Are you in the market to purchase a property? If you are, it’s more important than ever to make your bid stand out when you make an offer on a house. With demand for property far exceeding the amount available on the market, it is clear that it is a “Seller’s Market”, and competition is fierce amongst buyers.
With this in mind, it’s important that you, as a buyer, do everything that you can to make yourself an attractive buyer. In this article, our dedicated estate agency team have offered some advice on how you can put yourself in the best possible position as a buyer in the current market.
Put your property on the market
If you haven’t already, contact an estate agent and get your property on the market. Knowing the value of your property can give you an idea of what you may be able to afford in your next home, but more importantly, it shows sellers that you are serious about wanting to move and won’t be inclined to waste their time.
By having your current home up for sale, you are already showing yourself to be a more attractive buyer than someone who hasn’t gotten to that stage yet.
Get organised
Our advice is to prepare yourself as much as possible before you start the property-buying process. Speak with a conveyancing solicitor and familiarise yourself with the legalities of buying a property in Scotland.
Conveyancers can offer advice and guide you through the process, from your initial interest in a property right up to when you get your keys. Conveyancers can negotiate on your behalf, too, and their insight can prove invaluable.
Being prepared in advance shows that you are organised and serious about moving forward with a purchase.
Get a Mortgage in Principle
It’s not necessary to have a Mortgage in Principle to make an offer on a property, but it certainly gives you a better chance of having your offer accepted if you do have one. A Mortgage in Principle is an estimate from a mortgage lender that shows how much money you could borrow to purchase a property. You can show this estimate to the estate agent selling the property, so that they are aware that you have evidence you will be approved for a mortgage.
Sell before you buy
The idea of selling your house before you have another property lined up may sound daunting, but it’s something that will elevate your position as a buyer in the eyes of the seller if you do so. Being a chain-free buyer (or even a cash buyer if you do not require a mortgage) with no ties to any other property, is attractive to property sellers, who aren’t looking to waste time waiting for you to sell or organise your finances.
Don’t worry about potentially becoming “homeless” if you sell first; you could negotiate the sale of your property with a long completion date, which can give you time to find and make an offer on the property of your dreams. Because you have sold your property already, this puts you in a fantastic position amongst the buying competition!
Our Director of Property Sales, Tzana Webster, recently sold her own home before buying her next – and so is practicing what she preaches! Tzana says
“The selling part was easy – still stressful, as it would be expected, but much better than I could have imagined.
We had already worked out our budget to purchase based on achieving a sale price at our property’s Home Report Value and once we had our property live on the market and realised the interest we were receiving, we were able to recalculate our purchase budget to a higher amount.
We knew that we would be achieving an offer over our Home Report value and this gave us more flexibility with our purchase budget – essentially, we knew exactly how much money we would have to buy because we knew exactly how much we had sold for, thus taking the guess-work out of the equation.”
Be honest, open – and write that cover letter!
Be clear and honest in your approach to buying a property. Often, buying and selling houses can seem like a business transaction, but sometimes adding a personal touch to the process can help in achieving your dream home. To elevate your potential position in the buying process, tell the sellers a bit about yourself!
When submitting an offer on a property, send the sellers a cover letter explaining who you are, and why you really want to buy the house that they’re selling. Sometimes, the personal touch can make all the difference! Read more about why you should send a cover letter to sellers in our recent blog.
Why Watermans?
Whether you are buying or selling a property, our estate agency and conveyancing teams are here to help. We offer straightforward legal advice, to help you take the next steps in the process.
We know that it can be stressful but buying and selling property should also be an exciting time for all involved, and that’s why we provide a service tailored to your needs.
For more information on the property buying process, use the form below to contact our dedicated conveyancing team. To view the properties that we currently have on the market, view our Properties for Sale page.