How to buy a home: the process step by step

1. Get your money ready

Start with the deposit. MoneyHelper says most mortgages ask for a deposit of at least 5% to 10% of the price, and a bigger deposit can get you a better deal and lower monthly payments. MoneyHelper explains how lenders assess affordability.

Lenders look at your income, your regular outgoings and how secure your job is. According to MoneyHelper, lenders typically cap borrowing at four and a half times your annual income — and most people are offered less. Try our affordability calculator for a rough idea.

Check your credit report before you apply so you can fix any mistakes. Then get a mortgage in principle (also called a decision or agreement in principle) from a lender or broker. MoneyHelper notes these usually last between 60 and 90 days, and they show sellers and agents you're serious.

2. Find a property and make an offer

Search online, register with local agents and keep a shortlist — our basket feature saves homes in your browser as you go.

Before you view, read the listing's material information: price, Council Tax band, tenure and, for leasehold homes, the years left on the lease plus the service charge and ground rent. Our material information guide explains what to look for.

• Look up the energy certificate, flood risk and broadband speeds using the "Check the area" links on each listing.
• Compare the asking price with what nearby homes actually sold for, using HM Land Registry's house price search (England and Wales).
• Make your offer through the agent, in writing, and say what conditions come with it (for example, subject to survey and mortgage).

3. Offer accepted: hire a conveyancer and get a survey

Once your offer is accepted, instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to do the legal work. They check the title, run local searches, raise questions with the seller's solicitor and handle the money. You can check a solicitor is regulated on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register.

Your lender will value the property for its own purposes, but that isn't a survey of its condition. Many buyers pay for their own survey — more detailed for older or unusual homes.

4. Mortgage offer and exchange of contracts

When the survey and searches are back, you confirm (or renegotiate) your offer and your lender issues a formal mortgage offer. Your conveyancer reports back on anything important in the title, searches and lease.

At exchange you sign contracts, pay the deposit and agree a completion date. From this moment the sale is legally binding. Arrange buildings insurance from exchange if your lender requires it.

5. Completion day and the tax bill

On completion day the money moves from your conveyancer to the seller's, and you collect the keys.

You must file a Stamp Duty Land Tax return and pay any tax due within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland. GOV.UK says your solicitor, agent or conveyancer will usually do this for you on the day and add it to their bill. In Wales, Land Transaction Tax returns and payment are due within 30 days of the day after completion.

Use our stamp duty calculator to see what you'll owe, and our stamp duty guide for how it works.

Buying in Scotland

Scotland has its own legal system for buying property, a different tax (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) and a Home Report that sellers must provide. MoneyHelper has a separate money timeline for buying in Scotland, and mygov.scot explains what the Home Report contains.

Costs to budget for

MoneyHelper has a fuller list of fees and costs when buying or selling.