Advice

Welcome to GerrardsCrosshomes.co.uk the local property website for Gerrards Cross where you will find homes for sale and to let supplied by local estate agents.  Property data is provided and maintained by our partner, propertyfinder.com, who can be contacted at websupport@propertyfinder.com.

Please refer to our FAQ section which offers answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions about our service.

TIPS ON BUYING A PROPERTY IN GERRARDS CROSS

How much can you afford?
The first thing you need to do when buying a house in Gerrards Cross is decide how much you can afford. You will need to look at how much money you have available yourself and how much you can borrow. There are a number of different financial institutions which offer loans to people buying a property, for example, building societies and banks. You should find out if you are able to borrow money and if so, how much.

Some building societies now provide buyers with a certificate that states that a loan will be available provided the property is satisfactory. You may be able to get this certificate before you start looking for a property in Gerrards Cross.  Building societies state that this certificate may help you to have your offer accepted by the seller.
Before finally deciding how much to spend on a property, you need to be sure you will have enough money to pay for all the additional costs. These include:-

- Survey fees
- Valuation fees
- Stamp Duty Land Tax. This is payable on properties costing more than £120,000.
- Land Registry fee
- Local Authority search fees, if any, charged by the mortgage lender or someone who arranges the mortgage, for example, a mortgage broker the buyer's solicitor's costs
- VAT
- Removal expenses
- Any final bills, for example, gas and electricity, from your present home which will have to be paid when you move.

You should be aware that if you start the process of buying a property in Gerrards Cross and then the sale falls through you may have already paid for a valuation and/or a survey. If the solicitor has started any legal work you may also have to pay for the work done.

You should also take into account the running expenses of the property you wish to buy. These may include:-

- Heating bills
- Community charge/council tax (in England and Wales)
- Water rates (in England and Wales)
- Ground rent, if the property is leasehold
- Service charges, if the property is a leasehold flat
- Insurance costs, including life insurance, buildings and contents insurance.

You will also have to pay a deposit on exchange of contracts, up to 10% of the purchase price, a few weeks before the purchase is completed and the money is received from the mortgage lender.

Deciding on a property in Gerrards Cross
When you find a property in Gerrards Cross you should arrange to look round it to make sure it is what you will need and to get some idea of whether or not you will have to spend any additional money on the property, for example, for repairs or decoration. It is common for a potential buyer to visit a property two or three times before deciding to make an offer.

Freehold property
If the property is freehold, this means that the land on which the property is built is part of the sale and no ground rent or service charge is payable.

Leasehold property
A property may be leasehold, which means that the land on which the property is built is not part of the sale. You have to pay ground rent to the owner of the land - who is called the freeholder.  The length of a lease can vary and you should check that the length of the lease on the property you are interested in buying is acceptable to the mortgage lender. You should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

In addition to ground rent on a leasehold property, you may have to pay an annual service charge. This usually happens with a flat. The service charge covers such items as maintenance and repairs to the buildings, cleaning of common parts and looking after the grounds.  A group of leaseholders living in the same building may have a right to jointly buy the freehold of the building or take over its management.

Commonhold property
If the property is commonhold, this means that you can buy the freehold of a flat and own common parts of the building jointly with the owners of other flats in the building (known as a commonhold association).  In commonhold a ground rent or service charge is not payable. However, a share of the commonhold association's expenditure on maintenance, insurance and administration will be payable for the common parts of the building. 

Making an offer on a property in Gerrards Cross
When you decide you would like to buy a particular property in Gerrards Cross you do not necessarily have to pay the price being asked for it by the owners. You can offer less if, for example, you thinks there are repairs to be done which will cost money.

If the property is being sold through an estate agent, you should tell the estate agent what you are prepared to pay for the property. The estate agent will then put this offer to the owners.

If the owners do not accept the first offer put to them by you, you can decide to make an increased offer. There is no limit on the number of times you can make offers on a property. If you make a written offer it will always be made subject to contract. This means that you will not be committed to the purchase before finding out more about the state of the property. If you make an oral offer this is never legally binding.

When the offer has been accepted
When your offer for the property has been accepted you will have to consider the following:-
- whether a holding deposit is payable
- arranging a mortgage - see below
- whether a survey is necessary - see below
- who will do the necessary legal work - see below
- whether you want to buy with someone else - see below.

Holding deposits
Once the owners have accepted your offer the buyer may be asked to pay a small deposit to the estate agent. This is not usually more than £500. It is meant to show that you are serious about going ahead with the purchase. It is repayable if the sale does not go ahead.

Arranging a mortgage
If you have not already begun to arrange a mortgage, you should start to do this now. It should take about three weeks from the application for the mortgage to the formal offer being made by the lender. However, this time-scale may vary.

Whoever agrees to lend the money will want to have the property valued. This is to make sure that the lender could get the loan back if for any reason you stopped paying your mortgage and the house had to be sold again. The valuation will be done by a surveyor on behalf of the lender but you will have to pay for this valuation. The fee will be payable in advance, usually when the you send a completed mortgage application form to the lender.

If the amount of money to be borrowed is more than a certain percentage of the valuation of the property (usually 75-80%), your lender makes it a condition of the loan that you take out extra insurance to cover the extra amount. You pay a single premium to your lender which is usually added to the loan. This is known as a higher lending charge (or mortgage indemnity guarantee).

