Buyer Guide

Buying Your Artistry Home

Anyone buying an Artistry home can rest assured that we’ll do everything we can to make your experience as enjoyable as possible. In supporting our clients and facilitating the smooth sale of their homes, we efficiently liaise with all parties and their representatives. There are, though, several ways that you as a buyer can help yourself achieve your aim – to secure your dream home in the least stressful way possible – and we thought we should share some suggestions for how you can put yourself in the best position

Preparation to Buy

1. Determine budget – a clear idea of how much you can spend, gaining a ‘mortgage in principle’ if you are borrowing funds, gives you credibility in the eyes of the seller and avoids wasting time for both parties. We can refer you to a suitable mortgage broker if you wish, or you can approach your lender directly.
2. Do you need to sell an existing property first? You would strengthen your position if it were already on the market. If it’s not, and it’s a unique home, we can advise you on value and marketing strategy – ask us for a free market appraisal.
3. If you are looking for a unique home, the Artistry web site is a great place to start. Browse our homes for sale to give you a better idea of what is important to you – and let us know if you’d like to view one of our homes.
4. Filling out the ‘Alerts’ form on our web site, providing us with a good idea of what you’re looking for, will ensure that we can let you know of any properties coming on the market that we believe would suit you.
5. Decide which solicitor you prefer to represent you, so that you can immediately proceed once you have reached an agreement to buy your new home. Bona fide reviews can help with your decision, and we can, if you wish, let you know of solicitors who, judging from experience, are likely to expedite, rather than complicate, proceedings.

Viewings

1. We prepare a brochure for each home we are instructed to sell, which provides you with comprehensive information about the property, its location and the lifestyle you can look forward to. You can download the brochure from the Artistry web site to see if this is what you’re looking for. Consider a drive-by of the property before asking for a viewing. If you believe it’s right for you, let us know by email or telephone and, having provided us with your details and situation (our clients expect us to ask certain questions before we show anyone around their home), we’ll arrange the best time for you to view.
2. Whilst, very occasionally, you might be shown around by the owner of the property, it will generally be by an Artistry member of staff, who will be conversant with the property and will be able to answer any questions. You will be sent a confirmation email with specific details.
3. It’s best to allow 45 minutes for a first viewing to get a feel for what could be your new home, what work, if any, you might like to carry out on it, and whether it is still within your budget. We are very happy to discuss with you your initial thoughts or concerns and will, in any case, speak with you subsequently to arrange a second viewing (with family, for instance), take an offer or, perhaps, consider other properties that might, on reflection, be more suitable for you.

Making an Offer

1. We will ask you to complete a form detailing your offer, timeframe and situation, which will allow us to present your offer to the seller and revert to you with their response. We will conduct any negotiation with the aim of ensuring both parties are happy to proceed.
2. If we reach an agreement, we are bound by law to carry out checks to satisfy money laundering requirements. They are usually quite straightforward and, not only can we talk you through them, but we also use the Thirdfort mobile app to make it as easy as possible to complete this stage of the process.
3. We will then issue to you and the solicitors a ‘sales memorandum’ confirming the agreement, and we will begin to liaise with other agents involved in any chain. On occasion, the sellers may still need to find a property to move into, but we will have confirmed the situation with you and will keep you informed of progress.

Sales Progression

1. You should now ensure that the means of funding your new home is in place or applied for, whether that be readily available funds or a mortgage. You should let any mortgage provider know that you have had an offer accepted. They will then arrange with Artistry a convenient date for them to carry out their requisite ‘Valuation Report’, which they may ask you to pay for.
2. Artistry considers the condition of a property in our initial appraisal and suggested asking price, and you will be aware of any significant details that we know of before this stage. But if you do want an additional ‘Condition Report’, ‘Home Buyer Report’ or ‘RICS Building Survey’ carried out, you can pay extra for those, but do make arrangements as early as possible after your offer is accepted to avoid unnecessary delays. We can help you find a suitable surveyor if you wish, or you can search www.ricsfirms.com. Clearly, the seller will expect that you will have taken account of obvious details concerning the condition of their home (as well as any other details that we have made you aware of) when you make an offer to buy it, and a subsequent attempt to renegotiate based on known details at the time of an accepted offer is likely to invite upset and rejection. Remember, the best result is always when both parties are happy to proceed.
3. Your solicitor should be formally instructed at this stage, and by law they too must carry out certain due diligence with you. They will ask you to transfer certain funds to them for property searches etc. It’s best to do this straight away to avoid unnecessary delays. Please note: When transferring money electronically, be certain where it is going – never send money to an account having been given a last-minute change of account details, for instance.
4. Your solicitor should let you know what they need from you and when, but you can ask us for updates, if you wish, as we will be keeping a close eye on progress.
5. Your solicitor will receive from the seller’s solicitor a completed ‘Property Information’ form and ‘Fixtures & Fittings’ form relating to the property you are buying, as well as the Land Registry ‘Title Document’, and will ask you to check them to see if they tally with what you are expecting to buy. The solicitor may ask the seller’s solicitor questions about these to ensure everything is in order for you. The sooner you respond to your solicitor’s requests, the sooner you can be in your new home. It’s not always appreciated but, if a lender is involved, your solicitor acts for them as well as for you and is obliged to raise legal issues that affect both you and the lender; but some solicitors are better than others in explaining any issues clearly and advising that it is often perfectly appropriate for buyers to take a view on them.
6. Once your funds are in place (and remember that if they are held in notice or fixed term accounts, or you are relying on a Help to Buy Isa bonus, you should plan well ahead to ensure that they are available in time), searches have been carried out, and you and your solicitor are happy with the answers to any questions you might have had, your solicitor will ask the seller’s solicitor to send a ‘clean copy agreed contract’ for you to sign.
7. We should be able to agree a completion date now (provided, if a chain is involved, all parties are at a similar stage), and exchange of contracts can be carried out, with a sum of money (normally 10% of the sale price), provided by you to your solicitor, being transferred to the seller’s solicitor, to form a binding contract.
8. You should arrange for buildings insurance to be in place on exchange of contracts (not completion, if that is happening at a later date – you are legally responsible for the property from the day of exchange) and remember to book a removal firm in plenty of time for the big day. We can help you find suitable removers and specialist insurers if you wish

Completion

You or your lender will need to transfer the remaining funds to your solicitor, who will, in turn, transfer them to the seller’s solicitor on the agreed completion date. Once confirmed, congratulations are in order and you can collect the keys to your new home from our Bedford office, or we can come to an alternative arrangement with you to hand over the keys, along with a celebration gift.