Buying guide
Welcome to east London!
You’re here—which means you’re already taking your first step towards owning a property in one of the most vibrant and culturally rich areas of London.
Estates East takes you to the heart of this market, with the tools and insight you need to make all your plans come good. Registering as a buyer with Estates East could get you through the door of your dream properties—first. Read on for details.
Everything you need to know as a first time buyer is here, with useful tips throughout, and if this isn’t your first rodeo maybe take a fresh look. The Estates East Team is here to support you all the way through to completion and beyond.
There are no daft questions
What’s the best way to manage a move, if we’re currently renting?
Check if you’re within your original rental agreement, or are you ‘holding-over’ at the end of a fixed rental term?
Give advance notice of your exchange, as delays cause problems. As a guide: it takes between one and two months to complete, and the time from exchange to completion is two weeks.
Tip
Got a good relationship with your landlord? Try negotiating a shorter notice period, offering new tenants, perhaps? We can help you with this.
What’s the survey about?
From minor problems, such as misting in double-glazed windows, to structural movement, timber rot and Japanese knotweed.
The survey is an on-site inspection carried out by a surveyor, who records any defects with the building and surrounding land before you decide to buy it.
TipThe survey is a cost, but worth every penny. If you’re hit by a snag with a huge repair bill, you’ll wish you’d had the survey.
What are we ‘searching’ for exactly?
Searches are legal enquiries obtained by your Solicitor on your behalf, of various local government and utility companies. Eg, planning applications on the land, or flood risks.
Tip
Local Authority Searches can take weeks, so apply to your Solicitor for this asap, and ideally at the point of instruction, to prevent delays down the line.
What is a chain?
It’s a line of buyers and sellers linked together because each is selling and buying a property from one of the others, apart from the people at the ends.
The 'links' are the people in between who need to both sell and buy a property.
Eg estate agents, legal firms, surveyors and mortgage lenders— there could be dozens of people involved.
Estates East has a Sales-Progression Agent focussed purely on finding any slow links in the chain, and speeding them up.
Tip
Don’t be the slow link! Act immediately, sign everything correctly and keep alert to your messages so nothing is missed and the chain is kept moving.
I obviously do know this, but what exactly IS a mortgage?
It’s a loan secured against a property, most people have one.
You borrow money to buy the property, then you repay your mortgage over an agreed period of time depending on your needs and circumstances.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage, (as stated in every single mortgage ad).
The right mortgage for you depends on:
- The amount you need to borrow
- The size of your deposit
- The amount you can afford in monthly repayments
Tip
Contact an independent mortgage broker, many of them won’t charge you up-front. Instead they’ll take a fee from either you or the lender—if you take a mortgage with them.
What about the deposit?
This is the lump sum of money you put down against your mortgage, typically 5-10% of the agreed sale price. You transfer the deposit just before you move, when your solicitor sends you the contract to sign.
Some accounts need notice, and internet banking may have a £10,000 daily limit.
Tip
To prevent delays, start moving your deposit from a notice account to a no-notice account, before your solicitor requests the deposit.
What other costs are involved in buying a property?
- Monthly mortgage payments
- Mortgage arrangement and valuation
- Stamp duty
- Solicitor
- Survey
- Removals
- Initial furnishing & decorating
- Buildings insurance
Talk to us, it isn’t as scary as it looks, we’ll get you there.
Let’s do this
Talk to us about your plan and we’ll get on board and make it happen.
Call: 020 8520 9300
Consultancy
Surveying
Negotiation on behalf of clients
Offer substantiation
Onsite mortgages
Legal conveyancing
Ask us anything
Call 020 8520 9300
Estates East Consultancy
Our role as property consultants is to advise you and build a bridge between you and the vendor. Protecting that relationship and guiding you around any bumps in the road, all the way to completion and beyond.
Estates East will offer ideas, create solutions, give solid advice, draw on specialist knowledge, and put 20 years experience firmly in your corner. Consultancy is part of the service at Estates East and not something you pay extra for.
" Estates East were brilliant in helping me find a property - really proactive in letting me know about new things coming up and getting their heads round what I was looking for, but also very flexible with viewings. Once I found my house, their attitude was even better - they are the only estate agent I have ever found who always returns calls and do what they say they will do.
I am very pleased to have bought my property through them and I felt they acted in both my and the vendor's best interests throughout. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking to buy or sell in Walthamstow. "
Isobel Hopkins
Let’s talk it through
020 8520 9300
