INDIGO MORTGAGES
Buyers Guide
Your complete guide to navigating the buying process, we know it’s not easy!
Affordability and Agreement in Principal (AIP)
The first step of buying a property is to get an understanding of your budget. Different mortgage lenders (banks/building societies) will offer you different levels of mortgage loans depending on your circumstances. If you don’t know how much you can borrow then you won’t know what sort of property you can buy!
It’s recommended you have your AIP in place before you start looking for a property as it confirms that your credit and affordability are in a position to obtain a mortgage. Without this document, some estate agent / seller may not accept your offer (until you have your AIP) so even if you see the dream property, you could risk losing out to other buyers who are better prepared.
Cost of Moving
It’s important to understand how much savings you need on top of your deposit before entering into a purchase/sale. Your mortgage consultant will help you assess what you should be paying legal fee’s, stamp duty, survey fee’s and mortgage fee’s.
Negotiating the Deal
The role of the estate agent is to put a property on the market and sell it for the highest price possible – they work for the sellers!
We will help you negotiate the deal with the estate agent, ensuring you aren’t overpaying for your property and that the correct terms of sale are included, protecting your purchase. The last thing you want to do is purchase a property in an area that is going down in value! We have access to industry-leading technology that helps us value properties for you and ensure you are making the right investment.
Full Mortgage Application (FMA)
Once we have located the property and secured the purchase with the Estate Agent, we’ll need to submit the Full Mortgage Application. This will involve a hard footprint credit check with all banks/building societies. Once you have passed this, you’re well on your way to buying your property!
At this point, you will also need to instruct a solicitor who will handle the legal side of the purchase. You must ensure your solicitor is on your mortgage lenders panel to avoid additional legal costs. If you need help selecting a solicitor we can provide you with quotes from some of the UK’s highest-rated solicitors.
Valuation / Survey
Your mortgage lender will instruct a surveying firm to carry out a valuation on your property, most of the deals we have access to include a free valuation! You can opt to upgrade your survey to a Homebuyers / Full Building Survey.
We’ll help you assess if this is a necessary cost and provide you with a quotation from one of our recommended firms if necessary.
Mortgage Offer
Once the survey has been approved and the application has been assessed by an underwriter at the mortgage lender, you will receive a mortgage offer. This is the final stage of the mortgage process, the relevant documents will be sent out to your solicitor to allow them to complete the purchase.
Exchange of Contracts & Completion
Exchange of contracts is the point of no return! This is where you become legally and financially committed to your property. It’s really important you don’t feel under pressure from an Estate Agent/ Solicitor to exchange unless you’re completely happy with the purchase.
Once you have exchanged you’ll be provided with a completion date, this is the date you move into your new home!