Buying a house in the UK is a real rollercoaster of emotions – it’s exciting, frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking all within the same week.
Although we can’t wave a magic wand and take away all of the legal hold-ups and skip to you getting your keys, we can turn your home-buying journey from a nail-biting ordeal into the smoothest experience possible by helping you avoid the most common mistakes when buying a house in the UK.
And to make it easier, we’ve broken down all these common mistakes into different parts of the buying journey to help no matter which stage you’re at.
Mistakes to avoid before you start your search
Getting off on the wrong foot can delay the entire house purchase process. Before booking that very first viewing, you should ensure you’re ready in every way possible by avoiding these mistakes.
1. Not doing the math
Buying a house is a big financial commitment. And before you dive into that commitment, you need to do the math to calculate your budget exactly.
Remember: your budget isn’t solely the deposit and purchase price of the property. Many buyers make the mistake of solely focusing on these figures —and we get it, they are pretty big numbers!
But, there are several other fees and costs involved in home purchasing that you also need to factor in. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise later.
As well as the deposit and purchase price, you need to consider:
Any stamp duty land tax
The amount you pay for stamp duty land tax depends on your circumstance. For example, SDLT is paid for properties over £250,000 or if you are buying a second home.
Legal fees
Reserved for your solicitor to handle the purchase (and sale if you are also selling), as well as property searches they carry out.
Survey fees
These include homeowners reports or valuation surveys.
Mortgage arrangement fees
Mortgage lenders charge these for setting up your mortgage. Depending on your situation, there may also be fees for porting or settling an existing mortgage.
Home insurance
Rates vary and may even be higher than expected if you are buying a property in a flood zone or with another known other issue.
Repairs and maintenance
These are not exclusive to old properties! They might be needed in certain parts of the property, e.g., the garden.
Moving fees
These refer to how much it will cost you to get a van or hire movers to physically move all of your belongings on the big day.
There’s a lot of maths involved here – and although you may not have exact figures just yet, it’s worth shopping around for quotes before you start so you can budget correctly for each figure.
2. Not getting a mortgage pre-approved
Once you’ve worked out your budget, you should also start searching with mortgage lenders and get an agreement in principle for the required amount.
This not only assures you that you can get the mortgage before you find that dream home, but it will also speed up the offering process later on.
They don’t have to wait for you to get approved, as all your paperwork is done and ready. If a property has multiple offers, the vendor will also be more likely to go with you if your paperwork is already in order.
Whenever we bought a new home, we made sure that we had a mortgage in principle agreed as soon as we started to look for houses. Not only do you know how much you can lend, but you can show that you are serious and ready to go as soon as you find your dream home.
3. Not shopping around for a mortgage
Speaking of mortgages, don’t just go for the first offer that you see. Shopping around for a mortgage will ensure that you get the best deal and can save you a lot of money in the long run.
When shopping around for mortgages, pay attention to interest rates, closing costs, and other fees such as early repayment charges. You might find that those with lower interest rates compensate with higher fees, or vice versa.
You can shop around for mortgages by yourself using online lenders or a mortgage broker to help you look through your options. Using a broker can sometimes open up deals that wouldn’t otherwise be available – but you do have to factor in brokerage fees.
We find comparison websites such as Compare The Market or MoneySuperMarket really helpful when shopping around for the best mortgage deals.
4. Not keeping a close watch on your credit and finances
Making a budget for your home purchase is only one aspect of the equation. You also need to keep an eye on your credit and finances, as big changes could impact your mortgage application.
Over the home buying process, you might want to sign up to credit score websites like Experian to keep an eye on your credit rating – while ensuring that you practice good credit habits like timely payments, reducing credit card balances, and avoiding maxed-out limits.
You should also try to avoid any major financial changes, like opening new credit lines or closing existing ones. It’s also helpful to avoid any big spending or delay it until after you have purchased.
5. Not keeping an eye on market trends
The property market fluctuates a lot. Knowing what is going on in the market can help you time your purchase when property values are lower, helping you to maximise your investment.
But it’s not just about house values—it’s about trying to time your purchase with lower interest rates for your mortgage or spotting emerging local areas before they explode in value.
Mistakes to avoid when searching for a home
If you’ve avoided the first 5 mistakes, then you should be ready and informed to begin your property search. Now, you need to avoid these common pitfalls.
6. Staying within your budget
You’ve set yourself a budget—now you need to stick to it. Try to ensure that you search for homes within your budget and do not get your heart set on those that are just outside of reach.
Although sometimes you can successfully negotiate below the asking price, you will be at a disadvantage going in against any other bidders. And once you start upping the house value, there’s more pressure to just keep adding a little bit more – which can quickly snowball into a situation you can’t afford.
7. Being too geographically narrow in your search
Having an ideal location in mind is beneficial for your house search, especially if you don’t want to commute to work (Karsten, 2007).
At times, you can really narrow in on the available options based on accessibility, local amenities, and environmental perks (Fujita, 1989). But if you’re too narrow in your searches, you might miss out on some golden opportunities.
By expanding your search radius, you could find hidden gems nearby that you wouldn’t have known about or considered. This approach can also expose you to emerging neighbourhoods with significant growth potential.
Generally speaking, the wider the net you cast, the more opportunities you’ll be able to find. When we bought our current home, we had a whole county as our search area. This allowed us to find the perfect home for us.
8. Not thoroughly checking a property during a viewing
When viewing a property, it can be easy to get caught up in the superficial aspects and emotions. It is, after all, a big emotional decision, and you need to know how you feel about a house and if you can picture yourself living there before you proceed.
