Issuu

MOVING HOME SARA TAYLOR is sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey South Wales.

I’m a first time buyer, won’t a new build be too expensive?

There are many benefits to buying a new build home – such as special deals for first time buyers where stamp duty or solicitors fees are paid to the security of a two year new homes warranty. What are the help to buy schemes?

These are incentives to buy that include the government-backed Help to Buy scheme for homes under 00,000, available to both first time buyers and existing home owners. There is also schemes such as Help to Buy and part exchange, which can help you to sell your home quickly. JULIE MILES, chartered legal executive at CJCH Solicitors Why do you need to do the searches?

These are carried out by the buyer’s solicitors and are vital to ensure a good and marketable title to the property is achieved and a requirement of almost all lenders. What are you actually searching for?

The most common searches requested on the purchase of a residential property are: Local Search. This is made against the District and County Councils. The search will provide important information as to adoption of roads, planning applications granted against the property, whether the property is in a conservation area, subject to a tree preservation order etc. The drainage search will confirm whether both foul water and surface water drain into a public sewer. And the environmental search will provide details of any environmental issues which may affect the property such as flood risk, radon gas issues. What might delay my property purchase?

hands. This means that even if you’ve had an offer accepted, the property isn’t yours until contracts are formally exchanged. Do I need to come to the solicitor’s office to sign anything on the day of completion?

This is the question we get asked the most. Your solicitor will deal with the transaction and they shouldn’t need a signature from you on the day of completion. Do I still need legal help after completion?

For you, the time after completion is used for decorating and unpacking; however for your solicitor there is still legal work to be completed after completion to file your stamp duty return and register the property in your name at the Land Registry. MIKE WATKINS, partner at estate agents Mr and Mrs Clarke South Wales I love my home but I worry it’s not going to look good in photographs.

Often there are problems with the title – perhaps the plan is wrong, a deed is missing, there is no right of way to the front door, the correct planning permissions were not obtained – the list is endless. A common delay can be waiting for answers to pre-contract enquires. This could be due to solicitors on the other side not responding promptly, or that they are not receiving the information needed from their clients or a third party to respond. There can also be delays in the chain.

What are you looking at? What’s grabbing your attention? Chances are it’ll be the homes that are marketed with strong, high-end magazine quality photographs. We aim for all our homes marketing to look great and tap into the aspirational nature that a new home should invoke in someone who is looking to buy. When we come to take pictures of a home, we bring a stylist and a professional photographer to capture the nuts and bolts of the home, but also the essence.

JAMES PEARN, partner and head of property at Loosemores Solicitors

What is the best way to market my home?

How do I know when the property is really mine?

Once contracts are exchanged, a legally binding agreement is in place which means that neither party can back out. Until that point, either party may withdraw. The property is only yours on the day of completion when all money has changed

Posting a For Sale sign on your front lawn is all well and good, but you can do that yourself – without the aid of a fancy estate agent. Look for marketing plans that are bespoke to your own home. For example, not only the For Sale board, Rightmove and Zoopla but also use of PR and social media. We have used these relatively new channels so successfully, we are known as the insta agents!

OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: New homes at Taylor Wimpy might suit you; BELOW; Julie Miles of CJCH Solicitors; Loosemores’ James Pearns; THIS PAGE, ABOVE: Finding a good home is key to happiness; Mike Watkins of Mr and Mrs Clarke South Wales

Will I know every time someone shows an interest in my property, or how a sale is progressing?

In most relationships, communication is key. Your partnership with your estate agent is no different. You need to know, up front, how they will keep you in the loop. This means finding out several factors like what kinds of news they’ll update you on, the frequency of updates and how the agent will communicate them. A common complaint is that there isn’t enough information, but at the same time people often dislike receiving phone calls unless the reasons are urgent. We have tried to make this aspect more accommodating by asking what the client prefers, and often people opt for weekly updates via email, or What’s App.