This information applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland

How much can you afford?

The first thing you need to decide is how much you can afford. You will need to look at how much money you have available yourself and how much you can borrow. There are a number of different financial institutions which offer loans to people buying a property, for example, building societies and banks. You should find out if you are able to borrow money and if so, how much (for information on mortgages, see under heading Mortgages).

Some building societies now provide buyers with a certificate that states that a loan will be available provided the property is satisfactory. You may be able to get this certificate before you start looking for a property. Building societies state that this certificate may help you to have your offer accepted by the seller.

Before finally deciding how much to spend on a property, you need to be sure you will have enough money to pay for all the additional costs. These include :-

For more information about Stamp Duty Land Tax, go to the HM Revenue and Customs website at www.hmrc.gov.uk, or ring the Inland Revenue Stamp Office enquiry line on: 0845 603 0135.

You should be aware that if you start the process of buying a property and then the sale falls through you may have already paid for a valuation and/or a survey. If the solicitor has started any legal work you may already have to pay for the work done.

You should also take into account the running expenses of the property you wish to buy. These may include:-

You will also have to pay a deposit on exchange of contracts, up to 10% of the purchase price, a few weeks before the purchase is complete and the money is received from the mortgage lender.

How to find a property

There are a number of ways in which you can find a property to buy:-

Deciding on a property

When you find a property you should arrange to look round it to make sure it is what you will need and to get some idea of whether or not you will have to spend any additional money on the property, for example, for repairs or decoration. It is common for a potential buyer to visit a property two or three times before deciding to make an offer.

Is the property leasehold, freehold or commonhold?

Freehold property

If the property is freehold, this means that the land on which the property is built on is part of the sale and no ground rent or service charge is payable.

Leasehold property

A property may be leasehold, which means that the land on which the property is built is not part of the sale. You have to pay ground rent to the owner of the land - who is called the freeholder.

The length of a lease can vary and you should check the length of the lease on the property you are interested in buying is acceptable to the mortgage lender.  You should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. In addition to ground rent on a leasehold property, you have to pay an annual service charge. This usually happens with a flat. The service charge covers such items as maintenance and repairs to the buildings, cleaning of common parts and looking after the grounds.

A group of leaseholders living in the same building may have a right to jointly buy the freehold of the building or take over its management.

In England and Wales, you can get further advice about leasehold from:-

The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE)

31 Worship Street

London

EC2A 2DX

Tel: 020 7374 5380 Or 0845 345 1993 (9.30am to 3.30pm on Monday to Friday)

Fax: 020 7374 5373

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.lease-advice.org.uk

There is also a useful leaflet on  Leasehold rights in England and Wales.

Commonhold property

If the property is commonhold, this means that you can buy the freehold of a flat and own common parts of the building jointly with the owners of other flats in the building (known as a commonhold association).

In commonhold a ground rent or service charge is not payable. However, a share of the commonhold association's expenditure on maintenance, insurance and administration will be payable for the common parts of the building.

Further information about commonhold is available from LEASE - see above under leasehold property for details.

Making an offer

When you decide you would like to buy a particular property you do not necessarily have to pay the price being asked for it by the owners. You can offer less if, for example, you think there are repairs to be done which will cost money.

If the property is being sold through an estate agent, you should tell the estate agent what you are prepared to pay for the property. The estate agent will then put this offer to the owners.

If the owners do not accept the first offer put to them by you, you can decide to make an increased offer. There is no limit to the number of times you can make an offer on a property. If you make a written offer it will always be made subject to contract. This means that you will not be committed to the purchase before finding out more about the state of the property. If you make an oral offer this is never legally binding.

When the first offer has been accepted

When your offer for the property has been accepted you will have to consider the following:-

Holding deposits

Once the owners have accepted your offer the buyer may be asked to make a small deposit to the estate agent. This is not usually more than £500. It is meant to show that you are serious about going ahead with the purchase. It is repayable if the sale does not go ahead.

Arranging a mortgage

If you have not already begun to arrange a mortgage you should start to do this now. It should take about three weeks from the application for the mortgage to the formal offer being made by the lender. However, this time-scale may vary.

Whoever agrees to lend the money will want to have the property valued. This is to make sure that the lender could get the loan back if for any reason you stopped paying your mortgage and the house had to be sold again. The valuation will be done by a surveyor on behalf of the lender but you will have to pay for this valuation. The fee will be payable in advance, usually when you send a complete mortgage application form to the lender.

If the amount of money to be borrowed is more than a certain percentage of the valuation of the property (usually 75-80%), your lender makes a condition of the loan that you take out extra insurance to cover the extra amount. You pay a single premium to your lender which is usually added to the loan. This is known as higher lending charge (or mortgage indemnity guarantee).

Arranging a survey

The valuation which is done for whoever is lending money is not a survey. You should consider whether or not to have an independent survey carried out in addition to the valuation. The survey would not only consider the value of the property but would also examine the structure of the property and should identify any existing or potential problems.

