The bureaucracy behind house buying

The thrill that follows an offer being accepted on a house can be sufficiently large to overshadow the various tasks that must be done before the house purchase can be completed.

In a way, this list of "things to do" can be the source of more stress than the move itself. Buyers not only have to attempt to satisfy all the mortgage and legal requirements but to understand them as well.

Ms Sarah Wellband of mortgage broker REA, says the first step at the sale-agreed stage is to complete a mortgage application form and to give the lender the information they need to assess the loan. This will include financial information such as pay slips, P60s and salary certificates, as well as proof of identity. Proof of financial stature will also be needed: bank statements and loan statements should be gathered at this point.

"Once the lender is satisfied that the application meets their criteria and the property has been valued to confirm the property is suitable security and that the price is reasonable they will give a formal mortgage offer," she says.

So far so good, but the process will still have some distance to run before any keys change hands. The most important thing at this point will be to select a solicitor to handle the legal side of the deal.

The solicitor has responsibility for making sure that the property has "good title" or, in other words, is owned in law by the vendor and is not subject to any legal disputes.

This could be as simple as having outstanding refuse charges registered against it or as complicated as being subject to a claim from another person who believes they own it too. Planning or other problems that could affect the future saleability of the property will also need to be identified.

Ms Wellband says the solicitor acts on behalf of both the buyer and mortgage lender and, in this way, will have a legal "duty of care" to both parties. In practice, this sees the solicitor taking up the running by handling the legal documents issued by the lender and making sure that the structural survey has not thrown up any potential problems.

At around this time, the buyer must start to think about insurance. This breaks into two categories: a mortgage protection and house insurance.

Mortgage protection is a policy that commits an insurance company to pay off the mortgage if its holder dies while the loan is outstanding. It will arguably be the most pressing element because it can take longer to arrange.

This is because its approval depends on the health of the applicants, and can be delayed if they have suffered from illness.

The solicitor will meanwhile be proceeding with the necessary legal checks with a view to inviting the buyer to sign purchase contracts. This stage will be accompanied by the payment of the balance of a 10 per cent deposit (10 per cent minus whatever booking deposit was paid) so that this can be returned, with contracts, to the seller's lawyer.

The solicitors will then establish a firm closing date and the buyer's lawyer will apply to the mortgage lender for the loan cheque to be released.

The timing will normally be driven by the sellers, depending on how quickly they want the sale to go through.

It will also be driven in part by the two solicitors involved however, with some lawyers more efficient than others.