C James & Co have been helping clients relocate to Colliers Wood for over twenty years.  We have an unrivalled knowledge which helps purchasers be fully aware of all local amenities be they schools, doctors, open spaces or just somewhere to have a quiet meal.

Buying a house is a very exciting, if not nerve-wracking time, here is

Our guide to the different steps in the buying process;

Getting finance in place

To avoid disappointment further down the line, make sure you have your finances in place before you start the process. If you have money in savings or shares, make sure you can access them easily and that there aren’t any fixed timelines to withdrawal. If you need a mortgage, speak to a mortgage advisor.

Get registered

You can register with us directly online through the Home page or by phoning or visiting our branch. We update our website daily and  if you are on our mailing list, we will be able to alert you of any new properties via email. If you are interested in viewing a property, act fast and contact us straightaway.

Instructing a solicitor

Make sure you instruct a solicitor as early in the process as possible. This way once a sale is agreed, you will be in a position to get things moving quickly. Always appoint a solicitor who is happy to liaise with your estate agent, this makes the buying process a lot easier for you as we maybe able to help move matters along.

Making an offer

We will ask you to confirm how you intend to fund the purchase of your property and availability of the deposit (usually 10% of purchase price). If you already have a mortgage arranged, we will ask you to provide an agreement in principle (AIP) document and we will require the details of your financial advisor so that we can clarify the time frame that will be involved for processing your application. Cash buyers will also need to provide evidence of finance.

Offer agreed

Once an offer has been accepted, we will contact your solicitor, the seller and the seller's solicitor and confirm the details of the sale.
Offers are not legally binding until contracts have been exchanged. From now until exchange, you will need to be in close communication with your solicitor and your agent.

Conveyancing

If you have not instructed a solicitor to act on your behalf you must do so now.

Survey and mortgage offer

If you are obtaining a mortgage, a survey of the property will be booked by a surveyor on behalf of the mortgage lender. This is to protect their interests and not yours. Once they have received the survey report and are satisfied they will issue a mortgage offer to your solicitor.

Exchange of contracts

Exchanging contracts is the moment when the sale becomes legally binding on both sides. You can only exchange once you have paid a cleared deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price) to your solicitors account. Your solicitor will inform you when contracts have been exchanged and then will inform us. The completion date is then set by mutual agreement and is contractually binding.

Completion

Completion is the moment when your property purchase is finalised. When you have transferred the remaining purchase price to your solicitor by the agreed completion date.

Your solicitor will contact you and us when the money has cleared in their account and we will then release keys to you.