A first time buyer’s guide to getting on the property ladder

You can apply for a mortgage directly from a bank or building society, or you can use a mortgage broker or independent financial adviser (IFA) who can compare different mortgages on the market. 

The next important step is is arranging your finances whether by going directly to the mortgage lender or by using a registered Independent Financial Advisor. They will help you decide which mortgage is best for you, whether Help to Buy is an option and then sort all the necessary paperwork and process your application. A mortgage valuation will be undertaken on the property and if all goes correctly this should culminate in that all important mortgage offer. Once received your solicitor will be asking you to sign contracts and ensure you have provided them with your deposit money. You are nearly there! 

When you receive your mortgage offer, contact your solicitor to make arrangements to sign contracts. Once you have signed contracts and provided your solicitor with your deposit money, your solicitor can then proceed to exchanging contracts. 

On every house sale two identical contracts are prepared by your solicitor and the seller signs one and the buyer signs the other. When both parties are ready to proceed, contracts are exchanged, making both parties legally bound to proceed with the sale and purchase of a home. When you are ready to exchange contracts your solicitor will ask you for your exchange deposit. When exchanging contracts your solicitor will agree a moving date for you, called the completion date. If your new home is still under construction, we will give you an estimated date and you will exchange ‘on notice’. Formal notice will be given from our solicitors to your solicitor at least 10 days prior to required legal completion, when your property will be ready for you to move into. But don’t worry your Sales Executive will keep you updated throughout, so this won’t come as a shock. 

Two weeks before legal completion, we usually invite our buyers to join us in familiarising themselves with their finished home and learning how it all works. We appreciate it’s a lot to take in, so we are always there afterwards to answer anything that has been forgotten and we will provide on legal completion your home pack which incorporates everything to do with your home. This home demonstration is then followed by the pre-occupation inspection which is unique to Peveril Homes and gives you the opportunity to highlight any issues that we need to address before you move in. The initial home demonstration with your Site Manager and Sales Executive will be followed by our pre-occupation inspection which is unique to Peveril Homes and gives you the opportunity to spend time in your new home, check all is as you would expect and highlight to us any areas of the finish you are not happy with. Our team endeavour to get your new home as near to perfect as we can to ensure you are totally happy. However, it is a hand-made product and should something have been missed, we will make every effort to get this sorted before you move in. The last thing we want to do is disturb you once you have moved in.