First Time Buyer

1. We will send you a pack of information and some forms to complete and return.
2. You will be asked to provide money on account for third party expenses such as searches.
3. You may be asked for evidence of your identity and your address if not provided by the estate agent.
4. If your deposit is a gift, we will need proof of the gift, ID and address verification for the person who gifted you the deposit. You will need to tell your lender of any gift as soon as possible to avoid any issues later in the transaction.
5. We will contact the seller’s solicitors to request: 

• • The Contract
  • Details of the title to the property
  • A Fixtures and Fittings Form
  • A Property Information Form (Protocol forms)

When we receive the contract pack we will check the title and raise our initial enquiries with the seller’s solicitors.

1. If not already provided to us, we will request searches such as: 

• • Local Authority Search
  • Environmental Search
  • Drainage Search.

Once we receive the results, we will review them and raise any further enquiries with the seller’s solicitors.

1. A property report will be prepared setting out key information relating to the property. We will send this to you with: 

• • A plan so we can ensure the boundaries of the property you are buying are correct
  • A contract
  • A Transfer Deed (TR1)
  • Completed Protocol forms
  • Copy documents

8. If you are obtaining a mortgage, your lender will send us a mortgage offer. We will review the offer and deal with any special conditions so that on completion we can get the mortgage funds from your lender.
9. If you have a Help-To-Buy ISA you will need to provide us with your closing statement at least three weeks before completion. You can get this from the bank or building Society managing your ISA. We will need this together with a signed First Time Buyer declaration to enable us to obtain the bonus. It is imperative that you provide this to us; any delay could result in the bonus being delayed. If we do not have this on completion you will lose the bonus as we are unable to utilise this after completion under the scheme rules. Further information can be found here.
10. Once we and your lender (if applicable) are satisfied with enquiries and searches we can discuss a completion date with your seller’s solicitors and commit (exchange contracts) to moving (completion).
11. In readiness for exchange of contracts we will require your deposit.
12. We will carry out final searches before completion in case anything has changed. We will also request the funds from your lender (if applicable) and any balance funds from you. On the day of completion we will pay the purchase monies to the seller’s solicitors.