Buying

Buying in London is expensive, competitive and full of jargon. Our job is to make it comprehensible and to stop you making an expensive mistake.

Where we can help

• Working out what you can actually afford: including the costs people forget: Stamp Duty, legal fees, survey, moving, and service charges on flats.
• Choosing an area honestly: based on your commute, budget and what you want from daily life rather than what is easiest for us to sell.
• Viewing with a critical eye: lease length, service charges, cladding, damp, planning history and what the neighbours are like.
• Making and negotiating an offer: and holding the chain together afterwards.
• Introductions to solicitors, surveyors and mortgage brokers we actually rate.

What buying costs, roughly

• Deposit: typically 5–25% of the purchase price
• Stamp Duty Land Tax: depends on price, whether you are a first-time buyer and whether you already own property. Rates change, so check the current HMRC calculator
• Legal fees: usually £1,200–£2,500 including searches
• Survey: from around £400 for a condition report to £900+ for a full building survey
• Mortgage fees: arrangement and valuation fees vary by lender

Leasehold: read this before you offer

Most London flats are leasehold. Check the remaining lease length, below about 80 years, extending becomes markedly more expensive and some lenders get nervous. Ask for the service charge and ground rent history, any planned major works, and whether the building has had a cladding assessment. These questions cost nothing to ask and can save tens of thousands.

We are not solicitors or financial advisers, and nothing here is formal advice, but we will tell you what to ask and who to ask it of. Call +44 79 61 889 975.