Buying a House: A Checklist

There's a great deal of decision making and paperwork involved in buying a house, and the process can often be a challenging and time-consuming one - especially if it's your first time. However, learning in advance the things you'll need to sort out when buying your new home could reduce stress and ease the process.



There are many steps along the way to the exchange of contracts and subsequently moving into your new home, which can make the final days prior to completion particularly busy times. Other aspects of your move can be taken care of further in advance, to give yourself more time when you'll need it most - these include sorting out everything involved in leaving your current property, so you can focus on preparing for the new one.



Setting the completion date is an important step, and you won't be alone when making decisions such as this - you'll also be able to coordinate with your estate agent, the seller and your mortgage lender to find a date that suits all parties.

If you've met the conditions of your loan offer, you need to make sure the property's seller has lived up to their end of the bargain too - this includes making any repairs or signing any paperwork required prior to the completion date. To help make sure everything goes according to plan, it's wise to arrange a final walk-through inspection of the property at least 24 hours before you're due to move in - that way, you'll have a last chance to identify any faults or areas needing to be dealt with. If you move in and these factors haven't been taken care of, their responsibility could fall to you and present a strain on your finances.



Because you need to protect the valuable asset of your home as well as everything contained inside, taking out home insurance is another essential thing to take care of when buying a house and to be truly covered you need to ensure your insurance is in place by the time you exchange contracts. If your property is uninsured and falls victim to damage or theft, you may be liable to pay expensive repair or replacement costs to bring it back up to scratch. It will most likely be a pre-condition of your mortgage offer that your legal team checks out the details before you make any commitment.



The author of this article is a part of a digital blogging team who work with brands like Shoosmiths. The content contained in this article is for information purposes only and should not be used to make any financial decisions.