Buying your first home? Here are our top 5 tips to help you prepare

Beth Browne, a Solicitor in our Residential Property team, explains 5 simple steps for first-time-buyers to ensure they're prepared.

Buying your first home is a huge milestone and achievement, however it can be quite overwhelming. Here are my 5 top tips to ensure you are prepared.  

1 Find your dream property

When the hunt for your dream property has come to an end and your offer is accepted, you can begin your conveyancing journey. 

2 Get quotes

You should obtain quotes for your upcoming purchase. When speaking to law firms offering conveyancing like Cozens-Hardy, try to provide them with as much information as possible. This will ensure they can produce an accurate estimate of their fees and have as much information as possible at an early stage which will help the transaction.  

3 Arrange your finances 

It is important to ensure you have all of your finances in place before proceeding with the purchase. 

If your funds are held in an ISA account it may be prudent at this stage to check the requirements of withdrawing the funds to ensure you are aware of the procedure. 

Some ISA providers can take time to release the funds and this may result in a delay when you are near to completion if you are not aware of their timescales. 

If you are receiving gifted funds, make sure you make your solicitor aware of this at the outset, so they can complete their procedures without delay. 

If you are obtaining a mortgage, speak with your mortgage broker and ensure your agreement in principal is in place, or in process. 

4 Check your ID documents 

You should ensure you have valid ID documents such as a passport. Check that your documents are in date and valid at the time of your purchase. 

5 Instruct a conveyancing expert

It is important to instruct a lawyer to act on your behalf. At Cozens-Hardy, we have a large Residential Property team offering conveyancing. 

We will consider all the paperwork on your behalf, check the property's legal title and liaise with the seller's lawyer, mortgage lender and agents. We will ensure the process is handled correctly and register you as the legal owner of the property, once completion has taken place. 

At Cozens-Hardy we pride ourselves on being proactive and forward thinking. The above steps will aid the process of dealing with your conveyancer ahead of the exciting milestone of buying your first property. 

If you are buying your first home, please contact Beth Browne, Solicitor, Residential Property, on 01603 625231 or email bkbrowne@cozens-hardy.com