Your January 2025 home buying checklist

What did you resolve to do when the clocks struck midnight on 31st December 2024? Did you vow to move more, eat less and stop looking at social media so much? Or did you make a New Year resolution to move home?  

If 2025 is the year you upgrade, downsize, relocate or take the first step on the property ladder, here’s the only checklist you’ll need.  

Get your financial house in order: a property is arguably life’s most expensive purchase so those involved will request proof that you’re in a position to afford the home. A mortgage lender will need to see you have a regular wage large enough to cover the monthly repayments, will want evidence of a cash deposit, will examine your outgoings to ensure you’re not financially overcommitting yourself and will check your credit score for reassurance that you’re good at managing money.   

Be prepared with bank statements, evidence of a deposit, wage slips and three years’ of SA302 tax calculations if you’re self-employed. It will also help if you clear your overdraft, and reduce what’s owed on credit cards and personal loans.  

Check stamp duty rates: unless you find a home you love on 1st January, enjoy an unbelievably simple transaction and have luck on your side, most 2025 buyers will exchange on a purchase and pay a new rate of stamp duty applicable from 1st April 2025.   

The 2% threshold (applicable on the portion of a purchase from £125,001 to £250,000) is returning, while the stamp duty discount for first-timber buyers will drop from £425,000 to £300,000. Ask us to calculate how much stamp duty you might pay from 1st April.  

Know how much you can afford: if you’re brand new to the buying process, the key is to have a mortgage offer/decision in principle before you search for a property to buy. This is a document from a lender confirming they may be able to lend you a certain amount of money.  

The crucial loan figure is usually worked out by balancing the buyer’s income, credit history and any risk factors that may affect the borrower’s ability to make repayments in the future with their deposit amount/equity contribution, the buyer’s outgoings and current mortgage rates.  

Revisit your mortgage offer: if you have already fixed into a mortgage deal ahead of a purchase – something that can be done up to six months in advance – it may be possible to renegotiate the deal within that time frame if mortgage rates drop. 

Lower mortgage rates might be a possibility early in 2025, with a forecast Bank of England base rate reduction and a sense of competition among lenders potentially pushing fixed-term rates closer to 4%, or even lower for those with the biggest deposits. Your lender or financial adviser will be able to check what rates are available and advise on switching to a better deal.  

Put your own property on the market: if you have a property to sell in order to move, it makes sense to instruct an agent before you start the buying process. Ideally, your home should be under offer before you start viewing places to purchase.   

Short and simple chains are what movers prefer – if your current home isn’t on the market or under offer, you risk being snubbed in favour of buyers who are chain free or have already sold their home, subject to contracts.   

Register your requirements: while buyers automatically head to the portals to look for properties for sale, this is not the fastest or best way to find your dream purchase. Estate agents frequently deal with what’s known as ‘off market’ and ‘first-refusal’ sales but you’ll only know about these preferential deals if you’re on an estate agent’s books.  

When you register directly with an estate agent and pass upfront affordability checks, you are more likely to be offered viewings of new instructions before they’re listed online.   

Get in touch if you’d like to act on a New Year’s resolution to move home. You can register your buying requirements with us today – call or email and we’ll match you with properties for sale.