Work out your budget

The first step is to speak to a mortgage advisor to figure out the ceiling price you can spend on your new home. We’ve partnered with the Silvergate Group who provide expert mortgage advice. CLICK HERE to request mortgage advice.

If you need to sell your home to fund your next move then now’s the time to consider putting your property on the market. Book a valuation.

Search for your new home

As Houghton le Spring’s & Seaham’s leading Estate Agents, we use our experience to add maximum value for sellers and achieve the best possible outcome.

Now’s the exciting part! Use our property search to scan through homes currently on the market.

Don’t forget to register for alerts to get early access to homes that meet your criteria before they drop on to the open market. Not sure on your ideal location?

Book a Viewing

Once you’ve found a home you think has potential, it’s time to arrange a viewing.

Write down what your non-negotiables and nice-to-haves are before the viewing to help you focus on what’s important whilst you’re there.

This is your chance to get a feel for the house and ask questions to help you make your decision.

Making an offer

Hooray! When you’re at the stage where you’d like to make an offer, you’ll deal directly with our sales negotiation team who will go between you and the seller to arrange an outcome that both parties are happy with.

You’ll need evidence of finance to be able to make an offer which is usually a mortgage in principle which your mortgage advisor will sort.

Instructing the sale

Once the offer has been accepted you’ll receive written confirmation from our team.

You’ll then need to choose a solicitor, you can pick your own or use one of our trusted partners. CLICK HERE for a conveyancing quote.

Mortgage

Your mortgage advisor will help you select the mortgage you’d like to go with (unless you are a cash buyer or property investor).

Once you have a formal offer that says the lender is willing to lend you the money to buy the property, your solicitor will get the ball rolling from their end.

Surveys & Valuation

At this stage you’ll need to carry out professional reports and surveys on the property.

A valuation survey makes sure the home is worth what you’ve agreed to pay for it, mortgage lenders will insist on this.

There are different surveys to consider too including a home buyers report, condition report and structural survey amongst others.

Your solicitor will advise you on which surveys to consider.

Negotiate a completion date

This is the date where you’ll get the keys to your new place - yay! Your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor will make sure both parties are happy with the date selected and then work out the final arrangements.



Of course, if you’re selling your current property too, you’ll need to take into consideration when you’re completing with your buyers.

Time to exchange

Your solicitor will have you sign the contract and pay the deposit before you officially exchange.

The exchange is when your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor swap signed copies of the contract and the sale becomes official - there’s no pulling out now (unless you’re happy to lose your deposit!).

The final hurdle - Completion!

The moment you’ve been waiting is here! It’s time to pick up the keys and complete on the purchase of your new place.

At this stage it’s officially yours and your solicitor will have tidied up all of the paperwork, arranged the mortgage funds and registered your ownership.

Congratulations!