You have come a long way from the stage at which you were only thinking of buying home.
Now you are almost on the threshold of your new home.
You have viewed available houses and short listed two or three houses which you could be happy with.
You are now entering that arena of activities, conveyancing, you are not fully equipped to deal with.
You need to discuss your financial status as well as all your opinions and doubts about the short listed property with your solicitor who is specialized in property matters.
You are now in a situation where the seller or his agent will try to gain a psychological advantage over you.
And it is fair that in order to protect your interests, you will do the same.
If the property is new on the market, more people may be interested in it and the seller will try to get maximum price out of you by playing on this factor.
However if the property has been on the market for long, there may not be many people interested in it and you can try to negotiate for lower price.
If you already have pre-approval for loan, this can be your plus point since the seller can hope to get the money quickly.
Find out if the seller needs to sell this property quickly either because he has payments to make for another property he has already purchased; in that case you could put pressure on him.
This is a psychological game and you should be prepared for it.
You have been viewing the properties in similar areas and of similar types.
Keep your data on prices of similar properties updated.
It may come in handy in negotiations.
When you make an offer for the house, remember that it shall include: oThe price you are offering and the earnest money you are putting down; oAlso that the deal is subject to getting the mortgage you want; oThe list of the fittings and fixtures that will go with the house to you; oCondition that the seller has a clear title to the property.
oA deadline by which the offer either has to be accepted or rejected; this is to obviate any possibility of Gazumping.
oCondition that since inspection of the house will be carried out after the acceptance of the offer, the entire deal is subject to your approval of the inspection report (if you have got the inspection done prior to making the offer, your solicitor may change this proviso about the inspection report being acceptable and decide to make an offer which takes into account the repair cost.
) It generally happens that the seller will make a counter offer, trying to get higher price than what you have offered.
This is the stage of playing on each other's nerves.
Stress on your plus points.
Remember that you must not allow emotions or excitement make you forget your financial position.
A hasty decision in committing to high price will become your liability for a long, long time to come.
Once the seller accepts your offer and the contracts are signed and exchanged, the deal is legally binding on both the parties.
Your conveyancing solicitor will advise you on many legal and financial arrangements that you must complete.
Even though the contracts have been exchanged the final payments are not yet made.
The solicitor works out the handing over dates and the balance money has to be paid at that time.
The conveyancing solicitor will arrange to pay the stamp duty and other charges and get the property registered in your name; he will arrange to hand over the original title deed to the lender and a copy to you.
You are now the owner of your own home.