Idiot's guide to moving home

yorkiechick

My partner and I are thinking of moving within the next year.

The whole process honestly scares the !!!!!! out of me and I have no idea where to start! Firstly, I want to start saving for some of the costs involved like solicitor/estate agent fees or are things like this often included within the mortgage process?

Is there an idiots guide to moving?! It all feels very overwhelming! 

ic

Are you first time buyers, or will you be selling a house you're already in?

teachfast

Pick your solicitor very, very carefully. Many are just really bad.

yorkiechick

ic said:

Are you first time buyers, or will you be selling a house you're already in?

Selling our current home, which we are finishing some final renovations on. We're not in a rush to move, so just testing the waters and seeing what preparations we ideally need in place.

Natbag

There is a really handy guide on here (of course!), the whole section is useful but this particular link should have cover most of what you have asked at this stage: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/how-to-sell-a-house/

ic

If you already have a home, and have equity (i.e. have paid off a chunk of the mortgage, or the value has increased above what you owe), then when you come to buy that equity can cover some of the moving costs - with what remains being your "deposit" on the new home.  Your solicitor will already add their fees and charges, along with any estate agent fees as part of the account statements when the sale completes.  So you only need to worry about paying is the stuff outside of that - mortgage broker perhaps, and any moving costs if you don't DIY these. 

Personally I found the process much easier moving, rather than as a FTB.  I didn't have to move any money around - it all just happened on the day, and the solicitor simply sent me a big wodge of cash as I over-borrowed on the new mortgage in order to fund improvements on the new home.

Ashworks

As well as the guidance on here, the Which website has a brilliant guide to buying and selling.

https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/home-movers

Redwino222

I have estimated the cost of selling and buying for me are about £10k.  It’s expensive!

this includes estate agent fees, mortgage fees, solicitor fees and stamp
duty (assuming I move in July).

I agree a good solicitor is key.  I moved once with a useless one and it was terrifying.  A good estate who communicates openly and honestly is also vital.  

Never go with the cheapest. 

yorkiechick

Thanks everyone, I'll get reading!
My sister has just moved home so I'll see what she thinks of their solicitor. The one we used when we bought our current home is no longer operating. 

teachfast

yorkiechick said:

Thanks everyone, I'll get reading!
My sister has just moved home so I'll see what she thinks of their solicitor. The one we used when we bought our current home is no longer operating. 

They're the best kind of solicitors.