Call Blog
How to manage a property chain
Most house purchases in the UK are part of a chain. You can look at property chains as a necessary evil. They’re frustrating, delay-causing and sometimes cause the transaction to fall through – but most of us wouldn’t be able to move house without one.
We're paying thousands more than expected on our stamp duty
When buying a property, ensure that you factor in the cost of Stamp Duty before purchasing. Believe me! After our offer had been accepted and we'd instructed the conveyancers to oversee the purchase process, we were sent a breakdown of their costs. Legal fees, transaction fees, drainage and water searches were all there. Honestly, they don't miss a trick! Yet, the figure that jumped out at us was our Stamp Duty costs. Let me explain why.
How to speed up local authority searches
Before you exchange contracts on that dream home, the local authority searches must be carried out. These are a necessary part of home buying, and woe betide anyone who skips them. But do they really have to take so long?
Renegotiating a house price after a survey
So, you found a property that ticked all your boxes. But now the results of the house survey have come back – and it's bad. What's a buyer to do?
What does guide price mean?
Conveyancer. Deeds. Equity. There are plenty of words to get to grips with as you navigate your way through the process of buying or selling a property.
Is gazumping legal?
When you're just starting out on your homebuying journey, it's common to be a little naïve about the process. You might think that so long as you play by the rules and get an offer accepted, you should be able to secure your dream home.
What's the average property chain length in the UK?
When it comes to home buying, the wheels of progress don't always turn as quickly as we'd like. But can you blame it all on a slow solicitor? Before you fire off another angry email, let's meet the real culprit behind all those mysterious delays – the chain.
Problems when selling a house
A property sale falling through can elicit some pretty strong emotions from the most level-headed among us. These can range from disappointment to downright rage. But the worst part? You've probably lost around £2,500 in the failed transaction – the average amount that sellers lose on a house sale that falls through.
What is a house survey?
The house survey is a big deal when buying a house. Essentially, it is an inspection of the property's condition and helps identify potential issues.
Can I sell my house without a boiler certificate?
If you've found yourself online frantically searching for 'selling house no boiler certificate' – you're in the right place. A boiler certificate could refer to a few things...
What happens during a mortgage appointment?
After reading and hearing so many stories of people waiting months to get into their new home, we wanted to get the ball moving as soon as possible with things once our offer had been accepted.
Rhino Meets: Olivia Hartley
Hi, I'm Olivia, and I manage Rhino Home Protect's many partnerships and affiliates. That means that if you want to work with us, you'll have to deal with me (lucky you, eh?).
How long does moving house take?
So, how long does it really take to move house? If you’re the efficient type, you might think you can get it done and dusted within a month. After all, how long can it really take to arrange a few surveys and get some documents approved?
What to do after your offer is accepted?
There is so much jargon when buying a property and when speaking to the estate agent after our offer was accepted, we asked, 'what do we do now?'
How long does getting a house survey take?
A key stage of the homebuying process is the homebuyer’s survey. But how long does a homebuyer’s survey take? Sit back and relax – we’re here to explain it all.
Offer Accepted
With our Rightmove filter down to anything that had been added in the last 24 hours, our constant searching of estate agent's Facebook pages for the very latest properties brought to market and our daily bombardment of email bulletins about houses that we might be interested in, it's safe to say that our potential new home was on our minds 24/7. Eat. Sleep. Drink. Properties.
Making an Offer on a Property
It all seems very real when you've gone from viewing properties online, to seeing them in person to actually offering hundreds of thousands of pounds for a place! Here are some of our experiences, and lessons we've learned along the way...
Viewing a Property
It can be daunting viewing a property. Viewing a property on-screen to in-person is a completely different experience. Here are some of the scenarios we encountered whilst looking at houses.
Questions to Ask When Viewing a House
Viewing a property almost feels as if you've graduated from Rightmove! You've gone from looking at houses on the screen to seeing them in person and, much like if you ever come across a celebrity out in the real world, they usually appear smaller than you'd imagined!
Is Rightmove the rightmove?
Searching for a property can be incredibly exciting. Effectively, you're peeking into your future and looking at the house that may become your home.