The steps to buying a new home with Barratt London

Know what you can afford

Having your finances in order early helps focus your search for your new home and proves a reassuring first step. Find out how much you can borrow, see how much your deposit will need to be and get a mortgage agreed in principle with a lender. This agreement doesn’t tie you to anything, and you can always choose a different provider later.

Find your new home

Now for the exciting bit – finding your new home. There are number of ways that you can make your search with Barratt London simpler:

• Setting up an account will make finding the right home much easier and let you be the first to hear about new homes as they're released
• Saving your property shortlist and home searches so you can easily find them later
• Store your results from our handy home-buying tools

Find a solicitor

Your solicitor is there to take care of all the legal aspects of the home-buying process. Remember to shop around for the best rate and make sure you find one that specialises in conveyancing (preparing the property transfer documents). If you’d like to speak with one of our recommended solicitors, please talk to our sales team.

Reserve your home

In the traditional home-buying process, this is similar to the ‘make an offer’ stage. Once your home is reserved, no one else will be able to reserve it. Now you can really start picturing yourself in your new place.

As part of the reservation process we are obliged to complete an AML (Anti Money Laundering) check on all our customers. An AML check is an assessment to make sure you are who you say you are and that you’re not purchasing one of our homes on behalf of somebody else.  We may need you to show that you have sufficient funds and demonstrate (with supporting documents) where the money is coming from, such as the sale of your last home.

The check is completed electronically with a trusted partner called SmartSearch on either a laptop or smartphone. Our Sales Advisors will take you through the process before you complete a reservation with us and pay your reservation deposit.

Why do we check? As a leading house builder, we have a role to play in preventing financial crime and money laundering as set out in the UK’s Anti Money Laundering Regulations.

Arrange your mortgage

There are plenty of options to consider when it comes to a mortgage. Once you’ve done your research (or spoken to a mortgage adviser – we can put you in touch with an independent one if you like) you can select the option that’s best for you.

Get a valuation and survey

Your mortgage lender will want confirmation the home is worth what you’re paying for it. They’ll organise the valuation for you – this will involve a fee. The survey checks the condition of your new home – much more of a formality when it’s a brand new Barratt London property, but a legal necessity nonetheless.

Complete legal work

Your solicitor will look after this for you. It’s all about formally transferring ownership from us to you (known as conveyancing), and checking there are no legal obstacles in the way, like local plans that may affect the value of the property.

Exchange contracts

Once the legal work is complete, your solicitor will exchange contracts with us. This is when you pay your deposit and commit to the deal taking place. You can now get officially excited and start planning your move.

Complete, move in, and celebrate

On the date of completion, you become the legal owner of your new home. Congratulations! The full cost of the property is transferred from your mortgage lender to your solicitor then on to the seller. The keys are now yours and you can move in. Your customer experience manager will have invited you to a new home tour so that we can guide you around the development and your new property and make sure you know where everything is and how everything works.

You’re now the proud owner of a brand new Barratt London property… It’s time to make our house your home.