Buying your house

To buy your house you must either have the purchase price or be able to borrow same.

100% mortgages are exceedingly rare so you will require to pay a proportion yourself either from savings or if you are a second time buyer, from the sale of a previous house.

Sometimes your share of the price can be borrowed also from family or friends but you must tell your lender of the circumstances and ensure that such a loan is properly constituted.

Your principal lender is most likely, however, to be a Building Society and Insurance Company or a Bank.

Your lender takes security for the loan by obtaining from you a Standard Security. This is a charge against the property which makes the lender a preferred creditor in any sale.

The lender will invariably require a survey to ensure that the property is suitable for mortgage purposes and you should be aware that such a valuation survey is only for the lender's use and does not form any contract between you and the surveyor.

You therefore have to decide if you wish to incur the cost of a private survey. You should seek advice from your solicitor before proceeding.

Remember, the earlier you seek advice the less likely it is that anything will go wrong.