There are two levels of survey that you can choose between:-

A full structural survey. This is suitable for a property which is large, more than 80/90 years old or in doubtful condition.

An intermediate or "house/flat buyers report" that gives a report on the condition of the parts of the house that are easy to see and to get at and may recommend further tests or investigation, for example, a specialist check for woodworm. This is particularly suitable for properties built this century which appear reasonably sound. It is much cheaper than a full structural survey.

It is possible for you to use the same surveyor who does the valuation to carry out the survey and this may be cheaper. However, you can use a different surveyor if you wish.

If the surveyor reports that there are some problems with the property, you will have to go to consider whether you still want to go ahead with the purchase or want to negotiate further with the seller about the price. The surveyor will usually advise you as to how any problems they have identified should be dealt with and the likely cost of this. You can find more useful information about property surveys at www.rics.org/Property/ResidetialProperty.

Choosing who is going to do the legal work (conveyancing)

The legal process of transferring the ownership of the property from the present owner to the buyer is known as conveyancing. You should decide who you want to do the conveyancing work. You can do it yourself - although this can be complicated - or you can:-

Using a solicitor

Most firms of solicitors offer a conveyancing service. Although all solicitors can legally do conveyancing, it is advisable to chose a solicitor who has experience of this work.

Using a licensed conveyancer (EW only)

You can use a licensed conveyancer to do your conveyancing. Licensed conveyancers are not solicitors but are licensed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

If you want to find out if a local conveyancer is licensed you can write to:-

The Council of Licensed Conveyancers

16 Glebe Road

Chelmsford

Essex CM1 1QG

Tel: 01245 349599

Finding out how much it will cost

Before making a choice as to who will do the conveyancing, you should be advised to find out the probable costs of the conveyancing. It is important to contact more than one solicitor or licensed conveyancer as there is no set fees for conveyancing. You should:-

Buying with someone else

Legal ownership

If two of more people are buying the property jointly they will be joint legal owners. The agreement of all legal owners is needed if the property is to be sold, although if there is a dispute an owner can apply for a court order.

Beneficial ownership

As well as the legal ownership of the property, there is the beneficial ownership to be considered. This means the shares in the property to which the owners are entitled.

There are two types of beneficial ownership - joint tenants and tenants in common. If you are joint tenants, your property cannot be sold with agreement of both of you. If one of you dies, the share of the property passes automatically to the other. If you own your property as tenants in common, each of you will have a share in the property that you can dispose as you like. It is up to you to decide how much each share will be. If one of you dies, you can leave your share to whoever you like. Steps in the legal work of buying a property.

Although it is impossible to give a precise idea of how long the legal work involved in buying a property takes, it is possible to offer guidelines. From having an offer accepted to exchange of contracts can take up to seven weeks and from exchange of contracts to completion can take up to four weeks. However, if there are any problems the time taken may be longer.

Enquires made by the solicitor or, In England and Wales, licensed conveyancer

Once you have instructed the solicitor or, In England and Wales, a conveyancer, the seller's solicitor or the licensed conveyancer draws up a contract which will eventually be signed by you and the seller. However, before the contract can be signed, your solicitor or licensed conveyancer must make sure there are no problems with the ownership of the property, rights of way, access, or future developments in the area that might affect the property. This is called 'making enquires and searches'. The solicitor or licensed conveyancer makes the enquires and searches as follows:-

Local searches. These are enquiries made to the local authority (or in Northern Ireland, the appropriate government department) about any matters which affect the property which involves the local authority, such as whether there is a compulsory purchase order on the property. Local searches also include questions about proposed charges or development in the area that might affect the property such as roads, housing, shops. During the local search, the local Land Charges Register (Registry of Deeds in Northern Ireland) is also checked. This gives information about any matter which affects the property such as tree preservation orders, if it is a listed building or in conservation area; and enquires made to the seller by the solicitor or, in England and Wales, a licensed conveyancer. These are a set of standard questions about the property, boundaries, neighbour disputes and fixtures of fittings that will remain in the property. There may be additional question by the solicitor or licensed conveyancer thinks are necessary, such as the transferability of guarantees for any work done on the house, for example, a damp proof course; and from the Land Registry.

Arranging to pay the 10% deposit

Whilst the solicitor or, in England and Wales, a licensed conveyancer is making the enquiries, you should sort out how you will pay the deposit that has to be made when the contracts are exchanged. This deposit is usually 10% of the price of the home. However, it is sometimes possible to come to an agreement to pay a smaller deposit. If you are also selling a house it is usually possible to put the 10% deposit on the property being sold towards the deposit on the property you are buying.

If you are unable to provide the 10% deposit it is possible to use a 'deposit guarantee scheme'. Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer can arrange this with an insurance company.

If raising the deposit may be a problem, you should discuss the options with your solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Alternatively, you should consider borrowing money for the deposit elsewhere, for example, from relatives or a bridging loan from a bank. However, the amount of interest you will have to pay from a bridging loan will be high and you should check how much this arrangement will cost.

