How to Buy Your First Home: Our Simple Guide

Buying your first property is probably one of the biggest investments you will make in your life and naturally, it will first appear a little daunting!

Our simple ‘How to Guide’ provides easy to follow steps on how to buy your first home to help settle those nerves and prepare you for the conveyancing process ahead.

Find out more below:

How to Buy Your First Home: The Initial Steps

Find a Mortgage

It is great preparation to find out how much money you can borrow from a mortgage lender. This way you know what your budget is before you start viewing properties.

You can approach banks directly or find an independent mortgage broker who will explore different options to get the best deal that meets your personal circumstances and requirements.

You usually need at least a 10% deposit which can come from, for example, your own savings or even gifted from a family member.

You will also need to budget for removal costs, a survey, legal fees, fees to the land registry and any stamp duty that may be payable.

Make an Offer on Your First Home

Once you have found a property, you need to make an offer. This is usually to the Estate Agent who markets the property. They will liaise between you and the seller and the purchase price will be agreed upon. A ‘memorandum of sale’ will be sent to the solicitors for them to initiate the purchase process.

Submit Your Mortgage Application

Once you have your offer accepted you need to return to your mortgage broker/bank to submit your mortgage application.

How to Buy Your First Home: The Next Steps

Instruct a Conveyancing Solicitor

You need a solicitor to act for you in the purchase of your property. They need to be instructed at the outset so as not to delay the process.

A solicitor will carry out the following on your behalf:

Request the contract pack from the sellers’ solicitors.
Carry out the necessary residential property searches (Water & Drainage, Environmental & Flooding, Local Authority and Mining)
Investigate the title to the property and raise any enquiries with the sellers’ solicitors.
Provide legal advice and report to you on our investigation outcomes.
Check your mortgage offer and obtain your signature on the mortgage deed.
Prepare paperwork for your signature for the transfer of the property.
Complete the property purchase and register this into your names at the land registry.
Submit and pay any stamp duty.

You can shop around for quotes from different solicitors in your area or even solicitors further afield, you do not always need to use a solicitor on your doorstep.

Arrange a House Surveyor

Whilst a solicitor will carry out the usual residential property searches (Water & Drainage, Environmental & Flooding, Local Authority and Mining) these will not give an overall opinion of the condition of the property or a valuation.

Whilst it is not a legal requirement to have a survey carried out it is always advisable. There are varying levels of surveys depending on the age of the property. The most common is a Homebuyers Report. This survey inspects the property and tells you if there are structural problems like unstable walls or subsidence. They will highlight any major repairs or alterations needed and any other unwelcome hidden issues inside and outside. You do not want any surprises after you have moved in!

How to Buy Your First Home: The Final Steps

Pay the House Deposit

Once your solicitor is satisfied to proceed to completion, they will ask for your bank statements to evidence where your deposit is coming from. They will also provide you with a completion statement showing the exact amount they require from you to complete, this will include your 10% deposit, stamp duty and all fees to the solicitor and associated disbursements. Your solicitor will hold the deposit until they are ready to exchange.

Agree on a Date for Completion

All parties in the chain will need to agree on a date to complete. This is the day you collect your keys and move in. You need to make sure you have booked removals for this date.

Exchange Contracts

At this point, the sale becomes binding for both buyer and seller and the completion date cannot be changed. If you did change your mind at this stage, you would lose your 10% deposit. Exchange can happen prior to completion or even on the same day.

Completion!

Moving day, the day you have been waiting for! Your solicitor will transfer the monies to buy the house to the sellers’ solicitors and the transaction will be complete. Keys can be collected from the Estate Agents and you can settle in your new home.

First Time Buyer Solicitor Fees: What Can I Expect?

