Back to School
Gary Oxborough is Practice Principal here at Barlow Irvin Financial Services. This month, Gary talks about the timescales involved in buying a property, and what you should expect.
I can’t believe it’s that time of year again. I can tell the schools are all back now by the increased traffic on my morning drive into the office.
In our job, the children returning to school traditionally signifies the start of one of our busiest times of the year. We always find that we start to receive plenty of enquiries for house purchases with the aim of “being in by Christmas” (that’s the first time I’ve written the “C” word this year!) When we get asked that question in September, the answer is usually ‘yes’, that shouldn’t be a problem’. However, this year, I’m not so confident about that as the whole house buying process is definitely taking longer at the moment. Where we used to talk about it being a three month process, we are currently advising clients that it is likely to be nearer to four months.
There are some new variables that have contributed to those increased timescales, one of which being the Stamp Duty Holiday, which closes at the end of September. We don’t know if this change will improve timescales in the process, but hopefully it should reduce the workload that solicitors have struggled with. Also, as more staff are returning to offices, delays with local searches and other essential parts of the buying process should start to ease, we just don’t know by how much and by when!
The housing market is still extremely buoyant and if you are considering buying a property, I would recommend that you start your search straight away and, as always, make sure that you are as prepared as you can be.
We can always help with those preparations, especially with the finances and my team is always on hand to help with any questions you may have. Should you need advice or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us on 01204 304 814.
As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments.