1. Decide how much you can afford
Before you start searching for the perfect place, it’s important you know what size mortgage you can afford; Use our 'how much can I borrow?' calculator to see how much we could lend you. Of course, you may not want to borrow the full amount.
If you're selling a home, first ask an estate agent for a valuation. Don't forget to find out about their fees and how these compare with other agents.
2. Check out your mortgage options
There are a number of mortgage and repayment options available. You can browse the options here , call us on 0800 023 2761 or make an appointment with one of our Branch Mortgage Advisers. You can also find your nearest branch by clicking on Branch Finder
Once you’ve chosen your option, we can give you a Mortgage Certificate showing what we’re prepared to lend you, subject to some checks such as affordability. This is useful when dealing with estate agents and sellers as it shows you are a serious purchaser.
3. Make an offer
Once you’ve found your perfect place, put in an offer.
4. Appoint a solicitor or licensed conveyancer
If you don’t already have a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, we can help you find one. We can refer you to a network of legal advisers who will charge a fixed fee with a no completion, no fee guarantee. Speak to one of our advisers to find out more about this service. If you appoint a different solicitor don't forget to ask for a breakdown of proposed costs.
5. Your offer is accepted
If your offer is accepted, the home you want to buy is said to be 'sold subject to contract'. You may be asked to pay a small deposit as a gesture of good faith, but at this stage the agreement is not legally binding.
6. Sort out your mortgage, protection and insurance
Once your offer has been accepted you need to let us know and, if you haven’t done it yet, complete your mortgage application and review your protection and insurance arrangements. Either call in to your local branch or phone us on 0800 023 2761 . We will undertake a number of different credit checks to access your application before making a decision on whether we can lend to you or not. We will then send you a mortgage offer.
7. Property survey and valuation
As your mortgage lender, we will require a basic Valuation for Mortgage Purposes to value your property. You may want to have a more detailed Home Buyer survey or a full structural survey carried out for your own peace of mind – especially if the property is old or needs some work.
8. Exchange of contracts
When your solicitor or licensed conveyancer has completed all the necessary checks, you'll be asked to sign a contract legally committing you to the purchase.
At this stage you'll also pay a deposit and agree a completion date. The deposit is usually a minimum of 5% of your property's purchase price. On average, you will have between two and four weeks before you can move in, so this is a good time to tell friends and colleagues, arrange insurance, contact the local authority and make arrangements with utility companies.
And don’t forget, you’ll need buildings insurance in place from the date of exchange of contracts.
9. Payment of the loan cheque
Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will get the loan cheque or telegraphic transfer from us ready to pay the seller.
At this point you may be required to pay your solicitor or licensed conveyancer for their work and for extra expenses like Stamp Duty1 and the Land Registry Fee2 .
10. Completion
Congratulations, you made it. You’re now the owner of your new home. Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will complete the purchase, you collect the keys, move in and relax.
1 Stamp duty is payable on all properties purchased for more than £175,000. Please ask your solicitor or licensed conveyancer for details.
2 The Land Registry Fee covers the cost of recording the change of property ownership at the Land Registry (or the Registers of Scotland). These costs vary according to the price of the property.
There are some important differences between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. Here’s how the Scottish process works:
1. Decide how much you can afford
Before you start searching for that perfect place, it’s important you know what size mortgage is affordable; Use our 'how much can I borrow?' calculator to see the maximum amount we are able to lend you. Of course, you may not want to borrow that much
2. Check out your mortgage options
There are a number of mortgage and repayment options available. You can browse the options here, call us on 0800 023 2761 or make an appointment with one of our Branch Mortgage Advisers. You can also find your nearest branch by clicking on Branch Finder
Once you’ve chosen your option, we can give you a Mortgage Certificate, which shows we’ve agreed to lend you the money in principle. This is useful when dealing with estate agents and sellers as it shows you are a serious purchaser.
3. You will need to appoint a solicitor to act on your behalf
4. The offer process
You need to complete a mortgage application and obtain a valuation or survey report before making an offer. This is because as soon as your offer is accepted you are committed to a binding contract. Offers are normally made in writing by a solicitor acting on your behalf – so you will need to appoint one before, or as soon as, you find a house you wish to buy.
You will be asked to state a completion or 'entry' date in your offer.
Unlike in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, missives (equivalent to the exchange of contracts) are carried out at an earlier stage in the process, and the full price is paid at completion or 'settlement’.
This is also the time to complete as appropriate your applications for mortgage payment protection and insurance.
5. Completion
After a binding contract has been agreed, called ‘concluding Missives’, your solicitor will complete the conveyancing procedures and prepare the documents, to transfer ownership of the house to you. The contract or Missives will specify the date of entry to the property. This is the date on which you will have to pay the seller the purchase price of the property in return for the Disposition (the transfer documentation) and the keys to the property. Your solicitor will make all the arrangements for settling the transaction on the date of entry and for completing the mortgage at the same time. This is called ‘completion’ of the purchase.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
You are here: