The buyer’s responsibilities when investing in buy-to-let property
A buy-to-let property is a major investment, and if you’re new to the market the process of getting from the decision to buy through to becoming its owner can be a daunting and frustrating experience.
In many ways, having a progression manager is like having a personal property assistant by your side. There’s probably no situation they’ve never encountered, and this experience will really pay dividends when it comes to keeping your investment on track. This doesn’t mean you won’t have a list of responsibilities and duties. You will. But you’ll also have your progression manager holding your hand all the way.
This chapter provides a checklist of your responsibilities as the buyer, and summarises how your progression manager works with you throughout.
Understanding the process of progression
You’ll find the process of buying a whole lot less frustrating if you understand what is happening, when, and why. So, the first thing that you can expect your progression manager to do will be to talk you through a timeline of your investment. This is your chance to ask questions and voice your concerns, with the knowledge that the answers you receive will be provided by someone with the expertise and experience to really make a difference.
With your sales progression manager on board, you can expect to discover all you need to know about investment loans and financing your buy-to-let property purchase. In addition, you’ll learn about:
- Which payments need to be made and when
- The people involved in the buy-to-let property buying process
- How to hire the best buy-to-let property solicitor
- How the Sales Progression Team works with the developer to keep your investment on track
You may also have concerns about how easy it will be to let your property after the purchase has been finalised, and then how to manage it on a day-to-day basis. One of the unique benefits of using our Progression Team is that you get priority access to Ezytrac’s Property Management services. This links sales progression to letting your buy-to-let property at the earliest possible stage, meaning your property gets let quicker (usually within two weeks of completion).
What you need to do and when
I’m going to concentrate on the process of buying an off-plan property (we’ll compare to buying stock property at the end of this book). Buying off-plan property is the most complex, and buying from current stock follows an almost identical path but within a much tighter timescale.
Here’s the checklist of your responsibilities as the buyer throughout the process of buying off-plan property:
Week 1:
- Check the details on the reservation form, sign, and return.
- Pay the reservation and finder’s fee.
- Complete questionnaires supplied by the solicitor, and confirm their appointment.
- Supply anti-money laundering documentation, ID, and proof of address.
Week 2:
- If a search is required, pay the search fee to your solicitor.
Week 3:
- Review the contract, sign, and return to your solicitor.
- Pay the exchange deposit to your solicitor before the exchange deadline.
- Speak to your solicitor and ensure that there are no outstanding matters.
(A tip here is that it is worth phoning your solicitor and ensuring that they have received all the signed documentation they need to progress the sales through this stage.)
Now, put your feet up and have a cup of tea! These first three weeks are when most of the action happens for a while. Your progression manager will keep in touch on a regular basis as the progression team checks on the developer on a weekly basis.
Every few months you may have to give some thought to elements such as kitchen and bathroom choices, but apart from this all the mundane stuff will be happening behind the scenes. It’s not until you get a lot closer to completion that you’ll find your responsibilities become more intense.
In the last 3 or 4 months before completion:
Now is the time to get on top of financing and start thinking about the future of your buy-to-let property investment.
- Compete a fact find with your mortgage broker.
- Select a mortgage product.
- Make certain that you provide all necessary documentation to your mortgage broker to support your finance application (e.g. pay slips, bank statements, P60, etc.).
- Provide payment details to your mortgage broker for the valuation fee.
- Pay a search fee to your solicitor.
- Complete and return Ezytrac Property Management forms.
- Confirm that you’re happy to go ahead with the Building Inspections service.
1 month before completion:
- Make certain that you receive the mortgage offer, and check that it’s exactly as you expected.
- Check the mortgage offer acceptance form, sign, and return – don’t delay with this!
- Confirm that you’re happy to go ahead with the finishing touches such as blinds, white goods, flooring, and bathroom.
2 weeks before completion:
A few days of attending to some legal requirements, which include:
- Paying completion funds to your solicitor before the completion deadline.
- Liaising with the solicitor to make sure that there are no outstanding issues.
- Signing the contracts for exchange and make sure your solicitor receives them.
- If applicable, sign and return the lease to your solicitor.
On completion day:
- Take delivery of the keys to your new investment property!
Prepare to let your property
After you’ve signed up with Ezytrac Property Management, we’ll go into action immediately, linking sales progression to letting your buy-to-let property seamlessly:
- We’ll conduct a full rent appraisal.
- Next, we’ll start low-key marketing and ramp up our efforts to find suitable tenants as you close in on completion.
- We monitor all interest and feedback, and report to you bi-weekly, passing on all offers we receive.
- When you decide an offer is acceptable, we fully vet the tenant.
- From here on in, you’ll benefit from effortless property management.
What you can expect your progression manager and team to do
As we said in the introduction to this chapter, a progression manager is like your very own personal property assistant. Here are just some of the things you can expect him or her to do for you:
- Provide a checklist of all your responsibilities and duties.
- Produce solutions to problems so that progression to completion runs smoothly.
- Liaise and coordinate between all parties (solicitors, mortgage brokers, and developers).
- Act as your power of attorney if needed.
- Keep you informed of development progress.
Now that you understand your responsibilities during the process of buying off-plan property, you’ll also have some idea of the network of people you need. It’s time to get a better handle on these.
If you have question or want to learn more about this why not chat with the team 01522503717 or email me.
Other Sales Progression Articles By Caroline
Caroline Bevis
Head of Sales Progression
If you have sales progression questions I am happy to provide detail answers to even the most detailed problems you face.
Email me at progression@ezytrac.uk
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