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Start your property search
Register with us
Register with satkar and be privy to new properties before they appear online. We’re proud of the fantastic selection of properties we offer and we’d love to give you first refusal.
Tell us about your dream home and if we don’t already have it on our books, we’ll make it our mission to find it. Selling? Request a free valuation so you have an idea of what you can afford.
Look online
The internet is a great place to look at properties but the choice can be overwhelming, therefore the satkar team would be delighted to personally assist you.
Give us a clear brief and we’ll present you with hand-selected homes that meet your requirements. Check out our great property alert function too – it’s easy to use and ensures you never miss a new home.
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Financing your property
Organise a mortgage
Most people buying London property will need a mortgage and it’s good to get the ball rolling early in the process. A good independent mortgage advisor will work out what you can afford and will have access to the very best home loans from the whole of the market.
Prepare paperwork
Don’t forget, lenders will look at all your outgoings to assess your financial health, so be prepared to provide proof of income, savings and deposit. satkar would be delighted to recommend a mortgage advisor.
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Get the most out of Viewings
Book viewings
Now you know your budget and have an idea of the London property style you like, book some viewings! It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you step inside a home so take a list of questions prepared in advance. Don’t forget to ask about running costs, council tax rates and what the current owners have done to improve the property during a viewing.
Visit twice
Satkar suggests two viewings at different times of day for properties that you’re considering offering on.
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Making an offer
Offering on a property
Once you have an offer in mind, we’ll contact the seller and make your best offer official – by law we are bound to notify the seller of all offers received. There may be a period of negotiation before a price is agreed but we’ll let you know as soon as any offer has been accepted. Satkar understands communication at this stage is crucial, so we’ll keep you informed every step of the way.
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Conveyancing
The Legal bit
At this point your mortgage company should instruct
a conveyancing solicitor, as the transfer of a property from one person to another is a legal transaction. Your solicitor will steer the purchase to exchange and completion, and co-ordinate the release of your mortgage funds.
Memorandum of Sale
Both parties will be sent a Memorandum of Sale confirming the price, any special conditions negotiated, and the names and addresses of both parties’ solicitors.
Searches
You will need to make sure your solicitor is in funds in order to carry out local authority searches. These will clarify matters such as flooding, convenants, boundaries, restrictions, contamination, planning permissions and rights of way.
Documentation, contracts & deeds
You can expect all the necessary paperwork from the vendor’s solicitor via your own solicitor. After reviewing the documents, your solicitor will send preliminary enquiries to the vendor’s.
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Arrange a Valuation & Survey
Valuations & surveys
Once your offer has been accepted in writing, you’ll need to instruct your lender to organise a mortgage valuation. At this point your mortgage company should instruct a surveyor to carry out a home buyers’ / structural survey. This reassures your mortgage lender that the property is worth the sum they are lending you.
Which survey?
There are different types of surveys:-
• Condition Report
• HomeBuyer Report
• Home Condition Survey
• Building or full structural survey
• New-build snagging survey
Normally the age, construction and condition of the property you want to buy will dictate what survey is best.
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Exchange of contracts
The Legal Swap
This is one of the most important milestones in any property purchase. Exchange is when the signed contracts binding the buyer and seller to the deal are swapped and a buyer’s deposit is transferred to the seller’s solicitor’s holding account.
The exchange is coordinated by the two respective solicitors and is a legal transaction. At this point you’ll need to make sure your funds are ready, the relevant people are in the right place to sign the contracts and that your solicitor is happy with the details pertaining to your purchase and/or sale. Once exchange has taken place, you’ll need to set a move in date and book a removal company. Don’t forget to pre-reserve the parking bay to the front of your property for the removal van.
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Completion and move in
Preparing for the move
- It’s congratulations all round when you reach completion! Completion is when a buyer’s mortgage funds are transferred from their solicitor’s account to that of the seller’s, and the keys are released to the new owner. From that point you can move in as and when it suits you
- To help you start your new chapter here are some things to think about:
- Change in address: Ensure your records are updated with your new address (bank, DVLA etc)
- Utilities: You’ll need to inform them of your completion date. A meter reading will also have to be taken on the day of completion.
- Council tax: Apply for any refund that might apply for your area and ensure to pay the new amount for your new address.
- Parking: Contact the local council to apply for a parking permit
Finally, all Satkar Cobb buyers receive a welcome pack filled with lots of useful items, including a bottle of champagne to enjoy the moment.
