The following information is provided to support your process for finding your new home. If you have any additional questions that are not answered here, please contact us directly, or take a moment to view our frequently asked questions page.

Independent Mortgage Advice

When you buy a property it is important that you make informed decisions so that you can afford to enjoy your new home for a long time. HomeBuy Agent staff are not qualified to offer or provide financial advice. We recommend that you seek independent mortgage advisors to help you with mortgage matters and will be able to provide you with details of advisors we recommend on request.

What about solicitors?

When you buy a property you will need to appoint a solicitor to act on your behalf. We will be able to provide details of panel solicitors who we recommend on request.

Panel solicitors are professionally qualified and will explain the legal process to you at each important step. They are experienced in all the legal matters associated with HomeBuy - this makes a big difference to how smoothly your purchase proceeds. Most of the dealings with your solicitor will be carried out over the phone, by post, or by e-mail; it isn’t usually necessary to visit or meet your solicitor in person unless you want to.

What it costs to buy a home

Buying a property is expensive and feedback from our customers confirms that an amount of around £3500 to cover the one-off costs is realistic. To proceed with your application therefore, you need to have access to at least £3500, either through savings or from family/friends, without the need to borrow extra money on your mortgage or to take out a personal loan.

We recommend you proceed only if you have access to at least this amount to cover costs such as legal fees (solicitors), mortgage arrangement fee, homebuyer’s report, stamp duty land tax, gas and electricity test, etc.

There are also likely to be other costs that you should budget for, eg: carpets, household goods like a fridge and washing machine, and possibly advance rent payments.

You should also be aware that a deposit of at least £1000 is payable at exchange of contracts stage. This is reconciled by your solicitor at completion stage.

There is no charge either to register with homeBuy.co.uk, or to buy an affordable home through the organisations that have listed properties. The £3500 is not a fee.

Financial and Legal Advice

Once you have registered with Catalyst Housing Group’s HomeBuy department you will be provided with a list of approved independent financial advisers (IFA) who will be fully up to date with the latest products and schemes that are available.

All these individuals have agreed that they will not charge you for their services. These organisations work with Catalyst Housing Group on an ongoing basis and also to agreed levels of service expectations. As a result we are confident that if you choose to utilise any of these organisations for your property purchase you will receive an efficient service.

Important

If you are proceeding through ‘MyChoice HomeBuy’ you are required to obtain a financial assessment from one of our approved independent financial advisers. Catalyst Housing Group does not employ any financial advisers or legal service providers. Additionally, we do not receive any form of reward or incentive for referrals.

If at any time you feel dissatisfied with the level of service provided by any suggested IFA or legal service provider we encourage you to inform our HomeBuy department as a matter of urgency.

Individuals should remember that it is ultimately their own responsibility to fully understand the products and options that they select. Catalyst Housing Group and its employees will not offer any specific financial advice during the process

If you have any questions, please contact us directly.
Alternatively, view our Frequently Asked Questions page.