With the high cost of buying a home in the UK and the difficulty many first-time buyers face with getting together a deposit, buying a first property can be an uphill battle. What’s more, once new buyers have surmounted these hurdles, they have a whole new challenge to face in the form of the conveyance process to buy a home. Home buying is one of the largest and most important legal processes most of us will enter into in our lifetime, but all the jargon can be confusing. What are the key terms you need to know?
Conveyancing
Put simply, conveyancing is the legal side of moving home. Legal professionals who deal with this are called conveyancers, and it is vital that you have a good conveyancer. Gathering several conveyancing quotes should be part of your preparations before you offer on a property, as you will want to move quickly. If you find information about conveyancing quotes and match this to your budget, you won’t get a nasty surprise. Buyers often overlook the cost of home buying, which can land you in the red before you even have the keys to your new home.
Stamp duty
Stamp duty is the tax that must be paid to the government in England and Northern Ireland if you buy a property over a certain threshold. First-time buyers should factor in this cost if it applies to their purchase price.
Negative equity
Your home is in negative equity if it is worth less than the mortgage you took out on it. For this reason, it is important to make sure the home is properly valued and that you have as big a deposit as possible to act as a buffer in case house prices fall.