If you like a place, before you get too excited, you need to thoroughly inspect the place to make sure there’re no hidden surprises in store for you. As a very brief summary, this means looking at:
Structural integrity
Check for signs of damp, mould, or structural damage, such as cracks in walls or ceilings.
Plumbing and electrical systems
Ask about the age of the boiler and check the condition of the radiators, toilets, showers and lights.
Roof and gutters
Inspect the roof for missing tiles or damage and check the gutters for blockages.
Storage space
Consider all of the items and furniture that you need to fit into the house, and if there is enough room for you to comfortably live in.
To ensure nothing is missed, you can download our free house viewing checklist here to make a smart, informed decision to find that perfect home.
Try not to rush viewings. Recent data has revealed that 22% of people in Britain spend 30 minutes or less on a house viewing. That is a shockingly small amount of time for a purchase this big.
You can find out how long to spend during a viewing in our handy guide.
9. Not researching the area
The area has a big impact on your house. Before you rush to any decision, make sure that you’ve spent time looking at the neighbourhood. Think about the following:
Local amenities
What local amenities are nearby, such as shops, schools, public transport, and parks?
Traffic levels
How heavy is the traffic? And how easy it is for you to travel?
Traffic noise
How noisy is the street? Can you easily hear the neighbours within your home?
Future developments
Are there any planned developments in the area which could impact your home? Or if you are in a flood zone?
Some of these questions can be solved by simply walking around or spending time on the street. It can also be helpful to return at different times of the day so you can see the traffic and noise levels during peak times, at weekends and night.
Even looking at your neighbourhood through Google Street View is highly recommended by Rundle et al. (2010) to evaluate the surroundings of your future property.
10. Not being willing to compromise
Know why dream homes are called that? Because they often don’t exist anywhere other than your dreams.
When looking for a home, you need to keep in mind that it’s virtually impossible to tick every single box on your list, especially if you need to stay within a budget. There will be compromises along the way, so you need to know where you are willing to bend, and what your absolute non-negotiables are.
To avoid one of the top mistakes when buying a house, approach the process with a flexible mindset and focus on your practical needs. This will make your home search much more manageable. Instead of losing hope or rejecting great homes simply because they lack that magical quality you’re seeking, keep an open mind.
The good news is homes don’t have to be 100% perfect for you to love them.
Mistakes to avoid after your offer has been accepted
Congratulations! You now have an offer accepted on your home. Now, you just have to make it through the legal side before you can exchange contracts and finally complete.
Avoid delays by steering clear of these common mistakes during this phase.
11. Not getting a survey
If you’re buying with a mortgage, it’s likely that you will have a valuation assessment on your property. But this is just to check the value – it gives no information about the property’s condition.
To get insights on this, you need to conduct a property survey.
These surveys are designed to protect buyers by finding major issues with a home before you commit to the sale. They give you time to back out of the purchase if needed or even renegotiate the price depending on the work that needs to be done.
There are different types of surveys available, but as standard, we’d recommend that you go for a level 2 homebuyer’s report (approximately £400-500). This is a more detailed version of a condition report and will check for signs of rot, damp, subsidence, and more.
If anything is flagged within this report, you can optionally choose to undergo extra detailed reports, such as a Damp And Timber Survey, Building Survey, or Structural Survey.
When choosing a surveyor, consider their qualifications and experience – and ensure they are registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Not convinced yet? Discover everything that could go wrong by not having a home survey…
12. Trying to DIY your conveyancing
Conveyancing is an expensive process, with fees reaching as high as £3000. So, it makes sense that some buyers will try to save money by undergoing the process themselves, as there’s no legal requirement to have a conveyancer.
But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Firstly, if you’re buying a property with a mortgage, your lender may require you to use a solicitor or conveyancer from their approved panel. Which means that you cannot do your own conveyancing.
This is usually because conveyancing is a complex process that involves more than just filling out forms. It’s the process that carries out all crucial searches and enquiries that are essential to uncover potential problems with the property and ensure that you are legal and safe to buy.
Making a mistake in this process could result in weeks (or months!) of delays, and worst-case scenarios could, you could be left with hefty legal fees for any lawsuits or delays.
Sometimes, it’s worth leaving it to the professionals.
But make sure that it’s the right professional, which brings us to our last mistake…
13. Using the wrong conveyancing solicitor
The solicitor you choose will have a big impact on your home-buying journey. It’s very important to spend time thinking through this decision and looking at all available options.
Not having the right solicitor can cause all manner of headaches and stress. It can even delay the conveyancing process and result in additional fees or penalties for missing deadlines — one of the most costly mistakes when buying a house.
While we were always very happy with the solicitors we used, one of our buyers used the cheapest solicitor available. She was very unresponsive and delayed the process. We had to contact our buyer directly several times to urge him to push his solicitor to reply to ours.
This was very frustrating for us and our solicitor because it meant that we had a more stressful sale than would have been necessary. So, stay away from the cheapest conveyancing solicitor you can find, because there is probably a reason why they are so cheap.
More importantly, choosing the wrong solicitor could mean that they miss crucial details in property searches, such as outstanding debts or planning restrictions, which could have serious implications for your purchase.
Need help finding a solicitor? Why not compare some of our vetted and trusted converting solicitors to help you find the perfect match!
Avoid these 13 mistakes when buying a house
Armed with this information, your home-buying process should move as smoothly as possible.
It all comes down to doing your research, checking the finer details and making sure that you do your due diligence when it comes to getting mortgage deals, viewing properties and choosing the best conveyancing solicitors to get you over the line.
Want more helpful advice for buying a home? See all the latest tips and guides we have in store for you here.
