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Cardiff estate agents
The Cardiff estate agents' guide for buying property in Cardiff
Searching for property to buy in Cardiff
One of the first steps you need to take when looking for a property to purchase is to register with Cardiff Estate Agents with a specific list of requirements detailing exactly what you require the property for, where you want the property to be located within Cardiff and any specific features.
CPS Homes, Cardiff Estate Agents, due to our extensive experience in property lettings and management deal with investment based purchases and sales, so if you are looking to purchase a property in Cardiff on an investment basis, please contact our Cardiff Bay office on 029 20 480 490.
Once you have registered with estate agents in Cardiff it is important to stay proactive. The best deals will always be taken by those in a position to move quickly, and those speaking to Estate Agents in Cardiff on a regular basis reaffirming their determination to find a good deal.
CPS Homes will register your details with our list of properties available and suitable properties to you. With our applicant system we will also contact you when other suitable properties come onto the market assisting you to be able to move quickly.
Mortgages for Cardiff property
At the same time as looking for a property to buy within Cardiff, you need to be securing funding for the purchase of the property. The most effective way of investing is to use a mortgage to purchase property, as this allows you to purchase more properties, and providing they give good returns, this works out to be more effective than purchasing property outright. Have a look at our investing in Cardiff property page for more details.
Mortgages are constantly changing, and therefore you will need to speak to a mortgage broker, who will be able to give you an indication of what size deposit you will require, which will vary from a residential purchase to a buy to let purchase, and the interest rate you will be paying. Once you have undertaken an agreement in principle (AIP) or decision in principle (DIP) the mortgage broker will be able to accurately show you what you will be paying. An AIP or DIP involves running a credit check and does show up on your credit check, and multiple AIP’s or DIP’s can adversely affect your credit rating.
A mortgage typically takes around four weeks to go through, and any estate agent in Cardiff will want to know where you are in your stage of mortgage approval. When purchasing repossessed properties, some Cardiff Estate Agents may even ask for proof of an agreement in principle before presenting the offer.
Making an offer
Whilst you are usually free to make an offer at any stage in proceedings, it the norm that you will have an agreement in principle, or a method of funding the purchase before you put in an offer on any house or flat in Cardiff, and many estate agents in Cardiff will require confirmation of this. Once you have made the offer, it is up to the Estate Agent acting on behalf of the vendor to present this offer. If your offer is accepted then the offer is subject to contract. This means neither the buyer or vendor is committed to the purchase of the property until contracts are exchanged. If your offer for the purchase of the property is rejected, then you may keep making offers up to a level you are happy with. Once the offer is accepted your solicitors will deal with the purchase of the property.
Conveyancing
The legal process involved in buying a house is called conveyancing and can be done by either a solicitor or licensed conveyancer – someone qualified to do only this kind of legal work. Whoever you choose to complete the work for you, the process will be the same.
Your solicitor will usually act on behalf of your lender who will require certain searches to be carried out. They will always require a local authority search which shows if there are any planning permissions on the house and if there are any plans to build roads within 200 metres of the house. It will not show any planning permissions on neighbouring properties or land so if you want to find this out, you will have to pay more for a full plan search.
Your lender will also ask for a drainage search to check where your waste water goes, a land registry search to check that the property hasn’t changed hands and a land charges search to ensure that you’re not bankrupt.
As well as these searches you should also be organising to have a survey done on the property. If the survey picks up any expensive works that need to be carried out, you will have a good case for renegotiating the price with the vendor. Your solicitor will do this for you.
After the survey and searches are completed, and you have a firm mortgage offer, your solicitor will arrange a date for you to exchange contracts. This means swapping contracts with the vendor and securing the sale. If either you or the vendor pull out after contracts have been exchanged, there will have to be compensation. Many solicitors acting on behalf of buyer will insist on completing and exchanging contracts on the same day to minimise risk to the buyer.
The contracts will show a completion date – this is when you become the rightful owner of the property and is usually two weeks after the exchange date. It can be sooner or later if agreed by both parties. If you or the vendor are involved in a chain, this can dictate the completion date.
On the completion date, you can pick up your keys from us and move in! Your solicitor will pass on the deeds to your lender who will keep them until you remortgage or buy another property.