When you have seen the home for you, you will need to make a payment to reserve it. Our sales consultant will take you through the reservation process and explain the paperwork and the individual details that apply to your new home.

They will update you on the timescales and give you an indication of when your new home should be ready for you to move into.

Talk to a good Independent Financial Advisor (IFA). We can supply you with a list of IFAs that we can recommend if you would like us to. The advantage to using an advisor is they can check the market for the best product to suit your personal needs.  

They tend to have relationships with the mortgage providers so when it’s time to process your application they should be able to ensure that it all goes through smoothly. IFA’s may make a charge and we recommend you find out how much the fees are so you can budget accordingly.  

Everyone who buys a home needs a solicitor to do the necessary legal work. Your solicitor will:

• Make sure you have everything necessary to help you buy your home quickly.
• Check the lease and speak to your mortgage lender and our solicitors.
• Carry out what are known as ‘searches’, checking that we actually own the home we’re selling you and making sure there are no planned developments (such as new roads) that will affect your home.
• Check that all the paperwork and your mortgage are in place in time for you to move into your new home.

You should make sure you get an estimation of the likely costs before you appoint a solicitor. Solicitor costs should include their fees, the land registry fee, search fees and any expenses (known as disbursements).

Before you decide on a solicitor, you should remember that some solicitors charge on time taken, so the more often you contact your solicitor, the higher the charge will be. To help you decide which solicitor to use we will send you details of the solicitors on our panel. These solicitors will have fixed fees which will help you to budget.

You do not have to use a solicitor from our panel but buyers who do use them generally find the buying process quicker and easier. If you do not use a solicitor from our panel, you should make sure that your solicitor has experience of the tenure if you are buying a shared ownership home.

When the solicitor has completed all of the searches, the contracts have been drawn up and the solicitors are happy to proceed, it is time to exchange contracts.

At this stage, the sale is legally binding and you cannot pull out without losing your deposit. You will be asked to exchange with a fixed completion date or exchange on notice. Once you have exchanged contracts, you should prepare to move in.

We are sure that you will be curious as to what is happening with your new home during its construction. With this in mind, we will do our best to keep you updated with progress. We can even offer site visits on an appointment-only basis, once your home has reached a stage of construction where it is safe to view.

In the run up to your moving in date, the finishing touches will be made to your new home. We will have already contacted you to arrange a demonstration visit for a few days ahead of the completion date.

The visit usually takes place after all works have been carried out and the home has been cleaned. It gives you the opportunity to have a good look round and to receive instruction from our sales advisers on the operation of all the appliances in your new home and ask any questions you may have.

During the demonstration visit, the sales adviser will give you full details of the procedure on your moving in date and also request a contact number (usually a mobile) that we can use to get in touch with you on that day.

On the completion date, your mortgage lender will give your solicitor the money to buy your home. Your solicitor will then pass that money on to our solicitors. Once this is done, we can give you the keys to your new home so you can move in.

 On completion day you will also receive:

• More information about being a home owner.
• All the instructions for your central heating and other appliances.
• The NHBC handbook (or equivalent).

We will also take meter readings so that you can pass on readings to your utility suppliers.