The road to your front door.

One · Before we set off

I act for the seller — but a sale only completes when the buyer is looked after too. Most people buy a home two or three times in a lifetime, and nobody hands you the manual. So this is it.

The whole journey is one road with ten stops. Some you may skip — a cash buyer drives straight past the mortgage stops — but the order never changes, and knowing what comes next is what keeps the stress down.

Keep this pack. When you are somewhere on the road and it goes quiet, open the page you are on and you will see exactly what is happening behind the scenes — and whose desk it is sitting on.

“Nobody buys a house every day. I do this every day — so ask me anything, at any stop.”

Buying with a mortgage?

Stops 01 and 05 are yours. Pages 08–09 cover mortgages properly, with the advisers I recommend — Nexpad.

Michael · 07515 720 054 · michael@brownsett.co.uk

The route at a glance

• 01 Mortgage in principle — if needed
• 02 Viewings — finding the one
• 03 Making your offer
• 04 Offer accepted — sold STC
• 05 Full mortgage application — if needed
• 06 Instructing a conveyancer
• 07 Survey & valuation
• 08 Searches & enquiries
• 09 Exchange of contracts
• 10 Completion — the keys

A typical journey from accepted offer to keys is 10–14 weeks. The road starts on the next page and runs, without stopping, to the end.

The road · Part one of five · Getting ready

Stop 01 — Mortgage in principle.

If you need a mortgage

Before you fall in love with anything, find out what a lender would actually give you. A mortgage in principle — you will also hear “agreement in principle” or “decision in principle”, all the same thing — is a lender’s statement of roughly what they would lend you, based on a few questions and a soft credit check.

It is free, it usually takes under an hour with a broker, and the soft check does not mark your credit file. It is not a guarantee — that comes at stop 05 — but it sets your true budget: deposit plus loan, minus the costs on page 09.

It also changes how you are treated. When you offer with one in hand, the agent knows you are real. When two offers are close, the one with paperwork behind it wins.

You will need

Photo ID · proof of income · a rough picture of your monthly outgoings · evidence of your deposit and where it came from.

Cash buyer?

Skip this stop — but have proof of funds ready (a recent statement). You will be asked for it the moment you offer.

Stop 02 — Viewings — finding the one.

On my listings you view with me, not a rota. Take your time, open the cupboards, ask the awkward questions — boiler age, council tax band, what the neighbours are like, why the sellers are moving. I would rather you ask now than wobble later.

If a home is close to right, come back. Second viewings are free and encouraged — bring the person whose opinion you trust, come at a different time of day, walk the street, do the school run or the commute. A house you love at 11am on a Saturday should still make sense at 5:30pm on a Tuesday.

“Buy the house, the street and the light. Paint colours cost £40.”

Ask at every viewing

Boiler age · council tax band · what is staying · parking · how long on the market · why they are moving.

Bring on the second visit

The person whose opinion you trust, a tape measure, and the rush-hour commute test.

The road · Part two of five · The deal

Stop 03 — Making your offer.

Offers go to the agent, not the seller — ring me or put it in writing. A strong offer is more than a number. Tell me your position: mortgage in principle or proof of funds, your deposit, whether you have a property to sell, and whether your conveyancer is already lined up.

A chain-free buyer at £5,000 under can beat a long chain at full asking. Sellers buy certainty as much as price — show yours.

Negotiation is normal. Be honest about your ceiling and your position — I verify both before anything is agreed.

Send with your offer

Your full name(s) · contact numbers · email addresses · your current home address(es) · the number · mortgage in principle or proof of funds · your chain position · your ideal timescale · your conveyancer, if chosen.

Worth knowing

Every offer must be put to the seller by law — high, low or cheeky. You lose nothing by starting sensibly below your ceiling.

Stop 04 — Accepted — sold subject to contract.

Congratulations — and a plain word of truth: nothing is legally binding yet, for either side, until exchange at stop 09. What happens now is paperwork with pace. I confirm the sale in writing to both sides and issue the memorandum of sale to both conveyancers, and the listing comes off the market.

The first fortnight sets the tone for the whole purchase. Your three jobs this week: instruct your conveyancer (stop 06), start the full mortgage application (stop 05), and get your documents in one folder. Fast starts finish fast.

This week’s checklist

• Conveyancer instructed · mortgage application started · ID certified
• Payslips, statements & deposit evidence gathered · survey decided (stop 07)

The road · Part three of five · Setting the wheels turning

Stop 05 — The full mortgage application.

If you need a mortgage

Your in-principle now becomes a real application against a real address. Your broker submits it, the lender underwrites you properly — payslips, statements, credit history — and instructs a valuation of the property. A formal mortgage offer typically lands in two to four weeks.

Until your offer arrives, protect it. No new car finance, no new credit cards, no job changes if you can help it, and no large unexplained sums in or out of your accounts. Lenders re-check right up to completion.

