Buying Tips

Find out how much you can afford

Before looking for a home, it is sensible to calculate your budget. The mortgages available will largely depend on your income. Add up your earning and your saving, but dona EUROS TMt forget to take off any outstanding loans and the one-off costs when buying a house.

EARNINGS - Mortgage lenders will usually lend you 3.5 times your annual income. However it's possible to borrow up to 5 times. If you are buying with a partner you can usually borrow 2.5 times the joint annual income - though there are several variations.

SAVINGS - For example what you've got in the bank or are bringing as profit from the sale of another property.

ONE-OFF COSTS - solicitor and surveyor fees, valuations, taxes, insurance, removal costs, and so on.

Surveys

If youa EUROS TMre buying a property, you should have a survey done before you enter into a contract a EUROS or before making an offer, if you live in Scotland. If there are serious structural problems, you can re-negotiate the sale price of the property to reflect the cost of necessary repairs or you may even decide you don't want to buy it at all.

Viewing Properties

View the properties as soon as possible. Leave it too long and you could lose the house. Print off our viewing checklist and take it with you.

Make good use of your lunch hours or make appointments on the way to and from work.

If two of you are buying and you have children, decide which one of you will be the chief viewer, whose job it is to weed out all but the strongest candidates.

Don't be afraid to make numerous visits with tradesmen to find out what you're letting yourself in for.

Check the history of any scruffy - and therefore cheap - property. If it's been rented it may have had a succession of landlords, all of whom may have done the bare minimum in repair and upkeep.

If you're tempted to buy a run-down property to renovate and sell on, check how long it's been on the market. If it's been there a long time, it suggests there isn't a lot of profit to be made. Find out more in our renovating for profit section.

New carpets, bathrooms and kitchens can be signs of a superficial renovation that is hiding more serious work to be done.