First time buyer

MovingForwards

I'm trying to keep it light hearted as I know how stressful this is!

In theory you will have had some form of report from the solicitors saying about rights of way and anything else to do with the property before exchange.

You do the insurance when the solicitors tell you. But double check your T&C's from your lender as that gives so much information (I know it's boring, but it's also empowering to know in advance).

Before the money from your lender is released to your solicitor you may have to call the lender. This is classed as a pre-completion phone call. All they do is check name, DOB, address you are buying, say what the interest rate is, how much your first payment will be, ask if circumstances / outgoings have changed since application and ask if you have any questions, then they confirm when the money will be with your solicitor (they deduct the cost of sending the money to your solicitor so make sure your solicitor has asked for that from you).

You send any outstanding money, including solicitors fees, to the solicitors.

Anxiety kicks in between exchange / completion, you walk from room to room looking at everything and panic there is still so much to pack.....

The night before completion you will get up to an hour sleep, before getting up, walking around and wondering how the packing will get done and if clicking fingers will work!

You sit anxiously waiting for the phone call / email from the solicitors to say you have completed and where to get the keys. You are too scared to move away from your phone in case it rings......

Meanwhile your solicitor has double checked the file, to make sure everything is ready (they have to be sure), they should have received confirmation the day before the lenders money was received and they complete the money transfer form, have it signed off and with their accounts department to add to the mounting pile of money transfers to be done the next day (accounts sit down with a huge coffee, start working their way through them, they are checked by another, then a partner or other nominated person approves all the transfers).

Your solicitor waits for confirmation the money has gone out, let's the other solicitors know it's on its way. 

You nervously wait, payments transfer in seconds, why has the solicitor not called at 9am...... You may not hear anything until about 4pm.

Sellers solicitors accounts person confirms money received, sellers solicitors call your solicitor and say money received.

Your solicitor calls you, congratulates you on being a homeowner and says where the keys are, unless you already arranged that. You remain calm, but your heart is about to explode. 

Call finishes and you yell 'yes' or something similar, and start running around like a headless chicken at Christmas as you want the keys! Ignoring the fact all you have packed is one bath towel and you still have the whole place to pack.

Meanwhile, solicitors and their accounts have a coffee and say, why do we keep doing completions on a Friday.....

MovingForwards

Some personal tips for completion day.

Liquids - that sip of water / tea etc as you are thirsty, miraculously exits as a pint. Not only that but it's several times an hour.

Food - do a sandwich or something, that way you can break tiny bits off, just in case your phone rings or the email pops up.

Time - a minute seems to last an hour, if not longer, don't forget you got up at silly o'clock and your mobile hasn't stopped, unlike the battery operated clock on the wall. . Your solicitor may confirm s/he has sent the money, the waiting game starts again, especially when it's lunchtime! Time really does draaaaag.....

Final call with solicitors - just gives a quick congratulations and says what s/he will be doing eg registering you as property owner, registering the mortgage etc.

Telling everyone - you then start to tell everyone, who knew you were buying, that the money has gone, you are waiting for the otherside to receive it, then you will get the keys. By this point reality hits, you will be a homeowner by the end of the day. That long awaited dream, all those years of saving, waiting it's now reality.

Packing - you pretend it doesn't exist as you are too happy.

Money - hopefully you have some in the bank as you've been saving up a little extra, whilst it would be nice to have thousands spare, it's not always like that. You may have less than £100 or £1k, you may have more. You are an individual, who knows how to budget and will be careful until payday.

Rental notice - check your tenancy again, hopefully you checked it, make sure you give notice as per your agreement (never give notice before exchange and budget for paying an extra month just in case).

han_nah95_2

Ahh that time line is just brilliant  
Since this morning the solicitor has said we are to exchange and complete on the same day - i have suggested next Thursday which gives us 3 days to start wallpaper stripping over bank holiday....
Because we're renting off the parents and new house needs re-wiring and a whole central heating system put in place we won't move in until those works are complete and the work men can carry out the works safely and they're both extremely quiet so waiting for the heads up once we got keys - i may leave it to them to fight out who goes in first haha!
We're extremely lucky that we are currently renting a property off my parents so we don't have to worry too much about sticking to tenancy rules but have been warned once lockdown is over I must help to deep clean haha! 

MovingForwards

Thank you @han_nah95_2 I'm going to write up a quick guide about the first few hours of ownership over the weekend! It does feel really good x

renfirsttimebuy

Sandwich it is @MovingForwards

han_nah95_2

Yes! Please write up a quick guide.
We have a completion date....13th May ☺️☺️

MovingForwards

Will do the next installment the weekend, expect it to be long as technically there is loads to do. But the tasks can be spaced over a few days 🤫

renfirsttimebuy

Hi all!!
So I've had a very stressful day. 
I am now scheduled to exchange tomorrow....I hope it happens smoothly!

My solictor think I'm a psycho because of the many calls and emails. They could do me for harassment lol. 

Eventually all funds were transferred today. Disclaimer signed...even the sellers lawyers called them twice! 

I will await for call tomorrow morning then I have to send my notice. Tomorrow is also the last day for my landlords months notice!!! 

All in all I can say I hate solicitors. Lol

@MovingForwards @han_nah95_2

Reallyclueless

Omg congratulations to you all, I am supposed to be completing on Monday but my mortgage extended offer expires in 10 days and I don’t know if I need to reapply for a new mortgage or I’ll get a special extension from Aldermore. Broker is on annual leave (I suspect furlough) so I don’t know where I stand. 

MovingForwards

Well done @renfirsttimebuy I've got everything crossed for you xx