Buying a House For the First Time: The Ultimate Guide
Buying a house for the first time is often seen as one of the most stressful things you can do. The process can feel like a minefield of legal jargon and unexpected problems.
This guide is written specifically for you, the first-time buyer. We'll walk you through each stage of the home-buying journey, from the moment your offer is accepted to the day you get your keys. You don't need to know every legal term to get on the property ladder; you just need a clear, reliable guide.
The first-time buyer journey: Before your offer
Before you start viewing properties, it is essential to get your finances in order. Knowing what you can afford and what costs to expect will make the entire process smoother and prevent delays.
The costs of buying a home
You need to budget for more than just the property price. There are three major costs to consider:
- Deposit: The average first-time buyer deposit in the UK is around £61,000. However, you can secure a mortgage with a deposit as low as 5%. The larger your deposit, the more attractive you are to a lender, and the better your mortgage rate is likely to be.
- Stamp Duty: In England and Wales, you will not pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £300,000 of a property. For properties between £300,001 and £500,000, you pay 5% on the amount above £300,000. If the property costs more than £500,000, you will pay the standard rates.
- Other Fees: Budget for legal fees, survey costs, and mortgage-related fees. These can add up to a few thousand pounds. Conveyancing fees for a first-time buyer can range from £1,500 to £2,500, including disbursements. A home survey will cost between £400 and £1,000, depending on the level of detail you need.
Getting your finances in order
The most important document to get at this stage is a Mortgage in Principle (also known as an Agreement in Principle). This is a statement from a lender that shows how much they are willing to lend you.
It is based on a basic credit check and details you provide about your income and outgoings.
Having a Mortgage in Principle proves to estate agents and sellers that you are a serious buyer, and it gives you a clear budget to work with.
Getting your offer accepted
The home-buying process officially begins once your offer is accepted. On average, it takes about 3-6 months to have an offer accepted from the point a property is listed.
This can feel like a long time, but with a bit of preparation, you can improve your chances and make the process smoother.
What can you do?
The best tool you have is knowledge. Before you make an offer, do your research. Look up what similar homes on the same street or in the same area have sold for.
You can use property portals like Rightmove or Zoopla to check sold prices. This gives you a clear idea of the property's real value, so you can make a smart offer.
Don't make a 'low ball' offer. While it might be tempting, an offer that is too low can be seen as insulting and may be rejected immediately. Instead, use your market research to make a fair offer that reflects the property's value and your budget.
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The first steps: Solicitor instruction and mortgage offer
Once your offer is accepted, the real work begins. Your main jobs now are to find a reliable conveyancing solicitor and to finalise your mortgage. Getting these two things right will have the biggest impact on how fast and smoothly your transaction goes.
Instructing your conveyancing solicitor
A solicitor handles all the legal work for you; you can't do it yourself. It’s best to instruct a solicitor either just before or just after you get your offer accepted.
The estate agent will ask for their details when they issue the sale memorandum, which officially "gets the ball rolling" by taking the property off the market.
Important: While the estate agent may recommend their own solicitor, it is crucial to use an independent one who is working to protect your interests, not the seller's.
When choosing a solicitor, look for one who gives you a clear, fixed-fee quote upfront. Avoid anyone who uses phrases like "estimated" or "based on the information." This can be a sign of a cheap estimate that will be loaded with extra charges later on.
Getting your mortgage offer
You will likely have started the process of getting a mortgage before you made an offer. Now is the time to finalise it. The whole process can take between 3 to 5 weeks, depending on the lender.
The average age for buying a first home is 34, and many buyers receive a gift to help with the deposit. If your deposit is a gift, tell your mortgage lender immediately.
Your solicitor will need you to complete a Gifted Deposit Letter as part of the legal process.
Searches and survey
This is the stage where you get a full picture of the property you are buying. Your solicitor will carry out legal searches on the land, and a surveyor will check the physical building for defects. This work is essential to protect you from future legal or financial risks.
Conveyancing searches
When you buy a property, your mortgage lender requires searches to be carried out on the land. These checks provide valuable insights into the surrounding area and identify any potential issues with the property's title. The four most common searches are:
- Local Authority Search: Checks for planning permissions, building control, and whether the property is on a public road.
- Drainage and Water Search: Confirms the property is connected to a public sewer and a water supply.
- Environmental Search: Reveals if the property is on contaminated land or at risk of flooding.
- Chancel Repair Search: Checks if the property has a liability to pay for repairs to a local parish church.
You NEED a homebuyer's survey
A qualified surveyor will inspect the property for any potential defects that could be expensive to fix. Buying a house is likely the biggest purchase of your life, so a survey is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
A good survey could pick up on costly defects like:
- Damp: Caused by leaks or a faulty damp-proof layer. It can cost thousands to fix.
- Infestations: Problems with rats, mice, or woodworm that can cause damage and are expensive to remove.
- Subsidence: This is the worst defect a house can have. It occurs when the ground under the foundations shifts, causing the property to move. Repairs can easily cost over £70,000.
The surveyor will perform a visual inspection of the central heating system as well. However, this is not a full functional test.
A homebuyer's survey does not check the boiler's condition or safety in detail. For that, you'd need a specialist inspection.
Call or send us a message to request a callback or an email answering your queries about our surveys.
Our UK-based survey team can help you choose the right level of home survey for your property, at no extra charge.
There's no obligation to instruct. We'll make sure you understand your options and provide a free, fixed-fee quote for our best-value survey to meet your needs.
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Exchanging contracts and completion
Exchange of contracts is the day you become legally bound to buy the property. Until this point, a sale is not legally binding. This is why either party can still pull out without penalty:
- Gazumping: This is when the seller accepts a higher offer from a new buyer.
- Gazundering: This is when the buyer lowers their original offer just before the contracts are exchanged.
Once contracts are exchanged, you are committed to completing the purchase; if you pull out, you will lose your deposit.
After all legal enquiries and searches have been satisfied, your solicitor will send you the contract to sign. They will then "exchange" it with the seller's solicitor over the phone. A completion date, the day you get your keys, is also agreed upon and set at this stage.
Completion day
Completion is the day you get your keys and the property officially becomes yours. Your solicitor will transfer the remaining funds to the seller's solicitor.
Once they have confirmed receipt of the money, they will instruct the estate agent to release the keys to you.
You will usually collect your keys from the estate agent. The process is normally completed by noon, so you can move in and start enjoying your new home.
Post-completion
Your solicitor will handle the final two steps after you have moved in:
- They will submit the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return to HMRC and pay any tax owed on your behalf. This must be done within 14 days of completion.
- Your solicitor will register you as the new owner with HM Land Registry. This is the final step to formalise your ownership of the property.
Advice for new-build homes
Buying a new-build home is a bit different from buying a pre-owned property. One of the biggest changes is the exchange of contracts.
Many developers will set a deadline of around 28 days to exchange contracts after you reserve the property. This is a very tight timeline, and you should choose a solicitor who is experienced in handling new-build transactions.
Should you get a snagging survey?
A snagging survey is essential. A new home doesn't mean it's perfect. A snagging survey checks the property for minor defects, such as unfinished plastering, poor paintwork, or doors that don't close properly.
You should instruct a surveyor to do this check after the property is built, but before you complete, so any issues can be fixed before you move in.
Our brokers will present the best options available to you, for any type of mortgage, including:
- First-time buyers, home movers and buy-to-lets;
- Employed; self-employed or director mortages;
- Mortgages for non-UK residents or non-UK citizens;
- Bridging loans;
- Bad credit mortgages;
- Guarantor mortgages;
- Joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages; and
- Absolute, Possessory, Good, or Qualified Title.
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
