Finding a Home

First decide on location, type of property and budget. Create a prioritised list of desirable features. It may also help to get a mortgage agreement in principle (ie the lender will state how much they are prepared to lend you) to show sellers you have the available finance.

Location, Location, Location

A major decision is obviously where you'd like to live, or maybe more realistically, where you can afford to live. You may be faced with the choice of a better property in a less desirable area, or something more modest in a nicer neighbourhood. The choice is ultimately yours, but remember the old estate agent's adage of "location location location". Web sites such as http://www.upmystreet.com/ can provide surprisingly detailed information about your areas of interest.

If you work, you'll need to be within commuting distance of your work place, and if you have or plan to have a family you'll want to check out the local schools. Another important consideration is whether you want to be in the town centre, or somewhere more rural.

Types of Property

The most common property types are:

• Detached - a single house occupies an entire building.
• Semi-detached - a single building consisting of two houses.
• Terraced - one of a number of houses in a row.
• Bungalow - a single-storey house.
• Flat / apartment (the term apartment is also being used increasingly in England.) Flats may be of two kinds:
  * Purpose-built flats were built to be used as flats.
  * Conversions - These exist within large houses that have been converted from single units to a number of flats.

Types of Tenure

Freehold - Mainly relates to houses. The owner owns both the structure and the land it occupies.

Leasehold - Mainly relates to flats. The owner "owns" the structure, but the land is owned by someone else, the "landlord". Leasehold property is leased for a fixed period, often 99 years. At the end of the lease the property reverts to the landlord. Beware of buying leasehold property with less than 50years remaining on the lease. Often a charge for "ground rent" is payable.

Commonhold - A relatively new form of ownership in which owners of individual flats share the freehold of the entire building (and land). Commonhold properties may employ a professional management company, or may be self-managed by the individual owners. Self-managed properties usually have cheaper management fees, but owners may be expected to “volunteer” for gardening, painting etc, and this can cause friction between owners depending on the proportion of work they feel they undertake.