Once you have found how to access off-market properties, the next step is to make an offer and buy your chosen property, be it your dream home or a buy-to-let investment.
While the sales process is more streamlined and quicker than with on-market properties, there are some things you need to be aware of.
1. Information
You need to know as much as you can about the off-market property before you decide you want to buy it. If it isn’t listed online, then this will involve you doing your own research.
Try to find out the floor plan, room measurements and layout of the property, either through photos and videos or by viewing the property yourself if the seller can host viewings.
2. Valuation
Finding an accurate valuation of off-market property is much harder than it is for on-market property. You’ll need to know this to help calculate the rental yield if you are buying to use it as an investment property.
With on-market sales, potential buyers can get a good estimation of the property’s value by seeing what kind of offers are being put in for the property. Without this bidding war, it can be harder to know if the property is being valued correctly.
Look at similar properties in the area to see what prices they go for as a rough guide, either by using property portals such as Zoopla or Rightmove or by contacting a local estate agency to see how they value property in the area.
You can instead hire a professional surveyor to give you a valuation of the property. This is best for those inexperienced in property investment who may not know how to accurately value properties. You can find qualified surveyors on the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors database.
Alternatively, if you are borrowing a mortgage to pay for the property, your mortgage broker will value the property themselves to ensure you will make enough money from the property to repay what you are borrowing. Check out our investing in real estate in the UK guide.
3. Make an Offer
The next step is to make a fair offer on the property. This is likely to be below the seller’s asking price, as you will have to negotiate between the initial offer and the asking price to come to a fair deal for both sides.
If you are buying the off-market property for investment purposes, you won’t need to sell your home first, making the process of selling a property much smoother.
If you are buying using a buy-to-let mortgage, you’ll need to attach your Agreement in Principle to show you can fund your offer.
4. Instruct a Solicitor
Once your offer has been accepted by the seller, you will both need to instruct solicitors to help you complete the sale. They’ll handle the contracts and legal side of the deal.
Because buyer and seller are dealing with each other directly, there is less hindrance than with a property sale on the open market.
5. Arrange Your Mortgage
If you are buying the property using a buy-to-let mortgage, it’s at this point that you’ll need to give them your solicitor’s details to begin the process of borrowing the money.
It’s now that they’ll conduct the valuation before releasing the funds into your account.
6. Fill Out the Paperwork
As with any land transaction, there is a lot of paperwork to be filled out. While your solicitor will do most of the heavy lifting, there are some important documents you’ll need to provide:
- Photo ID (passport, driver’s licence, etc.)
- Proof of your current address (bank statements, council tax or utility tax bills)
- Proof of the funds needed for the deposit (bank statement or another way of showing your balance)
- Details of your solicitor
- The decision in principle from your mortgage broker.
7. Exchange Contracts and Complete the Sale
After you have done this, it is simply a waiting game while your solicitors work out the details of the contract to ensure both sides are fairly compensated. Once this is done, you can transfer funds to the seller, exchange contracts and complete the sale.
The last step is to collect the keys to the off-market property you have just bought.
