First Time Buyer Help- Once You’ve Found A Home What’s Next
Over the last two months I’ve done first time buyer help talking about what to do before you start looking and when you’re ready to search. And now it’s the final stage, what to do once you’ve found a home you love. Finding a home you really love is the best feeling in the world. But the next steps can be quite stressful, especially at the moment when there’s huge demand for homes. We were very lucky when we found our house that there were no rival buyers or higher offers. And everything went through relatively easy from there. But that isn’t always the case.
You’ve found a home, now it’s time to make an offer
Once you’ve found a home you love and you’re sure it’s right it’s time to take some action and make an offer. What you choose to offer will completely depend on the situation you, the sellers and the house in question are in. But be prepared for some negotiation. You want your first offer to be low enough that you save some money. But not so low that the buyers don’t think that you’re serious.
When to make a lower offer
- If the sellers want to make a quick move they may be prepared to accept a lower offer
- When the house has been on the market for a long time, the sellers may be prepared to accept a lower offer
- If the house needs a lot of work doing to it, or if you know you’ll need a new roof/ boiler etc. You may be able to negotiation the price of the work off the house price
If your offer is accepted first time then amazing, but if it isn’t think about each counter offer. Don’t overstretch yourselves if you can’t afford to offer more. And never just accept what the seller wants, offer in the middle of the two and go from there. Once your offer is accepted remember that your house purchase isn’t actually legally binding until you’ve exchanged contracts. This typically happens a week before moving. Either parties can move out without too many consequences, although you may lose some money if you do so.
Offer accepted, now it’s time to get your mortgage secured
Before you even make an offer you’ll want to get a mortgage in principle just so you know that you’ll be able to get the mortgage you need. The last thing you want to do is have an offer accepted but then not be able to borrow enough to afford it.
But once you’ve found a home and your offer is accepted now is time to get your mortgage secured. I’d always recommend using a mortgage advisor as they’re trained to find the best deals. We used one and they suggested things we hadn’t even thought of. For your mortgage application you will need to show some key documents such as bank statements, proof of address, recent payslips or tax payments if you’re self-employed. You’ll also need to organise a valuation to confirm the property is worth what you’re paying for it. The valuation is usually something that you can get through a mortgage lender before you’re accepted.
Hopefully your application will be approved but if it’s declined try to find out why. And what you can do differently next time to boost your chances. It might end up being something really minor. Once you’ve had your mortgage offer it’s usually only valid for a certain period of time so you’ll want the sale to go through speedily.
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21 responses to “First Time Buyer Help- Once You’ve Found A Home What’s Next”
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Rhian Westbury
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Great tips here, buying your own property as a first time buyer is all new and although exciting it is also a bit bewildering this will definitely help those starting their journey
It was so long ago since I bought my house that I have totally forgotten the process! Friends have moved recently and them being so stressed has totally put me off moving… that and the fact I would need a Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Spring Clean! 😉 Some awesome tips! Sim x
These are great tips. Buying a home can be very stressful. It helps to know when to offer lower such as when the house has been in the market for a while.
It does help as you don’t want to come across as not serious but you want to save as much as you can x
It is such an aexciting and daunting time when you buy your first house and it is pretty hard to get onto the property ladder nowadays sadly,
The home buying process is a complex one so posts like this are super helpful 🙂 Thank you for sharing and will pass the info to my sister…
You are so knowledgeable on topics related to home buying and what to do next. This will definitely help a new buyer
oh wow!!! There is a lot for me to know and learn! Getting a mortgage is an area i don’t know much about! Thank you so so much…
We are about to buy a house. This blog has a lot of good information! Thank you so much!
It’s such an exciting but scary experience. I’m sure many will find this very helpful!
Thanks, and you’re right it’s both exciting and scary x
These tips are really so helpful for people who are buying a new house. It must be exciting experience I am sure.
This is such great advice! My mom just bought a new house or is the process of buying a house and I just sent this to her!
This is such a helpful article, I would have no idea where to start.
Thanks, hope it can be of help x
Buying a new home is so stressful but can also be such a great sense of accomplishment.
It really is such a sense of accompolishment x
These are great tips, I think making a lower offer is definitely worth a try, most people won’t expect to get the asking price
Amazing tips. A great resource for first time homeowners
This is a wonderful article, I am going to bookmark it. My boyfriend and I will be looking for homes next year!
Ohh that’s so exciting x