Moving Home
Evergreen Mortgages is here to help you for the long term, from your first purchase, through to your next home, all the way to your dream home.
Moving home is exciting and there are a lot of moving parts, as you now have the responsibility of selling your current home alongside buying the new home.
Many people take multiple steps on the property ladder to get to their dream home. Evergreen Mortgages can guide you through the timing and which steps to take first to make your next move a success.
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What do I do first?
You’ll need to speak to a minimum of 3 local estate agents to see what the current value of your home is.
Don’t worry about the marks on the paintwork or anything you feel seems unfinished, ask the agents how to best prepare your home for market when they visit, and they will let you know what’s needed. There’s no point spending unnecessarily repainting and carpeting every room if that money won’t be recouped when you sell. An estate agent with little on their books may inflate the value to make sure he gets your listing. One who is in great need of a sale may tell you a more cautious price to make sure they get the sale quickly.
Get 3 valuations, see who you feel most comfortable with and compare the values they give. You will need to have many conversations with the estate agent so it’s important you’re comfortable.
Have a good look online or with estate agents to see what your next step on the property ladder might look like in terms of value.
We can help you work out the financial implications of the move. How much of the equity in the home you already have, will you need to hold back for moving costs and fees, like solicitors and stamp duty? How much mortgage will you need to make the move and how much will that new mortgage cost?
We can help you to get all these numbers together so you can make an informed choice on if now is the right time to move.
Finding your dream home...
When moving from one home to the next, timing is everything. Often the estate agent and vendor of the home you want to buy, will want you to have a sale on your current home before they take your offer more seriously. Keep an eye on the marketplace and what’s selling near you, but try to keep an open mind until you have an offer you are happy with, on your home.
Once yours is sold, view everything you can. Don’t rely on the online photos – go and visit. Pictures taken on a wide angled lens can make a room, driveway or garden look huge. Similarly, overexposed photos can make a room look airy and bright. Some of the nicest houses can have the worst photos! Take a close look at floor plans, does the layout of the home work for you and your family as that can be much harder to change. Compare the room sizes to those in your current home, and compare the overall square footage – is it bigger/smaller or does it just look that way with clever photography.
Making the move...
Once the mortgage offers are all in place, the person buying your home has finance secured and you have yours secured for the new home, you are going to need to be organised.
Speak with removal firms, they can be more cost effective than you might think. A good firm will provide the moving boxes, as well as clothing rails (which means nothing on hangers needs to be packed at all). They will often put heavy furniture into the right rooms and will breakdown and rebuild beds so your first night in the new home is comfortable. They will do their best to accommodate your moving date and understand that dates are often given with short notice so stay in close contact if you have a specific firm you want to use.
Don’t forget you can negotiate your moving date through your solicitors as well as the people in your chain. Everyone needs to be flexible, but if a Monday for your moving day just does not work for you make sure the solicitor is aware of that, or if you have a holiday or similar coming up. Your solicitor works for you and will help you to find a suitable date.
Once you have exchanged you are legally responsible for the home and any dates are now unlikely to change (unless it is a new build property you are buying). Insurances need to be in place and you will also need to make sure you notify all the relevant companies (utilities, councils, banks etc) about your upcoming move. Use apps or online printable checklists to make sure you haven’t missed any.
For more moving tips see our moving checklist here.
FAQs
Some lenders will lend more than others, it’s our job to go through the different options to find you the best possible lending amount to give you the best chance of getting in the area you want. Professional occupations get additional access with some lenders, Key workers can get extra lending with certain lenders, and sometimes there might be housing schemes to help you to stay in a certain area. Contact us and we can help you to look through the options.
Lenders calculate your affordability based on your income and outgoings, so they consider your basic salary, any commission or overtime etc, and they also consider any current financial commitments, any children or adult dependents in your care. We can help you to work out the maximum you can borrow based on lenders calculations.
There are limited government schemes that may be able to help you stay in a more expensive area, you can find out more about the shared ownership scheme here.
A new mortgage is a time for you to ask yourselves some questions on your future plans. Your future plans will dictate what type of product you can choose and there are many different types of products available to you not just a two or five year fixed. Make sure when you speak with us, to discuss all those plans so we can guide you in the right direction. Contact us now to guide you through your choices.
If you are buying through a special scheme like the right to buy scheme and depending on your individual circumstances, it may be advisable to consider a longer term product so that you have security during the scheme’s pre-emptive period.
Fixed rates offer security for your future payments, but you can also consider variable and discounted rates too, which may offer more flexibility if you plan to move soon or are expecting changes in your circumstances.
Depending on the way in which your business is set up or the way in which you are paid you may need to provide different paperwork. Sole traders need to send their tax calculations (previously known as SA302’s) and the matching tax overview which confirms the tax paid. Limited company directors may need to send these personal returns but also the company accounts. A contractor could be asked for your latest and previous contracts, you could be asked for your tax returns or if using an umbrella company you may need to provide the contract and the payslips from the umbrella company. If you are part of the construction industry scheme, you may need to send your CIS remittance slips and your tax calculations (previously known as SA302’s) and the matching tax overview which confirms the tax paid. Your accountant or umbrella company should be able to help you access these. If you’re a sole trader doing your own accounts you can access the needed paperwork through your government gateway account and we can provide guides to help you with this.
We have collated a number of top tips for preparing for a mortgage when your self-employed and answering some of the questions you may have about how being self-employed might impact your application here too.
Again, this varies from lender to lender and can depend on the age of the child. Some lenders consider maintenance as long as it regularly shows on your bank statements, some require a court order or child maintenance order and some will only consider a percentage of the monies received. Speak to us directly to see which lenders would be best for you.
We have collated a number of questions you may have about how childcare costs or maternity etc might impact your application here too.
We know that every situation and every family is unique, so if you have other questions or want a one-to-one chat about your personal situation and how it may impact mortgages please do contact us.
Yes, you can. You may find due to your bad credit that there are additional steps required of you from the lender, to enable them to feel comfortable providing you with a mortgage when you’ve had bad credit in the past, but this does not mean that it’s impossible for you. You can find out more about bad credit mortgages here.
Ask a question...
We know that every situation and every family is unique, so if you have other questions or want a one-to-one chat about your personal situation and how it may impact mortgages please do contact us
