It is important to have the valuation carried out by an experienced estate agent, here at Hudson Moody, we have over 30 years of experience valuing properties in York and the surrounding areas. As one of York’s leading firms of Estate Agents and as Members of the National Association of Estate Agents and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, you can be assured that you are dealing with a professional and reputable company.
Our marketing package includes advertising across all our offices, promotion on numerous property websites, including rightmove.co.uk and print advertising in the local property press. This, combined with the experience and support that our staff can offer, will help you achieve a satisfactory sale and experience an exceptional level of customer service throughout the process.
Estate agents do not take photos on valuation, but you should make your property as presentable, clean, and inviting as you will for every potential buyer’s visit. Seeing your property in its best light will help make their valuation as accurate, honest, and positive as possible. That said, a good estate agent can see beyond a bit of clutter and will suggest any small tasks you might undertake ahead of photography, such as the odd paint job or carpet clean.
These are a few recommended questions to ask:
Typically, first time buyers must put down a deposit of at least 20%. However, with house prices having risen far more than wages in recent years, it has become almost impossible for first time buyers to save up that big a deposit, hence the introduction of certain government schemes to help first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.
One of the first things that you may want to consider if you are buying your first home is the Help to Buy scheme. Help to Buy helps people afford to buy their own home to a capped value of £228,100 with a relatively small deposit of just 5%. There are two separate parts of the Help to Buy scheme – Equity Loans and Mortgage Guarantees. With Help to Buy Equity Loans, the government gives you a loan to put down as part of your deposit, allowing you to put down a larger deposit and thus get a better mortgage. You need to contribute at least 5% of the property price yourself, and then the government gives you a loan for up to 20% of the price. You then need a mortgage of up to 75% to cover the remainder, which is obviously better than getting a 95% mortgage. With Mortgage Guarantees, the government provides a guarantee to your mortgage lender, allowing you to take out a mortgage with a deposit of just 5%.
https://www.gov.uk/affordable-home-ownership-schemes/help-to-buy-equity-loan
When you want to take out a mortgage, you apply to a mortgage lender. They will then carry out an assessment of what you can afford, considering a wide range of issues, including your income, credit cards, credit history, loans, dependants and amount you spend on living costs. They will also consider what the bills in your new home are likely to be, including council tax, gas, electricity, water and phone bills, and insurance.
For FREE advice contact our recommended, independent, mortgage advisers.
As a rough guide a transaction can, be expected to take around 12 weeks to complete, this mainly depends on whether there is a chain involved in the purchase.
A chain is created when a person buying a property needs to sell another, to fund their move. When a chain of multiple parties builds up, it can make the process longer. On the other hand, if the person buying a property is proceedable and therefore has nothing to sell in order to buy, it can be a much faster process.
Please see our Local Area Guide page.
Both the seller and the buyer sign identical contracts, and then these are exchanged between the solicitors for each party. Here you will pay the deposit, typically 10% of the purchase price, which your solicitor will hold. At this point the sale becomes legally binding.
The exchange of contracts will only happen when all enquiries have been answered and you, the seller and your respective solicitors agree that everything is in order.
Owning a freehold means that you own the property and the land that it is situated on outright. You are responsible for both the property and the land, with complete control over it. However, owning a leasehold means you are a tenant, and whoever owns the freehold is essential your landlord. Meaning you will be required to pay maintenance fees and service charges.
It is more common for leasehold properties to be flats and your property may share certain coon areas and responsibilities.
Buy-to-let mortgages differ slightly from conventional mortgages.
Interest on buy-to-let mortgages is typically higher than on conventional mortgages, usually around 1-1.5%. The reason for this is that many landlords with buy-to-let properties will rely on the income from the property to meet the mortgage payments, and as properties can sometimes sit dormant for long periods of time there is a higher risk to the mortgage lender that the landlord will default on their payments. For the same reason, the lender might also require you to put down a larger deposit – usually around 25%.
The amount that you can borrow varies from lender to lender. It depends on your income and tends to be around three times that of your salary. Around the time you are looking for a mortgage you should be in contact with an estate agent who will be able to give you an indication of how much you might be able to charge for the type of property you are considering. The amount you can borrow is also linked to the income your property will generate and so mortgage lenders will often require that the income be 25-30% higher than your rental income.
Hudson Moody is committed to the highest standards of service ad compliance; we are bound by the Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice.
We do understand that sometimes things can go wrong and if they do, we are committed to resolving any issues with the minimum of inconvenience.
Our complaints procedure has been designed to ensure that any concerns are dealt with as quicky and efficiently as possible. Should you require assistance with this process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing here.
We are committed to providing a professional service to all our clients and customers. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.
We will where appropriate, make reasonable adjustments for consumers who might be disadvantaged because of factors such as their age, infirmity, disability, lack of knowledge, lack of linguistic or numeracy ability, economic circumstances, bereavement or do not speak English as a first language.
If you have a complaint, please put it in writing, including as much detail as possible. We will then respond in line with the timeframes set out below (if you feel we have not sought to address your complaints within eight weeks, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Property Ombudsman to consider without our final viewpoint on the matter).
What will happen next?
The Property Ombudsman
Milford House
43-55 Milford Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 2BP
01722 333 306
Please note the following:
You will need to submit your complaint to The Property Ombudsman within 12 months from the date of our final viewpoint , including any evidence to support your case.
The Property Ombudsman requires that all complaints are addressed through this in-house complaints procedure, before being submitted for an independent review.