Nexpad handle this whole stop for my buyers — application, documents, lender chasing — and keep me in the loop so nobody is guessing. Pages 08–09.

Stop 06 — Instructing a conveyancer.

Your conveyancer is the solicitor who does the legal transfer: checks the title, orders the searches, raises enquiries, exchanges contracts and moves the money. You cannot buy a house without one, and the single biggest cause of slow purchases is a slow start here.

Choose on responsiveness, not just price. The cheapest quote on a comparison site is often a case-number factory that answers nobody. Ask two questions before you instruct: who exactly is handling my file, and how do I reach them?

Instruct on day one, complete their ID checks the day the pack arrives, and pay for searches upfront so they are ordered immediately — they take weeks to come back, so every day they are not ordered is a day on your completion date.

Day one

Instruct · ID verified · client care letter signed · searches paid for and ordered.

Need a name?

Ask me. I work with local conveyancers who answer their phones, and I will tell you honestly who is performing right now.

The road · Part four of five · The quiet middle

Stop 07 — Survey & valuation.

Two different things, often confused. The valuation is for the lender — a quick check that the house is worth the loan. It protects the bank, not you. A survey is yours: a qualified surveyor inspecting the condition of the biggest purchase of your life.

A Level 2 HomeBuyer Report suits most conventional homes; a Level 3 Building Survey is worth it for older, extended or unusual properties. Every survey ever written flags something — damp readings, flat roofs, old wiring. Most of it is normal for the age of the house. Read it with the surveyor on the phone, then talk to me before panicking: genuine issues can be renegotiated or fixed.

Typical cost

Level 2 £400–£600 · Level 3 £600–£1,000. On a £200,000 home that is a fraction of a percent of the price.

Michael’s rule

Never skip the survey to save a few hundred pounds — it is the only report in the whole purchase working solely for you.

Stop 08 — Searches & enquiries.

The longest stretch of road, and the quietest. Your conveyancer waits on three searches — local authority, drainage & water, environmental — then raises written enquiries on the seller’s contract pack: boundaries, guarantees, building regs for that extension. The seller’s side answers; yours checks the answers.

Weeks three to eight usually live here. Quiet does not mean stalled — it means documents are sitting in queues. On my sales I chase every party every week and report back, so you always know whose desk it is on.

“In the quiet weeks, no news is usually just a queue — not a problem.”

While you wait

Answer your own solicitor same-day · keep mortgage documents current · get three removals quotes — but book nothing yet.

On a Brownsett sale

You can track every milestone live on MBSP — my sale-progression portal — at mbsp.uk, updated as it happens.

The road · Part five of five · Journey’s end

Stop 09 — Exchange of contracts.

The moment everything becomes real. Enquiries are satisfied, your mortgage offer is in, you sign the contract, your deposit — usually 10% — moves to your solicitor, and the two solicitors formally exchange. From that second the sale is legally binding both ways, and the completion date is fixed in the contract.

Now — and only now — book the removals van, hand in notice on your rental, and arrange buildings insurance on the new house from exchange day, because from exchange the risk is typically yours. Exchange to completion is commonly one to two weeks; same-day is possible.

“Nothing is certain until exchange. After exchange, nothing is uncertain.”

Stop 10 — Completion — the keys.

On the morning of completion your lender releases the money to your solicitor, who sends it up the chain. The moment it lands with the seller’s solicitor, the keys are released — on a Brownsett sale, from me, handed over personally. There is no fixed time; most completions land between late morning and mid-afternoon, and I keep you posted through the day.

Take meter readings and photos on day one, find the stopcock before you need it, and change the locks — you never know how many keys are out there. Then put the kettle on. You are home.

End of the road — welcome home.

From accepted offer to this doorstep: typically 10–14 weeks. Everything on the way is chased, tracked and explained — that is the job.

Seven · The money, done properly

You are free to use any broker, or go straight to your own bank. I recommend Nexpad because of how they work: clear, regulated mortgage and protection advice, tailored to your circumstances, with fees confirmed in writing up front — and because they work hand in hand with eXp UK agents like me, so your agent and your adviser are never two strangers guessing at each other’s progress.

“I founded Nexpad after 25 years in mortgage advice, with a clear purpose: to connect estate agents and mortgage advisers more effectively, so customers feel better supported throughout their home-moving journey.”

Stuart Dare · Founder, Nexpad — 25+ years in mortgage advice · former MD of Mortgage Services at the UK’s largest estate agency

Who they help

• First-time buyers
• Home movers
• Remortgages
• Buy-to-let
• Protection insurance
• General insurance

UK-wide by phone and video, in person where appropriate. If you need extra support — health, bereavement, accessibility, money worries — tell them and they will adapt how they work with you.

