What is it like to make an offer when buying your first home?
When going on the journey of buying your first home in Scotland, there’ll be a lot of new experiences that we at ESPC try to prepare you for: choosing a solicitor, working out your budget, and so much more. But what’s it like to actually place an offer?
My name is Nina and I work on the marketing team at ESPC. I also bought my first home very recently, so I thought I’d share some of my experience to help anyone else looking to start the process.
Making an offer can be a stressful (but also exciting) part of the first-time buyer journey, so here are some things I think you should consider when deciding to take the leap:
View more than once before offering
In other words: make sure you’re certain. It can seem really great when you’re viewing a property for the first time and you see yourself living there, so it’s very easy to get swept up in the daydream. But it’s a huge commitment, so make sure that you’re sure.
The best way to do this is by booking a second viewing if you can and by asking plenty of questions. Use that first viewing more to get a sense of the space, and then you can really ramp things up at the second one. This might mean bringing a measuring tape to take dimensions, asking to turn on the shower to check the water pressure, or anything else that might help you make your decision.
There are no silly questions when buying your first home, so don’t be afraid to investigate anything and everything. Not sure what to ask? Watch our first-timers club podcast espisode covering what questions to ask at a property viewing.
Trust your solicitor estate agent
After you’ve made sure you’d like to place an offer on a property, it’s vital that you speak to your solicitor estate agent. Not only because they will place the offer on your behalf, but also so they can advise you on the best offer to make.
You may already have a price in mind to offer based on the Home Report Valuation, but your solicitor is there to help you make the best decision possible. They’ll have invaluable experience, an understanding of the buying process and unlimited access to all the latest property market data – so if they advise on a slightly different figure, it’s worth taking that into consideration.
Be open to changes
This should really be a general life motto, but it’s especially relevant to the process of putting in an offer on your first home. I say this purely based on my own experience and things that my friends have gone through when it came to placing an offer.
For example, my solicitor was on annual leave when I decided to put in my first offer – and I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t worry as a result. However, I contacted the office where they worked and simply spoke to another member of their team so that they could place the offer instead. All ESPC solicitor estate agents are really friendly and have access to the same data, so are fit to advise you well in the event that your solicitor is unavailable for any reason.
One of my friends also had to change their solicitor all together when placing an offer, as it transpired that their solicitor was actually selling the home that they wanted to buy. This led to a conflict of interest, which meant hiring someone new. But it worked out for them in the end, and it worked out for me too.
What I mean to say here is that this process rarely goes to plan and that sometimes things may change. However, if you do enough research and speak to property experts who you trust, you’ll likely get the dream home that’s perfect for you.
To learn more about buying your first home, check out our First Timers Club podcast series now, where you can also find an inisghtful episode on how to make an offer on a property in Scotland.