Arrange your mortgage
There’s little point in looking at Bradford properties for which you can’t get a mortgage, so step 1 is about understanding what your financial limits are, and then finding the ideal property for your budget.
Plan your search
It’s easy to become distracted from what really matters when you are searching for a new home. So before you begin, take time to explore what really matters. Jot down the essentials that any property must have, then move on to the ‘nice-to-haves’, your wish list of features that would move a property up your list of personal preferences, but aren’t essential.
Talk to us
You don’t have to carry out your search alone. Contact us and tell us what you’re looking for. Give us your list of essentials and ‘nice to haves’ and we’ll search all our properties to find the ones that match.
Do your research
Location, location, location may be a home buying cliché, but it’s also true. Far better to own a property that needs work in a good area than a pristine property in a poor area. What constitutes a ‘good area’ can vary depending on your personal needs – so consider schools, transport links, distance to work, local amenities, shops, restaurants, bars.
If you can, visit the area. Drive or walk its streets in the day and again during the evening. Look at the general condition of the properties, the cars on the street, the amount of litter and the level of pedestrian traffic and noise. They can all help you build a picture of the area and its people.
Arrange your solicitor
Once you have found a Bradford property you love you’ll want things to move as swiftly as possible. That’s why it makes sense to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf now, so there’s no delay when you find your ideal home. If you don’t have a solicitor, we can arrange one for you. Just contact us.
Viewing the property
A good property in a good area is unlikely to hang around for long. Arrange a viewing as soon as possible. If you would like to view a Locate property, please call 01274 720900.
- Don’t view alone. Take a friend, or family member whose opinion you trust, with you.
- Take time to fully view the property (rather than going through the motions). Buying a property in Bradford is a major investment, so make sure you leave the viewing with as many of the following issues covered as possible.
- Flick switches to make sure all lights work
- Lift rugs and mats to ensure there’s nothing hiding beneath
- Check the water pressure – turn on the hot tap and make sure it a) gets hot and b) isn’t a trickle
- Look up – check for cracks in the ceiling or mouldings that may show signs of movement or water damage
- Look down – check under windows and in corners for signs of damp
- Follow your nose – bad smells (especially musty ones) need investigating
- Check the number of power sockets – will plugging in your various devices require more power points?
- Look outside – check walls, drainpipes and gutters for cracks
- Check your phone – are you in a mobile blackspot?
- The more questions you ask, the better the picture you will build about the property. Asking questions could also give you information to help negotiate a better price. Consider asking the following:
- How long have you lived here?
- How many viewings have you had?
- How long has the property been on the market?
- Why are you moving?
- What are the service charges or ground rents (if any)?
- What changes/renovations have you made to the property?
- When was it last rewired?
- Do you have/can I see the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?
- What fixtures/fittings included in the sale
- Do you get on with the neighbours?
Making an offer
If you like what you see, make an offer. It’s important to remember that the first offer you make is unlikely to be the final sale price. Counter-bids, mortgage valuations and surveys can all affect the price you actually pay, so your offer is really an opening position, rather than a last word. Even so, it’s important to ensure the first offer is a realistic one. You don’t want to alienate an owner by making an offer they feel is much too low – because that can make negotiations more difficult.
Response to your offer
If your offer is refused, resist the temptation to automatically up it immediately. Consider what you can realistically afford, what you genuinely feel the house is worth, and whether there are some factors that are so important to you (eg a great local school, a sought after area) that they make increasing the bid worthwhile.
Once your offer is approved, instruct your solicitor to arrange a survey, and begin finalising your mortgage.
If the Bradford property you are buying is a being sold via Locate Homes, we will prepare a memorandum of sale and write to all parties to confirm the agreed price.
Surveys
Your mortgage lender will ask a surveyor to carry out a mortgage valuation, but it’s important to understand that this isn’t a full survey, and it isn’t being done for your benefit – it is for the benefit of the lender.
A survey is carried out on your behalf and is designed to provide you with information that will either:
- Confirm that your decision to buy, and your offer, are reasonable
- Identify issues that may lead to a renegotiation of the offer price
- Help you avoid a costly mistake
There are three types of survey:
- Choose a Condition Report where the Bradford property you’re considering is modern, in good condition and with no obvious defects.
- A HomeBuyer Report gives greater detail (it will highlight things such as damp or subsidence). Choose this survey for properties of any age in apparently reasonable condition.
- Choose a Building Survey for old or unusual properties in Bradford, or where you suspect that work will be needed.
