How to Buy a Luxury Property in London

Now that you have found the right luxury home and have made an offer to buy a luxury property in London there are still several things to do before you get the keys and can move into your new house.

1. Have a Survey Carried Out

Once your offer has been accepted it is usually wise to have a survey carried out on the property to check whether there are any structural damages or potential problems. If the house appears to be in perfect condition it may seem an unnecessary expense, but if there is even a small possibility of major defects being uncovered it is better to pay for a survey than risk paying huge sums for repairs later on. If one or more problems are discovered you may want to rethink your purchase or renegotiate with the seller to take this into consideration before the final sale and exchange of contracts takes place.

It is not hard to find a surveying company. The easiest way is to ask for recommendations from your lender, solicitor or buying agent, but you could also contact one of the professional trade associations for details of surveyors in your area. If you require a specialist survey make sure you instruct a surveyor with expertise in the relevant field. We suggest that you check the surveyor’s credentials if you are unsure that they are a qualified professional. All surveyors should be a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The RICS website has a survey-finder service, whereby you simply type in your postcode and it will come up with a list of RICS approved surveyors in your area.

By shopping around you can compare different quotes. Do bear in mind that the amount that you normally pay depends on the cost of the property you are buying. To avoid spending over the odds, make sure that you agree in advance the cost and what kind of survey needs to be done. Also keep in mind that you may have to pay for more than one survey; for instance if the sale falls through or you decide not to buy the property and carry on looking.

If you have a mortgage lender, discuss this with them before instructing a surveyor as it is usually possible to get the basic valuation done at the same time, which will reduce your costs.

Photo Credit: Adelto

2. Hire a Solicitor

The legal and administrative work associated with transferring the ownership of buildings or land from one owner to another is known as ‘conveyancing’. The process begins after an offer has been accepted on a property and the seller and buyer have exchanged details of their solicitors. Although the majority of people hire a solicitor or conveyancer to take responsibility for the legal side of buying a house, it is possible, though inadvisable, to do it yourself. It is a complicated and time-consuming activity and can be risky if you do not have the necessary expertise and experience.

Your solicitor will collaborate with the seller’s solicitor on your behalf to ensure that the purchase goes smoothly. You can expect to pay several costs to the solicitor including legal fees, administration costs and, if necessary, land registry fees. One of the major additional costs to take into consideration is Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) which is a percentage of the cost of the property that should be paid on any purchase over £125,000.

Remember that your solicitor will probably not see the property so you need to give them as much information as possible and flag any potential points of concern. You may also want to ensure that the other side is acting swiftly.

3. Prior to the Exchange of Contracts

Before the final contract is exchanged a draft contract is received by your solicitor which contains full details of prices as well as all information about the transaction and what will be included in the sale. Your solicitor should send this to you to check so read it carefully to make sure that nothing has been missed out. If there are any amendments or requests, you can instruct your solicitor to negotiate the contract until both parties are satisfied; in order to avoid misunderstanding it is advisable that you keep the solicitor informed about all of the agreements that you make with the seller.

At this stage the solicitor will perform a number of enquiries that have to be carried out in advance of the exchange of contracts. The standard enquiries that are made are the following:

• Local Authority Searches: to find out if there are any planning proposals for the surrounding area that will affect your property and its value such as new roads, developments in the vicinity or alterations to public rights of way. The searches will also advise you if there are any future changes that will affect the possibility of extending or renovating of your home.
• Enquiries to the Seller’s Solicitor: also known as ‘preliminary enquiries’ these are a set of questions pertaining to the property about various issues that may affect the sale. Subjects include the ownership of the boundaries, upkeep of communal hedges and fences, planning constraints, the list of contents included in the sale and details of any ongoing disputes or problems with neighbours. There is a standard list of these questions which is published by the Law Society and which your solicitor will send to the seller’s solicitor on your behalf.

Before you finalize the contract you need to receive the results of the survey. After having evaluated the survey results it is important that you address any potential issue straight away as once you have exchanged contracts you are legally bound to buy the house regardless of any problems or defects that have been discovered.

Once the enquiries and negotiations have been carried out the contract can be finalized and a completion date will be decided upon. Usually it takes about two weeks from the exchange of contracts to completion but in certain circumstances both events can take place on the same day. It is worth bearing in mind that if there is a chain of sales it is probable that the completion date will need to be decided upon by all parties involved. If you have arranged for a mortgage it is at this time that you will receive a formal mortgage offer.

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