Buying house in London

Hi

I have a separate thread regarding selling an apartment in Dublin and I am hoping to buy a house in London next year.

Does anyone know if the process of buying in the U.K. is any different to that in Ireland, and if there are any extra costs I need to be aware of?

Thanks for any advice

You have to watch out for the freehold v leasehold thing which AFAIK is not really an issue in Ireland. Leasehold is very common with newer build in London.

The following looks like a good starting point (doesn't appear to be behind a paywall, but if it is any of the large highstreet banks will have guides to buying a house that go through step by step)


I'm assuming you'll be getting a mortgage in the UK? Just watch out, the mortgage market is a lot different over there, and varied between lenders. You usually have to pay an arrangement fee to the bank (at least if you want the best rates). The pricing can also be complex; the advertising rules are different so the headline rates can be a lot better than what you can actually get, depending on your circumstances.
The banks tend to have 'teaser' rates, and after the initial discount period the rate shoots up. Most people plan to switch once the discount period is up, but you can end up getting stuck on the high rate if your circumstances change.

There can be early repayment charges which can be quite punitive in some cases.

But overall the market is far more competitive than here - it's still possible to get a tracker mortgage there!

Thanks. Yes, planning to get a U.K. mortgage. We have a broker but as you say it’s very complicated. That’s very helpful as I did not know tracker rates were available here.

RedOnion said:

Just watch out, the mortgage market is a lot different over there,

Click to expand...

The most important difference of all is that banks will actually repossess your house if you don't pay your mortgage