Want to buy?
Mortgages are still available, at not unreasonable rates, but it does pay to shop around. You can talk to our experienced advisor in this office or we can even arrange home visits, for a brief idea of cost and availability.
If you want to find a property in Stoke on Trent, call in and ask for the full details.
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We can ring, text or email you with new properties as soon as they come on the market.
"....Pointing you in the
right direction.."
BUYING
The House Buying Process:
What price range?
Before you start to find a property in Stoke, it makes sense to find out exactly how much you can afford to pay. Do you have a house for sale across Stoke on Trent? Then you need an accurate up-to-date valuation. Contact us for a FREE market appraisal. Once you have the sales price, if you’ll need a mortgage you’ll need to find our how much you can borrow, and what the costs will be. We can arrange our mortgage advisors to help you free of charge.
First time buyers should consider applying for a decision in principle before looking for property, this will let you know exactly how much you can spend, and will put you in a strong position when it comes to making an offer. Contact us for more information.
Find a Property in Stoke on Trent
Once you know the price and type of property you are looking for, then register your details with us and our friendly staff will do their best to help you find a property in Stoke on Trent along with keeping you informed of any suitable property as it comes on the market. We can arrange viewings at times to suit you. We will take full details from you, including daytime telephone numbers, home address, and a description of your perfect property. Do you need to be in the catchments area for a particular school? Would you like a big garden? Is parking essential? Would you prefer a house that needs doing-up? Or is the property an investment? If so, you’ll need us to advise you on potential rent.
Making an offer
When you see a house for sale in Stoke that you would like to buy, you will need to make a formal offer. Often, this may be under the asking price but there are no rules to this process. We will inform the vendor of any offers in writing. If we receive any higher offers on the property we will let you know, so that you have the opportunity to revise your offer. Sometimes a property will be sold at a price higher than the asking price.
Instructing A Solicitor
Once your offer has been agreed, you will need to instruct a solicitor to act for you. We can recommend a solicitor to you, who are efficient and knowledgeable of the local area. If you are applying for a mortgage, you must check that your solicitor is on the lender’s panel, or you may have to pay extra fees for a solicitor to act for the lender as well. Some solicitor’s will offer online facilities, such as tracking
FIRST TIME BUYERS
Buying your first home?
We have a range of Houses for Sale in Stoke on Trent so before you do anything book a free appointment with an advisor from Tower Properties to go through how much you can borrow, what the costs are, how the process works etc.
These meetings are FREE and very informative, explaining the whole house buying process from start to finish.
Contact us now, and we will call you back to arrange a suitable time, which can be in the evening or weekend if that suits you better.
During the hour you will cover
• How much can you borrow?
• What will it cost?
• Using a guarantor
• Reducing your monthly outlay
• The cost of buying a home
• Choosing a good solicitor
• The house buying process
You may also be able to obtain a mortgage decision in principle, so that you can make a serious offer when you find your ideal property.
We always carry a good selection of houses for sale suitable for first time buyers in Stoke on Trent, in all price ranges and to search through the details of properties currently available please click here
Costs
A solicitor will charge you, on average, approximately £500 plus VAT for a straightforward sale or purchase, plus disbursements. These include Land registry fees (to register the title deeds in your name) of approximately £200 plus VAT, and local searches at £150 plus VAT. These costs can vary from area to area, and also from solicitor to solicitor. You will also have to pay stamp duty on the cost of your purchase. Currently the costs are 1% of the value of the property between £125,001 to £250,000, 3% on a sale price of £250,001 to £500,000 and 4% on all property sold for more that £500,000. Stamp duty is levied on the whole price, i.e the buyer of a house sold at £140,000 will have to pay £1,400, a house sold at £700,000 will give rise to a charge of £28,000.
Progressing the purchase
The solicitor will request a contract from the vendor’s solicitor, and will raise enquiries. Local searches will also be applied for. Once the solicitor is happy with the contract and has ascertained that you have the monies available to complete, you will be asked to sign the contract. It is usual at this stage to lodge a deposit of 10% of the purchase price. A completion date will be agreed, and contracts will be exchanged. At this stage you are legally obliged to complete the purchase, and you must insure the property.
Surveys
Most purchasers will want to have the property surveyed by a suitably qualified person. If you are applying for a mortgage the lender will instruct a surveyor to inspect the property, to make sure that it is a suitable security for a loan. If you want a more detailed survey, you can request that this surveyor carries it out for you, or you can instruct your own surveyor. If you use your own surveyor, but are applying for a mortgage, you will still have to pay for the building society valuation. We can recommend a local surveyor if required
Completion
Once the vendor’s solicitor has received the monies, the sale will complete and the purchaser will be able to collect the keys. This usually happens around midday on the day of completion. The purchaser should inform all local utilities that they have taken over the property, and read all the meters. Redirect the mail from your old address.
Problems
Finding and buying a Property can be a straightforward process and usually takes between 6 to 10 weeks. Problems can occur though, and moving house is right up there amongst divorce and bereavement, in terms of stress. The majority of the stress derives from a lack of information and control over the process. Our staff are all keen to keep you informed of the progress of the transaction every step of the way.
You may be in a chain, and if one person in the chain pulls out, then every linked transaction could fall through or be delayed. Sometimes people change their minds, due to an adverse survey, or a change in circumstances. Unfortunately, any fees spent are not usually recoverable, unless you had insured against this eventuality. At Tower Properties we only charge the vendor a fee on completion, so we only get paid when the sale has gone through.
Common reasons for a sale to fall through are:
Adverse survey
The surveyor may value the property lower than the asking price, or find structural problems. A building society may not lend on sub-standard property, or you may not be able to insure the building. If you can’t get building insurance on a property you will not be able to mortgage it. For non-structural repairs the lender may require further reports, and these can cover anything from timber and damp, electrical or roofing, for example. If there is a cost for these repairs the lenders may hold a retention, i.e reduce the amount of money they are prepared to lend to cover the cost of the repairs. If the vendor and purchaser cannot negotiate a solution to these problems then the sale may fall though.
Most staff in estate agents are called ‘negotiators’ and it is their job to negotiate between vendor and purchaser to bring the transaction to a conclusion satisfactory to all parties. If you find yourself in this situation use your agent. They are very experienced in dealing with survey reports and obtaining quotes and estimates that are acceptable to the surveyor.
Gazumping
This is when the vendor accepts a higher price from a new purchaser. Estate agents work for the vendor, and we have a duty to put forward all offers to the vendor.
Lack of funds
A purchaser may not be able to raise all the money needed to buy the property
Change in circumstances
A simple change of mind is one of the biggest reasons for a sale to fall through. On the other hand, there may be a reason - the new job offer is withdrawn, someone in the chain decides to divorce instead of move, your purchaser wins the lottery and wants a bigger property.
