Moving House

[tell-me-more]

Hi,

What happens when, when you move house?

What's the difference between exchanging and completing and when would I have to pay a deposit? Also, is the first months' mortgage usually due in advance?

Also, how long should expect the process to take - I'm a first time buyer, as you may have guessed.

Thanks in advance.

[chazza]

Usually when buying a house you will need a deposit especially with first time buying, however if you shop around you may be able to get a 100% mortgage depending on your situation.

My first months mortgage was not taken until I had been in the house a month, but I know my friends was different so it may depend on the lender

[sunflower71]

being a first time buyer myself, one thing that no-one told me (even the bank!) was:

with your first months mortgage payment, its not your usual monthly payment as they charge you interest from the day,
ie, pay monthly = �1000, first mortgage payment = �1700.
Hope that makes sense.

Also make sure you do have a congingency for emergencies!

good luck with it all, some people thrive off it but I dont think that I am ever gonna move ever again!!!!!!!

[tell-me-more]

So if you move in on say the 17th, you'll pay for 13 days of one month, plus 30 the next or whatever? That's useful to know. I'd be interested to know if it's usually straight away or at the end of the first month.

[sunflower71]

not sure, tell-me-more,
basically here is what I paid :
My mortgage is �991 per month.
I exchanged/completed whatever you call it! 5th July 06
1st mortgage payment on 5th Aug = �1600
2nd mortgage payment on 5th Sept = �991
3rd mortgage payment on 5th Oct = �991 etc etc
So I started paying interest from 5th July...

All very confusing!

[tell-me-more]

Thanks again for your answers guys and gals. I don't mind too much paying the big first month payment, it would just be helpful not to have to make the first payment on the completion date seeing as I've got to pay a deposit too. I can't get a 100% mortgage as it's a shared ownership property.

[chazza]

Check with your lender. In my case I didn't have the big first payment, i moved on 16th June and paid my first payment on 16th July and it has been the same amount since then

[sunflower71]

hope Allience & Lec didnt rip me off!

[mimififi]

lenders are, at the end of the day, a law unto themselves. we have recently remortgaged and got into a bit of a cash flo crisis because our original lender did not add the ten days between our completion and the date of our first monthly payment onto our first payment. This meant that when we remortgaged, it gets tagged onto the end. The lender that we are going to does charge you the odd days between completion and the date of the first payment straight away on the first payment date so last month we in effect, paid 3 months worth of mortgage in one month. It was a nightmare.

Chazza, you might want to check that when you remortgage, or sell ( if you ever do in the future before your mortgage matures) that you don't have the same thing happen to you and those few days tagged on the end.

I don't know what the difference is between exchange and competion is though, they seem a much of a muchness. buenchico on here might now, he seems a bit of a legal beagle.

hope this helps.

[tell-me-more]

I spoke to the estate agents' mortgage advisor last night, and according to him, the exchange always happens before the completion. The exchange is a contractual thing giving you a legal obligation to buy the property, and completion is when you get the keys. I thought it was the other way round (i.e. completion is when you complete the deal, exchange is when you exchange keys).

I also found out that my chain is quite small. I'm a first time buyer, and the person whose place I'm buying is buying an empty property. The estate agent and mortgage advisor seem to think it should be completed in 2 months.