Buying a home will incur many charges so you need to be prepared and budget accordingly:

You might sometimes have a broker fee to pay for arranging your mortgage. This generally is in the region of £500 but some brokers take a commission direct from the mortgage lender and therefore don’t charge you
Solicitors costs – this is based on the value of the property but can be anything up to £1,000 plus vat (in the north of England)
Survey costs (arranged independently) – this will depend on which survey you instruct. A Homebuyer’s Report, for conventional properties, will cost on average £500
Land registry fees – these are to register the property in your name and can be in the region of £200-£300 dependent on property value
Stamp Duty – For first homes under £500,000 you will not pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000 (based on stamp duty rules at the time of writing)
Removal costs – can be anything from £400 – £1000 depending on how much you have packed and how far you are moving
Buildings and Contents Insurance – this varies on the level of cover you require, the area you live and the condition of the premises

How to Find the Best Solicitors for Buying a House Near Me

Like with any product or service you should always check reviews. These can be found on Google, Facebook but also on the company’s website where they may publish client testimonial. Ask friends and/or family for recommendations of good experiences they have had.

It is good to shop around and compare costs with solicitors as they do vary between firms in the same city and further afield. By calling several firms you can also gauge their level of customer service and how helpful they are on the telephone.

You should also check for accreditations such as the Conveyancing Quality Scheme. This is a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices set by the Law Society. This accreditation reassures that the firm has the expertise to deliver quality residential conveyancing advice.

For any further information on how to buy your first home, please feel free to get in touch with our friendly Conveyancing team at Best Solicitors. With offices in both Sheffield and Barnsley, we cover all areas of South Yorkshire as well as further afield. Visit our Conveyancing page for more information or use our Conveyancing Calculator to get a free quote.

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Steph, Courtney, Emma and the rest of the team are simply incredible. An extraordinarily personable yet professional and highly effective group of people. Our move was complicated with Steph and Best having to liaise with an unbelievably poor firm that was handling the sale of our new house, throughout the entire process our emails and calls were returned within a few hours, providing constant updates and reassurance. I could not recommend Steph and the team at Best highly enough, they’re absolutely worth every penny.

Owen & Gemma

Having sustained an injury at work, I took a few months to decide if/how i wanted to proceed. However, as the injury continued to cause me issues and affect my health, I decided to approach Best Solicitors for legal advice. I am glad I did, the advice they gave me was honest, fair and informative and although they gave no guarantees of the outcome, they were supportive and reassuring to my situation. My solicitor was Stacey Smith and throughout the 4years my personal injury claim went on for , Stacey was supportive and reassuring and consistent in her approach and advice, until the very end when we got the outcome we had been waiting for. Given my own personaI experience, I would recommend both Best and Stacey to anyone in a similar situation.

Kelly

Amazing experience with BEST, Bethan and Kerrie very supportive and kept us informed all the way through the process, very quick to respond to queries and nothing too much trouble! Once again thank you so much!

Malcom

They are awesome – I don’t have enough words.

Patricia

I would highly recommend Best Solicitors. They provided a fantastic service and were only an email or phone call away for whatever I needed. Especially Chloe Birks, she went above and beyond to help guide me through the process as a first-time buyer. Thanks again!

Joseph

From start to finish we have been updated with the progress if our mortgage application. Bethan and her team were brilliant, able to help answer any questions we had. Very polite, professional company. They made our first time buying a property so stress free and easy. The house purchase went through so quickly. We would highly recommend them to anyone. Thank you for all of your help and support through this big chapter in our life.

Shaun & Sam

Elizabeth was so thorough, and so patient with my many (sometimes daft) questions. She made everything seem very straightforward. I cannot recommend Elizabeth enough.

Kirsty

I recently decided due to circumstances to change my will. I chose Best Solicitors and must say the service was excellent. I can only thank Stephanie and Alicia for the prompt and professional service Making a hard decision or writing a will as smooth and effortless as possible but also incredibly professional. Thank you and I would recommend Best Solicitors to anyone who is in need of help.

Roger

Helpful fast and professional service. 5 stars.

Mark

Super professional, very knowledgeable, very efficient, and very flexible in making himself available to meet in person even at short notice.

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Been such a joy working with Steph. Nothing bad to say about the process. Prompt, Professional and on time; all the time. Can’t recommend enough!

