How to buy a home: your step-by-step guide

The first step to buying a property is working out what you can afford and how much you can borrow.

As buyers face higher mortgage rates the amount of their budgets that has to be used to pay mortgage interest increases, reducing the amount they’re able to borrow.

If you already own a property, you might be able to use the equity built up in your current home plus any extra savings to increase your borrowing.

For first -time buyers, borrowing will depend on your income and deposit.

Saving a larger lump sum may result in you being offered a better rate.

In July , half of the houses sold in England and Wales were at a discount to the asking price.

This is the highest share of homes sold after reductions for nine years due to high mortgage rates.

Finding a lawyer is an important step in buying a home, and you will need one as soon as your offer has been accepted.

Exchanging on your new home is the final step in obtaining legal ownership of the property and commits you to the transaction.

Exchanging is legally binding, so if you back out for any reason after this point you may lose your deposit and have to pay compensation to the seller.