Selling or buying a house is one of the most stressful things that you can do. There are some things you can do to prepare yourself to try and reduce the stress associated with the house buying process.

Know your budget
Work out what you can afford, realistically, in mortgage payments. This includes not just the mortgage itself, but the typical bills you will need to pay.

What can I borrow and what’s the total cost?
This is strongly associated with the above. Know how much you can borrow and understand what the costs involved will be – this includes van rental, search fees, solicitor fees, mortgage setup fees and stamp duty amongst other things.

The Funding
Get a decision in principle or mortgage promise from your bank or broker. If this is already in place, the estate agent or seller will take you far more seriously and you be a preferred buyer as you will already have your finances in place. Be honest all the way through the process.

Solicitors
Get three quotes and decide which one you will use. Remember that cheap is not always best! Also, remember to read all the terms and conditions – something which looks great at the outset may have a lot of hidden fees to pay later on.

The Agents
Get to know the agents – call them on a regular basis. Most will employ a technique called the ‘hot box’. This is a list of people, normally first time buyers or builders, who are actively looking for property and are ready to proceed. Getting into the hot box means you will get to see all the properties first. Keep light pressure on the agent to keep working for you so that they know you are serious and they will call you first when they receive a new property.

The property
Once you have seen a property you like, do not seen over eager either to the seller or the estate agent. View the property at least twice, preferably at different times of the day. This way you can see what the traffic patterns are like and get a good feel for the local neighbourhood. If possible, meet the owner so that you can ask them any questions you may have.

Pre-Offer
Find out about the seller – are they in a chain? How long is the chain? How stable is the chain? Are there any other bookings or offers on the table? When you have all this offer, you will be able to consider your offer carefully and present it in the best possible light.

Submit the offer
Different people play this in different ways. The seller will probably have a minimum price in mind when selling and he won’t go beneath this. You may want to submit a written offer which has conditions in it such as
- all current and future viewings are to be cancelled as soon as the offer is accepted.
- the property is withdrawn from the market immediately and you have exclusivity over it
- the ‘sold’ board is on the property within 48 hours
- updates are sent to both seller and buyer weekely, if not more frequently.

Know your limit
You are the only one who knows how far they are prepared to stretch. Know how much you want to pay for the property and do not overstretch yourself. If your first offer is rejected, go up in small increments until you either reach your limit, or the seller agrees to a sale.

If you are seen as a serious buyer, the estate agents will be willing to look at your seriously. Having all your paperwork prepared and ready will be seen as a positive. The relationship between yourself and the estate agent is crucial, and you should try to make yourself at the forefront of his mind when he goes to view new properties.

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