Buying a house

[Sugar Ray]

Hi I'm a first time buyer and just wondered if anyone can give me a breakdown of the steps involved.
So far we have got a mortgage agreed in principle, had an offer accepted, instructed our solicitor - now a week later the estate agents wants our lender details (we still haven't decided as haven't shopped around) and a survey to be done - is this pressure before exchange of contracts normal

[kags]

The Estate Agents are trying to find out if you are a genuine buyer, so they will want to know that you are aranging your mortgage without delay. This is perfectly normal, as the seller won't want to stop marketing the house unless you are serious buyers. Once you have made a final decision on a lender, they will ask for a survery to be carried out. meanwhile, the solicitor will be checking title on the property and carrying out local searches. To be honest, if you were buying my house and hadn't started shopping around for a mortgage after a week, I'd be getting edgy too, as the morgage application process can take weeks.

[CheekyChops]

So who has agreed the mortgage in principal, aren't you borrowing from them?

Most people do decide on a lender/get a mortgage agreed in principal before looking for a house. Once you find a house you like, you put an offer in and once it's been accepted, tell the lenders who will then want the details of the house and of your solicitor.

[lady_p_gold]

Make sure your solicitor does a proper local authority search and not just a personal search, most people don't know that there are two sorts of searches and the first one covers everything and the personal search is a cheaper option which only costs �11 and yet you still might be charged the full fee.