Remortgaging is not about buying a new home but switching your mortgage to another deal to lower your repayment amounts and save money. It is of particular relevance if the value of your home has risen.
Conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying and selling a house. It would normally be done either by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer.
A mortgage is a loan you take out from a mortgage lender to pay for a property.
If you don't pay back the loan, as per the agreement you make, then the mortgage lender can take possession of the property and sell it to repay the loan.
The loan is divided into the capital (i.e. the amount of money you borrowed to buy your property) and the interest (i.e. the amount the mortgage lender charges for lending you the money).
A HIP is a set of documents that provides the buyer with key information on the property and must be provided by the seller or the seller's agent. It is a legal requirement to have a HIP and you can't market your property without one.
The HIP lets buyers see important information about the property at the start of the process, free of charge. This means there is less chance of buyers becoming aware of any surprises at the end of the process. The HIP can help reduce delays and extra expense to the buyer and seller.
For more useful information on HIPS, click here to visit the Government Information website
The Energy Performance Certificate or Energy Efficiency Certificate is similar to the certificates found on many domestic appliances.
A Certificate for a building gives the building an asset rating based on its energy efficiency. Data is collected by the domestic energy assessor such as floor area, construction, insulation, heating and lighting and inputted into a management software programme. Certain assumptions are made on how the home is used by the occupiers.
The EPC produced will give the building a rating from A to G. An A rating shows it's very efficient, meaning lower fuel bills, while G is inefficient, meaning higher fuel bills. The Certificate will also show the building's environmental impact by indicating its carbon-dioxide emissions.
The EPC will also show recommendations as to how the property could be made more energy and cost efficient. The Potential ratings included within the Energy Survey indicate the effects of each recommendation.
When contracts are exchanged, and before completion, the buyer may wish to visit the house, for example, to measure up for carpets or to get an estimate for building work. However, you should not allow any work to be done by the buyer before completion.
You should inform the fuel companies and phone company that you are leaving and ask for final readings to be made of the meters on completion day. You should also inform the person at the council responsible for council tax, or in Northern Ireland, the Rate Collection Agency responsible for rates collection.
If the buyer is paying a deposit, this will be paid to your solicitor at exchange of contracts. The solicitor will hold this deposit until completion.
