Abdul's Story
We bought our place for the classic reasons. We knew we'd be in London for a while, peace of mind and we didn't want to line someone else's pockets with rent. We got a good interest rate and a fixed mortgage we don't have to think about for the next three years. After that the lock-in period is over, so there's no extra fees for moving the mortgage elsewhere, and that's exactly what we'll do.
I think our experience was typical as well. You have to be patient. Even when there are no problems it takes as long as it takes. We were renting before, so were in a good position as we had nothing to sell, but we still had to go through the process stage by stage and it seems to take forever.
Abdul's thoughts
Find a good solicitor who'll do everything he or she can. When you're buying you have to deal with a load of people and our solicitor seemed to make all this easy and less stressful. It was like having a 'Sanity Anchor'
I can't see why the whole process has to be so complicated. From the moment we put in an offer we had four and a half months of paperwork and red tape. In Israel, or the USA it takes two or three weeks. I really can't see why it needs to be so long-winded and convoluted here.
The other thing that you may have to consider, especially in flats in London, is the Leasehold/Freehold question. Do you actually own the place you're buying, and if so, for how long? Even if you'll be long gone by the time it reverts to someone else's property, will that affect the price should you sell it?
