Make an offer
Once you've found your chosen property discuss and agree your offer with the Estate Agent who will then inform the seller. Offering to put down a deposit as an act of good faith can significantly increase the chances of your offer being accepted and the property being held off the market for you for a reasonable period of time to get things moving.

Your offer will be “subject to contract” meaning that you are not obliged to proceed until contracts are exchanged. If anything seriously untoward comes up in the survey or your circumstances change you are entitled (not in Scotland) to pull out at any time prior to exchange of contracts.

Arrange a mortgage
If your offer is accepted, it ‘s time to get the whole legal and financial process moving. If you haven’t arranged a mortgage yet you must do this now.  Options for the types of survey to undertake will be explained to you when you arrange your mortgage.

Find a solicitor
You need to find a solicitor to conduct the conveyancing. This means checking the legal aspects of the sale, for example that the seller has the legal right to sell the property, lease details, rights of way issues, what’s being included in the sale  and such matters as neighbour disputes and current plans for local development.

Exchange contracts
Once all the legal arrangements have been undertaken, your mortgage has been agreed and you have had a mainly positive survey you will be ready to exchange contracts. At this stage you will be asked to put down a deposit, traditionally 10% of the purchase price but often negotiated down to 5%. You will also be expected to have your legal costs in place at this stage as you are now committing to go ahead with the deal. Exchanging will also involve agreeing a completion  date.

Completion date and move in
You may be expected to give and take in agreeing a completion date. The date of the move usually applies to all transactions in the chain so if one of the parties has holiday or work commitments it can make it impossible to agree on certain dates.

On the day of the move it’s normal for keys to be dropped off with the Estate Agent but they won’t be released to buyers until formal confirmation that the transaction has completed. Agents are normally in a position to give out the keys around mid afternoon but there are no guarantees and its best to liaise with your agent a few days in advance and certainly on the day of the move.

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