Insuring the property

You should make sure that building's insurance is arranged from the date of exchange, because once contracts have been exchanged you are responsible for the property.

You may be able to get information on buildings insurance from you mortgage lender, solicitor or, in England and Wales, a licensed conveyancer.

Exchange of contracts

The final contract between you and the seller is prepared when:-

You and the seller each have a copy of the final contract which you must sign. These signed contracts are then exchanged. At exchange of contracts both you and the seller are legally bound by the contract and the sale of the house has to go ahead. If you drop out, you will lose your deposit.

You should make arrangements for the supply of gas, electricity and telephone service and make sure that the seller is arranging for the final meter readings to be made.

Completion

Completion of the purchase usually takes place about four weeks after exchange of contracts, although it can be earlier. On the day agreed for completion:-

The right to buy and the Statutory House Sales Scheme

Who has the right to buy (or the right to a statutory house sale in Northern Ireland)

As a public sector tenant you will probably have the right to buy if you are a secure tenant of:-

You have the right to buy if you have been a public sector tenant for at least two years (or, if your tenancy began on or after 18 January 2005, five years). This need not necessarily  have been in your present accommodation. A tenancy with another public sector landlord can be included in this time.

As a tenant, you will not have the right to buy if you are:-

a housing association tenant whose tenancy began on or after 15 January 1989

a tenant of a property owned by a charity, although you may be entitled to a lump sum grant to help you buy on the open market

a tenant of sheltered housing or housing specifically designated for the elderly.

If you are not sure whether you have the right to buy, you should check with your landlord which category you fit into.

Discounts

As a tenant with a right to buy, you will get a discount on the price of the property. If you live in a house the discount will be between 32% and 60%, depending on how long you have lived there.  If you live in a flat, the discount will be between 44% and 70%, depending on how long you have live there. The discount will not exceed the regional upper limits, which in England and Wales, range from £16,000 to £38,000. In Northern Ireland, the upper limit for discount is £34,000.

If you exercise the right to buy and sell the property within three years (or within five years, if you exercise your right on or after 18 January 2005) you will have to repay all or some of the discount.

How to pay

As a tenant who wants to exercise your right to buy, you should try to obtain a mortgage from a building society or high street bank. You could also contact a mortgage broker to see if they can arrange a mortgage.

However, if you cannot afford to buy the property outright you can still buy under the rent to mortgage scheme. Under this scheme you can buy a share of the property and make mortgage repayments on the amount you have borrowed for this. The landlord will retain ownership of the remaining share of the property.

How to apply

In England and Wales, if you want to apply for the right to buy you should ask your landlord for the Right to Buy Claim Form (Form RTB1).

As a secure or assured tenant of a registered social landlord, for example, a housing association or a local housing company, you may have the right to buy your home under a different scheme called the 'right to acquire'. The right to acquire only applies to a limited number of properties, from example, homes built with public funds on or after 1 April 1997.

For more information about the right to acquire, in England you should contact your landlord or the Housing Corporation who can be contacted who can be contacted on telephone number 0845 230 7000 or by visiting www.housingcorp.gov.uk. In Wales, you should contact the Welsh Assembly Government on telephone number 029 2082 5111, or by visiting www.wales.gov.uk.

Mortgages

If you wish to buy a home you may be able to borrow money to do this. This is called a mortgage. The loan is for a fixed period and you have to pay interest on the loan. If you do not keep up the agreed repayments, the lender can take possession of the property.

Types of mortgages

There are several types of mortgage available. The most common are:-

Repayment mortgage. This is a mortgage in which the capital borrowed is repaid gradually over the period of the loan. The capital is paid monthly instalments together with an amount of interest. The amount of capital which is repaid gradually increases over the years while the amount of interest goes down.

Interest Only mortgage. With an Interest Only Mortgage, your monthly payments cover the interest on the mortgage, but not the capital (the amount you originally borrowed). So at the end of the mortgage term, the amount of the original mortgage must be repaid. To make sure you can pay this off, you can put extra funds in investments. The idea is that these investments make enough money to repay the mortgage at the end of the term. But because you are playing in the stock market, which can go up or down, there are no guarantees you'll make enough.

Islamic mortgage. This is a mortgage in which none of the monthly payments includes interest. Instead, the lender makes a charge for lending you the capital to buy your property which can be recovered in one of a number of different ways, for example, by charging you rent.

Where to get a mortgage from

A mortgage could be available from a number of different sources. Some of the available options are:-

If you intend getting a mortgage you should make sure you investigate the different options available. If in doubt, you may wish to consult an independent financial adviser.

Using a broker to get a mortgage

Instead of going directly to a lender such as a building society for a mortgage, a broker could be used. A broker may be an estate agent, or a mortgage or insurance broker. They will act as an agent to introduce people to a source of mortgage loan to help them buy a home.

A broker may be used when it could be difficult obtaining a mortgage directly from a lender, for example:-