Buyer Services
Not only will we register your property requirements and keep you informed of properties on our books that may meet those requirements, but we will also try and think outside the box by proactively seeking the right property for you, as well as suggesting alternatives that you may not have considered but which have the potential to provide the same end result. We even offer a property search and acquisition service should you want us to undertake the legwork for you.
Additionally, we can recommend and arrange access to a huge variety of third party providers offering all manner of complementary services, from property conveyancing and mortgages, to surveyors, contractors and specialists in all related fields. Please be assured however that whilst we are happy to offer assistance or advice with any additional services and whilst some will result in remuneration for us from those providers, it is not our raison d’etre (unlike some agents), we are not tied to any one provider in any particular field and will always give best advice. We will also not take offence or exert any pressure should you not wish to take advantage of any additional services, advice or assistance.
Our Service to You:
- Registering Your Requirements
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You can email us, call us, write to us, contact us via our website or call in to let us know what type of property you are looking for and we will register your details and search criteria on our database, contacting you if necessary to establish additional information to best help us match you with the right property. We will gladly offer advice on the local area, likely purchase prices and other factors that may assist in narrowing down your requirements and assisting in that matching process.
Once you have registered with us, we will not only let you know about any potentially suitable properties already on the market with us but also keep you informed of any new property coming onto the market that may suit, by phone, letter or email, as preferred. - Viewing Appointments
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We will always try and be as flexible as possible in trying to accommodate preferred days and times to view properties you are interested in and can often offer early evening and Saturday appointments, although pleased bear in mind that with many properties being owner occupied and high demand to view some properties, advance notice and choice of days and times is always appreciated. We will normally arrange to meet you at the properties you wish to view but may be able to drive you between our office and properties depending on circumstances and other appointments we may have.
- Making an Offer
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Should you decide that you would like to make an offer to purchase any property through us, we would normally submit that offer on your behalf to the seller (our client). Please note that we are duty bound to submit all offers to the seller, but would seek to establish your ability to proceed with the purchase of that property to completion should your offer or any subsequent offer for it be accepted, as your ability to proceed or otherwise will obviously have a bearing on the attractiveness of it to the seller.
We will need to know how you intend to finance the purchase, e.g. cash and/or mortgage and proportions thereof, and whether the availability of funds is dependent on the sale of any other property or asset or anything else, and if so, the status of those associated transactions. We may well need to independently verify this information so please do not be offended if we do. Please be reminded that the seller is our client and therefore we have a duty to negotiate the best possible selling price for the property. However, we will obviously advise our client if we feel, in our professional opinion, that your offer should be given serious consideration as we are also employed to sell the property and a variety of factors could affect that advice, e.g. prevailing market conditions, your ability to proceed and the strength of your position, preferred timescale, an associated property that our client may wish to purchase, other interested parties, etc.
We will not be at liberty to divulge the details of other offers made or the details of our discussions with our client but will keep you informed of progress with the consideration of any offer made and will advise if any offer is accepted or rejected and seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable revised purchase price if the latter. - Commencing a Purchase
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Upon acceptance of an offer to purchase a property by you and having established your ability to proceed and the number of other related transactions (the ‘chain’) and their status, we would then ask you for details of your legal representative (solicitor/conveyancer) in the purchase and would forward them, you, the seller and the seller’s legal representative our Memorandum of Sale, which confirms the basic details of the agreed transaction and the relevant parties to it. The solicitors will then make contact with each other and commence the request and transfer of legal documentation associated with the purchase, e.g. draft sales contract, property enquiries, etc. Your solicitor will also apply to the local authority and other bodies for ‘searches’ (information pertaining to the local infrastructure, planning policy, geology, etc of the area that the property resides in).
If you are partly funding the purchase with a mortgage, you will also now need to submit your mortgage application, if not already done so, as the lender will not only need to determine your ability to repay the loan but will also need to undertake their own independent valuation of the property to ensure it adequately and comfortably covers the amount you have asked to borrow against it. This is purely undertaken for their protection and does not constitute a survey for your benefit, albeit the valuer may flag up concerns requiring further investigation.
Should you wish to commission advice on the structure or any aspect of the fabric of the property, you may wish to instruct your own surveyor to undertake a Full Structural Survey or Homebuyers Report or you may wish to revisit with a builder, architect or specialist contractor or surveyor to look at specific areas or for a general overview. We and the seller would expect any of the above to be instigated early on in the purchase in order that any potential issues are discovered early and can hopefully be resolved, rather than unwelcome discoveries and/or delays at the eleventh hour. Unless something fundamental and unexpected were to be discovered that evidently and materially affected the purchase price agreed, we would not encourage renegotiation of agreed prices and would understandably advise our client against acceptance of any reduced offer between the purchase being agreed and exchange of contracts unless there were valid reasons otherwise. We do not encourage ‘gazumping’ or ‘gazundering’, albeit these practices are not illegal, contrary to common misconception, as all offers must be submitted. - Buying the Property
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Assuming all goes well, all legal documentation and searches are satisfactory, your purchase funds are in place (cash and mortgage as applicable), surveys are satisfactory, any related transactions have reached the same point, and all parties are in agreement, then exchange of contracts can take place. This is the point at which you become legally bound to purchase the property and usually involves you also paying a deposit of 10% (normally) of the purchase price to your solicitor to hold on behalf of the seller as security. At this point a Completion Date is also agreed as the date upon which the balance of the purchase price is to be paid and upon receipt of which by the sellers’ solicitor, you will own the property and be able to obtain the keys.
Should you for any reason not be able to proceed to completion after exchange of contracts (extremely rare circumstances), you would forfeit your deposit and the seller could take further legal action for breach of contract. Upon completion, normally around lunchtime on the agreed date, your solicitor would transfer your purchase funds (supplied by you and your mortgage lender as applicable) to the seller’s solicitor and they would then contact us and the seller to confirm the same. Keys to the property could then be collected from us or direct from the seller as applicable. You are now a proud homeowner!
