It’s no secret that moving home is one of the most stressful things a person can do. Whether you’ve never moved before, or it’s been a while since you last bought a property, the process can feel quite overwhelming.
To make the search for your next property feel less daunting, the fourth episode of our podcast, OnTheMove, provides tips on how to get started with your property search. We cover everything from building a strong relationship with your estate agent, to making the most of our site such as using our Wish List tool to give you the most tailored search experience.
To help you feel better prepared for the journey you’re about to embark on, there’s nothing like hearing from people who have recently been through the moving process as they’ll have valuable insights that could support you in navigating it yourself.
With this in mind, the closing segment of episode four of OnTheMove sheds light on the things people wish they knew before they moved, and we’re sharing the key takeaways worth considering below.
A sale could fall through at any point until contracts are exchanged
In the UK, when purchasing a home, a buyer or a seller could pull out of a property transaction at any time until you get to the point of completion and the contracts are exchanged.
This brings an element of risk to any property transaction so it’s important to be aware of. While a fall-through can be out of your control in a lot of circumstances, it’s worth knowing the things you can do to alleviate some of the stress that can come from the potential of a fall-through.
Be open minded and do your due diligence, for example by understanding the motivations of the seller you’re buying the property from. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, make sure you’re speaking to the right people.
It takes a team of people to ensure a property sale is completed successfully, so having the right team with the best expertise around you will pay off in the long run. With this in mind, even if your sale or purchase does fall-through, by working with the right people, you can be confident that you have the best network around you to provide the right guidance in this situation.
Instruct a good estate agent who’ll always keep your best interests in mind and invest in an experienced solicitor who’ll keep the process ticking along effectively and efficiently.
Looking out for the little details when viewing properties can save time and money later on
When you’re viewing properties, take someone along with you who has a really good eye for detail. There can be a lot to take in and think about when you’re being shown around a home, especially for the first time, so having someone with you who can spot things like snags and imperfections that you might not notice otherwise can be really beneficial.
Noticing these details that might slip under the radar during a quick viewing can help you avoid discovering them once you move in and realising that more work needs to be done to fix the little things than you thought.
There are a lot of costs associated with buying a home
Before embarking on your property journey, being aware of the costs involved in purchasing a home is key. When buying a property, people will often put a lot of focus on their deposit, organising their mortgage and paying stamp duty, however, there are other important costs to budget for, so knowing what these are before you get started with the process can help avoid any surprises along the way and allow for better planning.
For example, when organsing a mortgage, you’ll also need to account for your mortgage advisor’s fee, then later in the process additional fees will also include the fee for your solicitor and your surveyor to name a few.
A more in-depth list of costs to keep in mind when buying a property can be found here.
Chase your solicitor if you need to
To handle the legal bits of your purchase and the conveyancing process, you’ll need to instruct a solicitor. Of course, some solicitors will be more efficient than others, but if you feel like you do need to be in the loop slightly more, or that you’d like to chase for more updates, don’t be afraid to do so.
In any case, be sure to do your research before selecting your solicitor to be confident you’ll be working with someone with the best expertise to guide you through the process, your estate agent might even have some reliable recommendations for you, too.
Moving day can be made easier with additional removal services
Once you’ve got a date to move in to your new place, if you can, pay for the removal firm to deconstruct and rebuild your furniture for you once it arrives to your new home. After all, the last thing you’ll want to do after a long day of moving is rummage around for the missing screw you need to complete the build of your bed frame so you can get a good first night’s sleep.
Make sure there’s a working broadband connection set up prior to you moving in
As we rely more and more on the internet in our day-to-day, you might find it’s essential to have broadband already set up before you move in to your new home. You might choose to set up your own network, or you could request for the previous owner to transfer the existing broadband account for the home over to you rather than shutting it down completely. That way, you can be confident that any home gadgets that require broadband will work smoothly once you arrive, this would be especially important if you have a gadget that controls the heating for example.