A broad lender panel

A selection — tailored options from their panel; not the whole of market

Lloyds · HSBC · Halifax · Barclays · NatWest · Nationwide · Santander · + 100s more

High street banks, building societies and specialist lenders. Advice from a broad panel means the recommendation fits your circumstances — not whichever single provider happens to employ the adviser.

More than a mortgage

Life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, buildings & contents — protecting the home and the people in it if circumstances change.

Regulated advice

Nexpad is a trading style of Nexpad Mortgages Limited, an appointed representative of HL Partnership Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Eight · What working with them looks like

• 01 · Initial conversation — Your plans, your circumstances, what you want to achieve. No obligation — a fee is only payable on application.
• 02 · Your first meeting — They gather the detail they need to understand your situation and explain exactly how they can help.
• 03 · Research & recommendation — Suitable options researched across the panel, presented clearly — costs, payments and key details included.
• 04 · Application support — Happy to proceed? They submit the application and guide you through documents and next steps — this is stop 05 on your road.
• 05 · Offer & legal process — The lender underwrites and issues your mortgage offer; your conveyancer runs the legal work alongside.
• 06 · Completion & beyond — Your mortgage begins. When your deal ends or life changes, they are still there — that is the point of an adviser.

Fees, in plain sight

£599 — standard broker fee, payable on application; non-refundable.

More complex cases can be up to £999. Either way, the exact amount is confirmed in writing before you choose to proceed — no surprises.

Speak to Nexpad

03300 552 651 — hello@nexpad.co.uk · nexpad.co.uk

Mention you are buying through Brownsett — they will keep me in the loop at every stop, with your permission.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Nexpad advises from a selected panel of lenders and insurers; this is not the whole of market. Not all buy-to-let mortgages are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Nexpad is a trading style of Nexpad Mortgages Limited, registered in England & Wales, company number 16942809, an appointed representative of HL Partnership Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Nine · A closer look

You will hear all four of these called “the survey”. They are very different things. The first happens automatically if you are borrowing; the other three are optional, paid for by you, and work entirely for your benefit — you choose one at stop 07 on your road.

1 · Mortgage valuation

Ordered by the lender

Happens automatically at stop 05: the lender checks the house is worth the loan. Often a desktop exercise or a brief visit, and you may never see more than a figure. It is not a condition check — it protects the bank, not you. Never rely on it as a survey.

• Typical cost — Often free with the deal · £150–£300
• Best for — Everyone borrowing — it is not optional

2 · Condition Report

RICS Level 1

A traffic-light snapshot of visible condition — no advice, no repair detail, no valuation. The lightest look a surveyor will put their name to, for homes that look after themselves.

• Typical cost — £300–£500
• Best for — Newer, conventional homes in good order

3 · HomeBuyer Report

RICS Level 2

The popular choice: condition plus advice. Damp, roof, services and timbers, with defects that affect value and the maintenance they need. A market valuation can be added if you want one.

• Typical cost — £400–£600
• Best for — Most conventional homes in reasonable condition

4 · Building Survey

RICS Level 3

The deep dive: a thorough structural inspection covering defects, their causes, repair options and likely costs. The one I push for whenever a house has age, alterations or character.

• Typical cost — £600–£1,000+
• Best for — Pre-1930s, extended, unusual or visibly tired homes

“My rule of thumb: pre-1930s, extended or anything quirky — Level 3. Anything else, Level 1 and sleep easy.”

Ten · The practical bit

Budget beyond the deposit

• Deposit — typically 5–10%+ of the price
• Mortgage broker fee — Nexpad: £599 standard
• Lender arrangement fee — £0–£1,500; often added to the loan
• Your survey — Level 2 £400–£600 · Level 3 £600–£1,000
• Conveyancing — £1,000–£1,800 plus disbursements
• Searches — £250–£350, paid upfront
• Stamp duty (SDLT) — depends on price & first-time relief — ask
• Removals — £300–£1,500

Typical figures to plan with, not quotes. Your conveyancer and broker will confirm exact costs in writing.

Jargon, translated

• MIP / AIP / DIP — mortgage, agreement or decision in principle. Same thing: stop 01.
• SSTC — sold subject to contract. Agreed, not yet binding.
• Memorandum of sale — the document confirming the agreed deal to all parties.
• Disbursements — costs your conveyancer pays out for you: searches, Land Registry, bank transfers.
• Enquiries — written questions between solicitors about the property.
• Chain — the line of linked sales that must all complete together.
• Exchange — the moment contracts are swapped and it all becomes binding.
• Completion — money moves, keys released. The end of the road.

What you never pay

My fee is paid by the seller, never the buyer. There is no charge for viewings, for offering, or for the sale progression I do on your purchase. If anyone asks a buyer for a fee to “secure” a property, walk away and ring me.

• Plan for — Deposit + fees + moving costs, in cleared funds
• Keep spare — A contingency for day-one repairs and locks

“If a word on a letter makes no sense, ring me and I will translate it. That is not a silly question — it is the system being silly.”