4 Essential Things To Do Before Making an Offer on a New Home

You’ve found the perfect mortgage lender, you’ve researched house prices, and you’ve viewed multiple houses. Now, you’re ready to make an offer on your dream home. This is one of the most stressful parts of a property purchase, so you need to ensure you get it right.

There are some things you should always do before you make your first offer. These will make it easier to avoid mistakes, can speed up your purchase, and might even save you money in the long run. So if you’re about to make an offer on a new home, here’s what you should do first.

Multiple Walkthroughs

You’ve probably had one or two viewings of the house you want to make an offer on. Don’t limit yourself to those views. It’s easy to fall in love with a property after just a few minutes of viewing it, but don’t start trying to rush the process. Request multiple viewings from the estate agent, and stagger them so that they occur at different times of the day.

Look at everything. Check carpets, behind doors, and beneath the furniture. Pay attention to what’s happening outside at different times of the day. You’re looking for any flaws or potential issues that might turn your dream home into a nightmare.

Speak to the Neighbours

You’re not just buying a home; you’re buying an investment in an area. So as well as checking the house thoroughly, it’s also worth taking the time to talk to some of your potential new neighbours. Even a brief chat could highlight that they will be the worst neighbours in the world.

Buyers who don’t take the time to explore their neighbourhood are taking a massive risk. Noisy neighbours (or aggressive ones) can make life hellish. So always do your best to try and have at least one conversation with the people who will be your neighbours if your offer is accepted.

Get a Conveyancing Solicitor Early

One of the most common mistakes first time home buyers make is to leave hiring a solicitor until after they’ve made their offer. It’s always better to have a conveyancing solicitor on your side as early into the house buying process as possible. A lot goes into conveyancing, and it’s a responsibility that takes time.

So hire your solicitor as early as possible, and certainly before you make your initial offer. The earlier you get your solicitor involved, the more they can prepare in advance. That will streamline the entire process and could even mean lower costs overall. Find out all you can about what conveyancing involves, and you’ll realise that having a conveyancing solicitor in place early will only ever work in your favour.

Don’t Limit Your Options

If you fall in love with a dream property, don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. House sales collapse for many reasons. Sometimes your offer will be lower than other buyers, tempting you to up your offer, which could affect your mortgage repayments.

Before you make an offer, try to ensure you have more than one option to buy. It’s always better to have a few property choices as backups, and getting too attached to a single property can all too easily lead to disappointment. A dream home will quickly turn into a frustration if you force yourself to spend more than you can afford.

You’re Ready to Make an Offer

Once you have everything ready, you can then make your offer. Don’t be afraid to negotiate on the price, and always be prepared to drop out of the sale if your surveyor reveals issues with the property that are too expensive to repair. Until you sign contracts, you’re not obligated to complete a purchase, but the later you leave it, the more difficult it gets,

Making an offer on a new home is always a milestone in your life. So take your time to do as much work as possible before making that initial offer.  Get it right and your new house keys could be in your hand sooner than you think.