Guide to Starting your Search & Buy

Blue Estate Agents have been providing Mortgage advice for many years. Our team can help with new mortgage enquiries and re-mortgages as well as offering vast experience with buy-to-let mortgage products and Help to Buy applications. Before you begin searching it is advisable to arrange your finances and, if required, have a mortgage agreed in principle.

Our in-house mortgage broker has access to the entire market, as well as exclusive deals and rates to help find you the best mortgage available.

We maintain contact with thousands of satisfied clients and review their mortgage and protection needs as their situation and, therefore, needs and requirements change.

Book a free no obligation mortgage appointment, at a time that suits you best. Give us a call and we can arrange this for you.

95% mortgages now available

With only a 5% deposit, you could purchase your own home!

You can borrow 4.49 x your income, up to a maximum loan of £500,000. To find out more, call 0208 570 7900 or book an appointment by popping into our office.

First of all, don’t be shy in asking to view a property or multiple properties if they are of interest. It doesn’t cost you anything, our staff will be pleased to meet you there and show you around. You should view a range of properties before committing to offering on one, even if you go back and offer on the first one you viewed. The main thing is not to jump in without exploring your options.

The fun starts here! You would have checked your affordability and researched the market to identify some properties you like the look of, now its time to get book viewings. At Blue Estate Agents, we like to show potential buyers around a house, so that we can be on hand to answer any questions you may have. Following each viewing, we will contact you to find out what you thought and in tun be able to tell the sellers of your feedback.

After you have viewed a property, we will call you to ask for your comments and feedback on the property you have seen. This is important information, not just for the seller so that they know how the market is reacting to their property but so that we can get a better feel for the type of things you like and don’t like and helps us suggest other properties which may suit your needs better.

Once you find your perfect property you can make an offer online or with your agent.

Let us know if there any special conditions of the offer and we'll communicate this to the seller.

At this point you may need to demonstrate that you can proceed by providing evidence of your mortgage in principle and solicitor details.

There are no legal obligations on either side until contracts are signed.

We will confirm your offer to the vendor both verbally and in writing and we will send you written confirmation of you offer and of the seller’s reaction. We will then negotiate between you and the seller to find a price that is acceptable to all parties and at Blue Estate Agents we pride ourselves on our integrity and the transparency of this part of the buying process so you can rest assured that your offer is being dealt with promptly and professionally. Once a price has been agreed we will issue the necessary paperwork and manage the sale to a successful decision and we are always there throughout the transaction to answer questions, guide and advise.

Once the final offer has been accepted, Blue Estate Agents will start to prepare the following:

• Prepare a memorandum of sale
• Confirm the agreed price with all parties
• Confirm your solicitor & mortgage details

You will now need to instruct your solicitor to proceed with the conveyancing process and your mortgage broker to proceed with your application.

As part of the conveyancing process your solicitor will do the following:

• Raise any enquiries on receipt of the draft contract
• Request their local searches
• Agree on a date for exchange of contracts

We will assist your solicitor and negotiate throughout the process, keeping you informed every step of the way.

A survey of the property will be booked by a surveyor on behalf of the mortgage lender to identify any structural problems and advise on the property's value.

After the mortgage valuation report is received, a formal mortgage offer will be sent to you and your solicitor which you will need to sign before it is returned.

Don’t be shy in asking questions if you don’t understand, if this is your first time and you are not expected to know it all, in fact many experienced buyers don’t know many aspects of the process as it is not a regular occurrence for most people. Throughout the process we will update you on a weekly basis and as part of that discuss the dates that were targeted at the outset and confirm whether they are still realistic.

The speed of your purchase will be determined by all parties doing what is required at the earliest opportunity. Our role will be to co-ordinate the relevant information and prompt anyone that hasn’t done what they need to but don’t wait to hear if you feel you should, pick up the phone!

Your mortgage adviser will be the best person to give you an update on your application and let you know the timescales you can expect to receive the formal offer of the mortgage (known as a mortgage offer). Different lenders will have different procedures which the adviser will know in advance and be able to advise you accordingly. The mortgage offer will also be sent to your Conveyancer to check through and in turn a mortgage deed will be forwarded to you for signature.

This is when both parties have agreed to the terms of the deal (signed a contract) and your solicitor will then send your deposit to the seller’s solicitor to legally bind the deal. The deposit is typically 10% purchase price, although this can vary. At this stage, the completion date will also be confirmed.

Completion is when the residual monies (usually 90%) are transferred from your solicitor to the seller's solicitor's account. Once the monies are received, they will inform us, and we will in turn contact you.

We will release the keys once the money has cleared in the seller's account. Completion day can be stressful for all concerned, especially if you’re part of a chain, but this is the final step in the sales process and one we all love. At Blue Estate Agents we like to simplify the stages mentioned above so you have a stress-free sale.

Congratulations, you are now the legal owner of your new home!