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Best Solicitors, and in particular the Wills and Probate department, were very efficient and in processing probate. The pathway was clearly defined by Anne Rogers, and followed a logical process, making it straightforward at a difficult time.

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I have worked with Best Solicitors for many years and have always found them to be very friendly, personable, and passionate about their work.

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My husband & I have recently had the pleasure of meeting Ellie who dealt with the process of helping us with our wills. Ellie was brilliant from start to finish explaining everything to us to make sure we understood everything. Would highly recommend anyone to get in touch with Best Solicitors. We are 100% happy with the service we had.

Yvonne

We used best solicitors to purchase our property. It was so easy and stress free. I found the app to upload all our documents onto was very easy to use and understand. Communication was great, we were kept updated regularly and help was always there when needed. Overall experience was good, I would highly recommend them.

Sykes

I dealt with Megan Armitage. She was very calm, professional, and very patient. She explained things I didn’t understand again and again without issues. She is very knowledgeable, and she always kept me informed of all information whether big or small. Thank you very very much Megan. You are simply the best and you are an asset to the company. It was lovely working with you.

Anonymous

Brilliant solicitor. Helped amazingly. Would definitely recommend.

Anonymous

After the recent passing of my mother, I needed to rewrite my own Will. I contacted Best Solicitors, who I’d lodged it with 5 years prior, & I was put in touch with Ellie Whitehead in the Wills & Probate dept. She guided me through the steps, explained everything in plain English & ensured I understood every part of my new Will. The costs were made clear at the beginning & all the work was completed quickly & efficiently. I was very happy with the service & will retain Best as my go to legal firm. I’m also reassured that if the worst happens to me, then Best are fully equipped to support my family in dealing with my estate.

Shamsa

Chloe helped massively throughout the process of buying our first home, and gave professional and helpful advice to any, and all, questions that we had. She worked promptly and managed to get us to completion earlier than we expected. I still feel if we have any issues or further questions we would happily reach out to Chloe, all in all we are very impressed with the service and would definitely use again if needed or would recommend to a friend!

Sophie

Used this company as a first-time buyer, which is scary enough on its own but was completely felt as ease all way through with Bethan and Kerrie, could not recommend enough! Everything was on time, chased up and regular updates throughout. Will be using this company again in the future and will definitely be recommending to family and friends!

Amy

Used Best Solicitors for years now because of Stephanie and will carry on doing so. Stephanie is so helpful and the knowledge she holds is phenomenal. Her attention to detail is second to none.

Thomas

Had a seamless experience with Best Solicitors Ltd. Really easy to get hold of and the communication from them was timely and informative. Made my house buying experience very straight forward. Thank you very much.

Charlotte

Great service from Ellie Whitehead in the Wills and Probate Dept. Ellie answered all of my questions and helped me decide how best to structure my will. Very helpful and prompt communications.

Liz

Best Solicitors & Stephanie made our first experience of buying a house, the easiest & quickest experience ever. Stephanie answered any questions we had & explained the process in detail every step of the way. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Stephanie & Best Solicitors.

Charlotte

Having shopped around for local conveyancers I chose to go with best due to the good feedback from previous customers. Steph, Emma and Courtney have been brilliant throughout the process of my purchase. Various hurdles were thrown up and the team dealt with them diligently and concisely whilst keeping me updated throughout. I will be using Steph and her team for an upcoming sale and would recommend them to friends and family.

Ben

Massive thank you to Best Solicitors and in particular Alicia Mate for the help and advice we were given when recently making our wills. Everything was explained clearly, quickly and professionally making the whole experience so easy for us both. A job really well done and we would highly recommend Best to anyone looking for support either with their wills or any other legal matter they may have. Thanks again.

Nick

Steph was extremely patient and helpful throughout the whole process. Steph was always on hand if needed. With this being our first mortgage, the process was smooth and extremely well explained. The branch as a whole is so approachable, we called many times due to having so many little questions to ask constantly and this was never too much trouble. Would use again and would highly recommend.

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