How to Buy 2 - A guide for people looking to buy a home in England and Wales

Oct 1, 2026

Upload by Jake

A practical UK-focused guide explaining how to buy a home in England and Wales, with guidance on timing, informed decision-making, and reducing stress. It outlines who the guide is for, how to use it (including online hyperlinks), and the specialist roles involved such as lenders, insurers, legal representatives, surveyors, mortgage advisers, and energy assessors. It also covers affordability basics, mortgage preparation, key costs like stamp duty or Land Transaction Tax, surveys, conveyancing, and relevant government support schemes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time31 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Who is this guide for?

How to use this guide

Who can help me?

What can I afford?

Preparing to apply for a mortgage

HOW TO... BUY A guide for people looking to buy a home in England and Wales Part of the How to Guides series HOW TO BUY 2 Contents Introduction 3 Who is this guide for? 3 How to use this guide 3 Who can help me? 3 What can I afford? 4 Preparing to apply for a mortgage 4 ID checks 5 Choosing a home 5 Buying a new build property 7 Buying a home in later life 8 Other types of homes 8 Leasehold and freehold 8 Buying a rented property 9 Making an offer 9 Referrals 9 Instructing a legal representative 10 Searches 10 Your mortgage 11 Survey 11 Fraud 12 Exchange and deposit 12 Moving your belongings 13 Preparations for moving 13 Completion and moving 13 After moving 14 Making a complaint 14 Buying and selling atthe 14 sametime Other organisations who can help 15 Glossary 16 Annex-Key milestones 18 This information is frequently updated. Search on GOV. UK for How to Buy to ensure you have the latest version. The online version contains links you can click on to get more information. If you do not have internet access, ask your local library to help. September 2019 HOW TO BUY 3 How to Buy Introduction Buying a home is often the largest purchase you will make in your lifetime. It is really important you have the right information, at the right time, to ensure you make informed decisions. You can avoid stress and speed up the process by knowing which questions to ask, what your rights are, and what responsibilities you have as a home buyer. You will find a glossary at the end of this guide for many of the technical terms it uses , including those highlighted in bold. Who is this guide for? • This guide is for people who are thinking of purchasing a home. First-time buyers may find it particularly useful, but as the buying process can change, even more experienced buyers can benefit from understanding the latest key steps. • It is focused on freehold properties. • It includes a short overview of how to buy a leasehold property– more detailed information is available in Government’s How to Lease guide. • It covers purchasing a property which is currently rented out, but only if you plan to live in it yourself. If you’re looking for more information on buying to let, details are available in Government’s How to Let guide. • It is intended for people purchasing a home in England or Wales. More information on buying property in Scotland or Northern Ireland is available through the links. • It is intended as a helpful overview of the process; it is not a definitive statement of the law and not all of the steps are mandatory for all cases. If you are thinking of buying a property, you should seek independent financial and legal advice. How to use this guide • This guide is best viewed online as it contains hyperlinks. • If you are reading this on a computer or tablet, you can click on the links to go to other websites with more detailed information. • Hyperlinks are coloured and underlined like this. • On Android and Windows devices, links work better if you download Acrobat Reader. Who can help me? During the home buying process a number of specialists can offer you advice or assistance: • Lender–able to lend you money to purchase the property • Insurer–able to provide the building insurance policy you need in order to purchase a property and the contents cover to protect your belongings • Legal representative/conveyancer–able to carry out the legal work needed to buy a property • Surveyor–able to assess the physical condition of the property and can give an independent valuation • Mortgage Broker or Adviser–able to advise which mortgage is best for you • Specialist professional or tradesperson–able to advise on any maintenance or building works that are identified in the survey • Energy Assessor–able to answer queries on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) The estate agent will help guide you through the

FAQs

Who is the guide for and what property focus does it have?

It is for people thinking of purchasing a home, including first-time buyers. It focuses on freehold properties and also provides a short overview of leasehold, plus buying a property that is currently rented out only if you plan to live in it yourself in England or Wales.

How should readers use this guide?

The guide is best viewed online because it contains hyperlinks. On computers or tablets, readers can click links for more detailed information, and on Android and Windows devices links work better if Acrobat Reader is downloaded.

What can I afford before I start looking for a home?

Readers should estimate how much they can spend on a property. Most buyers will need a mortgage, which is typically influenced by credit score, and combining the expected borrowing amount with the deposit helps determine the budget.

Oct 1, 2026

Upload by Jake