legal documentation, checks and searches that are required for any property purchase. You will be asked to sign a mortgage deed to confirm that you accept the terms of the mortgage offer.
Contract exchange and completion
Your solicitor will be in contact with the vendor’s solicitor and, if applicable other solicitors in the chain, to agree a date to exchange contracts: this is usually 7-28 days before completion. At exchange, you are legally responsible for the property and therefore buildings insurance needs to be in place. You will need to transfer the deposit funds and the solicitor’s fees to your solicitor. You will then be given a completion date. Completion often happens at 12 noon. Your solicitor/estate agent will contact you to let you know when you can collect the keys from the estate agent.
You’re in! What next?
You will be contacted by your new mortgage lender with the date that the first month’s mortgage payment will be collected by Direct Debit. Our broker fee is payable on completion from you by bank transfer.
Any insurance (e.g. contents insurance) needs to start from the day of completion.
Future mortgage options
If your new mortgage is on a fixed or a discounted rate, we will be in contact with you before the rate expires to discuss new products available to you.
Call us on 01223 329666 to discuss your requirements and request a quotation.
Contact us for advice
