WORK OUT WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD

Work out what you can afford before you start looking at homes. The best way is to speak to a financial advisor or mortgage lender to find out how much you can borrow, what sort of mortgage would be right for you and what the repayments would be.

THE STAMP DUTY

Stamp Duty. This is a tax on properties costing more than £125,000 and is calculated as a percentage of the total purchase price. Here's how it works:

• £175,000 or less 0%
• £175,001 to £250,000 1%
• £250,001 to £500,000 3%
• £500,001 or more 4%

OTHER FEES

Other fees:

• Survey fees
• Valuation fees
• Land registry fee
• Local authority search
• Any fees charged by the mortgage lender or someone who arranges the mortgage, for example, a financial advisor
• Solicitor's fees

RESERVE THE PROPERTY & MORTGAGE SETUP

Once you've found a Notting Hill London home you like you need to put down £1000 to reserve the property, which will be refunded as part of your purchase. At this point you should also formalise your mortgage and instruct a conveyance solicitor to act on your behalf. It should take about three weeks from your application for a mortgage to a formal offer being made by the lender. Remember that the lender will probably want to have the property valued by surveyor – something you'll have to pay for.

EXCHANGE CONTRACTS

Assuming everything goes well you should be able to exchange contracts 28 days after your solicitor receives the relevant paperwork.

PAY YOUR DEPOSIT

It's around now that you need to pay your deposit – 10% upon exchange of contact, the remaining 90% on completion.

SALE IS READY FOR COMPLETION

We'll notify your solicitor that your sale is ready for completion. You've then got 14 days in which to complete and pay the balance on your deposit.

MOVE INTO YOUR NEW HOME

Assuming it all goes well you're now ready to move into your new home. We will give you a full purchaser pack and help you with general operational queries. Time for a celebration!