There is no doubt about it – it is a sellers market and there is very little quality stock out there at the moment. In the last week alone we have had to face a contracts race with one set of clients which is a horrible situation for them to be in. On another sale, we had competitive agents calling the seller on a regular basis to say they would get a much higher price – luckily that one exchanged yesterday! That is why its more important than ever to act quickly when you do find a suitable property, be it your dream home or a buy to let. Here is some of the advice we give to our clients, and procedures we follow once we have secured a property for them:
Before making an offer, make sure all your finances are confirmed and ready to go – if you are a cash purchaser and your money is coming from bonds or shares, find out how much notice is needed.
Have a solicitor lined up and ready to act. Always try and get a recommendation, and make sure you will be dealing with the main solicitor and not one of their ‘assistants’. We find that more and more firms these days are farming out their files to under qualified staff, only for the file to have to go back to a fully qualified solicitor just before exchange who, nine times out of ten, will find a further 30 questions to raise which not only can affect important timescales but also thoroughly frustrates the seller and their solicitor. Remember, if the quote they give is cheap, like most things in life, you get what you pay for!
Once you have found your ideal property, act quickly. Put a strong offer forward to the agent giving your full financial situation, any chain details and any timescales you may need to work to. Remember, the more flexible you can be with these, the more attractive you are to most sellers. When making an offer, be guided by how long the property has been on for – if it has just come to the market then it will normally take the asking price to secure it. The quicker you can close the door to other buyers, the better. If its been on a bit longer, be guided by the agent on what they feel the seller will take.
Once the sale is agreed, give the agent your solicitors details as quickly as possible so sales memorandums can go out to all parties and the legals/searches etc can get underway. Contact your mortgage company/broker straight away to get the ball rolling and always try to get the survey/mortgage valuation booked within the first week to 10 days. In a rising market, a seller will want to see true commitment from day one.
Good communication is key during the sales process – be in regular contact with the agent and make sure your solicitor is doing likewise with the sellers solicitor. The more the seller hears, the more confidence they will have in you as a buyer and problems like gazumping are therefore less likely to occur.
When you get to the point of exchange, make sure you transfer cleared funds directly into your solicitors account asap – you would be amazed how many times I heard that a buyer had sent a personal cheque to their solicitor when I was in agency, it could take up to a further 10 days to clear. Also, it is easy to scan and email your contract back to your solicitor which can save days waiting on the post.
Remember, nothing is legally binding on either side until contracts have exchanged, so the best advice we can give is to pull out all the stops to get to that point as quickly as possible and then you can relax and start to plan your future in your new home. Or of course, you can simply instruct Goosechase Property Search to do it all for you!