Arranging a Survey
The valuation which is done for whoever is lending the money is not a survey. You should consider whether or not to have an independent survey carried out in addition to the valuation. The survey would not only consider the value of the property but would also examine the structure of the property and should identify any existing or potential problems.

There are two levels of survey that you can choose between:-
- a full structural survey. This is suitable for a property which is large, more than 80/90 years old or in doubtful condition
- an intermediate or 'house/flat buyers report' that gives a report on the condition of the parts of the house that are easy to see and to get at and may recommend further tests or investigations, for example, a specialist check for woodworm. This is particularly suitable for properties built this century which appear reasonably sound. It is much cheaper than a full structural survey.

It is possible for you to use the same surveyor who does the valuation to carry out the survey and this may be cheaper. However, you can use a different surveyor if you wish.

If the surveyor reports that there are some problems with the property, you will have to consider whether you still want to go ahead with the purchase or want to negotiate further with the seller about the price. The surveyor will usually advise you as to how any problems they have identified should be dealt with and the likely costs of this.

Choosing who is to do the legal work (conveyancing)
The legal process of transferring the ownership of the property from the present owner to the buyer is known as conveyancing. You should decide who you want to do the conveyancing work:

- use a solicitor (see our directory of solicitors in Gerrards Cross); or
- use a licensed conveyancer (see our directory of conveyancers in Gerrards Cross).

Using a solicitor
Most firms of solicitors offer a conveyancing service. Although all solicitors can legally do conveyancing, it is advisable to choose a solicitor who has experience of this work.

For information on choosing a solicitor, see the directory of solictors in Gerrards Cross.

Using a licensed conveyancer
You can use a licensed conveyancer to do your conveyancing. Licensed conveyancers are not solicitors but are licensed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
For information on choosing a conveyancer, see our directory of conveyancers in Gerrards Cross,
Before making a choice as to who will do the conveyancing, you should be advised to find out the probable costs of the conveyancing. It is important to contact more than one solicitor or licensed conveyancer as there is no set scale of fees for conveyancing. You should:-
check whether the figure quoted is a fixed fee or depends on how much work is involved
check that the figure includes stamp duty, search fees, land registration fees, expenses and VAT and get a breakdown of these costs
find out what charges, if any, will be made if the sale falls through before contracts are exchanged.

TIPS ON SELLING A PROPERTY IN GERRARDS CROSS

Using an estate agent in Gerrards Cross
You may wish to consider the following advice when choosing your estate agent in Gerrards Cross:

- Choose an estate agent that sells or specialises in your type of property in Gerrards Cross.
- Contact at least three estate agents before making your decision.
- Ask how long it has taken them to sell similar property in Gerrards Cross.
- Ask for the rate of commission the estate agent will charge.
- Ask what type of contracts they offer - sole, joint or multiple - and if there are any penalties in changing estate agents.
- Ask how and where they will advertise your property.

If you are looking for a property in Gerrards Cross then provide the Gerrards Cross estate agent with all your contact details and email addresses.

A local estate agent in Gerrards Cross will have excellent knowledge of the local property market and house prices in Gerrards Cross.
Contact a local estate agent from our directory of estate agents in Gerrards Cross for professional help and advice.

Estate agents' charges
Nearly all estate agents in Gerrards Cross calculate their fees as a percentage of the final selling price of the property, usually between 1½ - 2½%. This is known as the rate of commission. You should also check if the following are included in this percentage fee or have to be paid for in addition:-
- Advertising costs
- Costs of preparing details of the house including photographs
- a 'For Sale' board
- VAT.

If you decide to use an estate agent in Gerrards Cross, the estate agent must confirm the charges and rate of commission that will be made. The estate agent must do this when they agree to act for you.

What type of agreement can you have with the estate agent
If you use one estate agent to handle the sale, this is known as 'sole agency'.  It is usual for the agreement to state that commission is only paid to the estate agent if they sell the property. If you find a buyer yourself, usually you don't have to pay commission to the estate agent. However, if you have an agreement which gives them 'sole selling rights', the estate agent is the only person who can sell the property. You will still have to pay the estate agent, even if you find the buyer yourself.

If you appoint two or more estate agents to act together for you in selling the property, this is known as 'joint agency' or 'joint sole agency'. The estate agents involved share the commission when the property is sold regardless of which estate agent actually finds the buyer.  The commission for the joint agency agreement is usually higher than for a sole agency.  If you appoint two or more estate agents independently, but the commission is only paid to the estate agent who finds the buyer, this is known as multiple agency.

What does the estate agent do?
The estate agent first of all visits the house in order to value it and decide on an asking price with you. You may wish to ask more than one estate agent to call and value the house. It is also advisable for you to check the price that the estate agent suggests by comparing it to similar houses in the local paper.
The estate agent will prepare details of the house to send out to people who are interested in buying it. These details will include the number and size of the rooms and all the fixtures and fittings which will be left in the house. The estate agent also arranges for the property to be advertised.
You usually shows potential buyers around the house yourself but, if this would cause problems, for example, if you are out at work or away a lot of the time, the estate agent usually is prepared to do this themselves.

The Government's website landregisteronline.gov.uk or myhouseprice.com provide easy access to more than 19 million properties in England and Wales including details of the actual selling price of all properties sold in your area since April, 2000.