House Buying Process

Speak to our experienced sales team who will be able to let you know of available plots and prices and they’ll ask you a few questions to ensure you’re in the best position to reserve the home of your choice.

On reservation we will require our filled in reservation form (which our team will provide) a Mortgage Agreement in Principal (AIP) which is obtained through your own mortgage advisor or via our recommended independent advisors and, a £1,000 refundable reservation fee* (or £500 refundable reservation fee if using the Government Help to Buy scheme).

Once your home is reserved it will be withdrawn from sale and will not be subject to any price increases.

After you have appointed your solicitor we’ll ask you to exchange contracts and pay a standard deposit of 10% of the purchase price, less the reservation fee already paid (5% if using Help to Buy) this is usually around 28 days after reservation.

* T&C’s apply ask sales advisor for more information.

We require £1,000 as a reservation fee on all properties bought without using the Government Help to Buy Scheme. If using the scheme we require a £500 reservation fee.

Should you cancel your reservation then Albemarle Homes will retain a proportion of the reservation fee to cover reasonable costs and expenses, and the rest of the balance will be returned. This fee is payable at any point after the day of reservation.

If you are purchasing under the Government Help to Buy scheme your reservation fee is 100 % refundable.

Your mortgage lender will have the property valued for mortgage purposes.

Please be aware that the value the lender puts on the property is a valuation for loan purposes and may not reflect the open market value of the house. If you order a lot of optional extras for your new home, the full value of these may not be reflected in the value the lender puts on the property.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable on all homes over a certain purchase price in England.  Reduced rates apply from 8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021. The amount you will have to pay will be based upon the selling price of your home.

Currently the scale charges (which apply regardless of whether you are buying your first home or have owned a property before) are as follows:

Nothing on the first £500,000 of the property price
5% on the next £425,000
10% on the next £575,000
12% on the rest (above £1.5 million)

After the expiry of the current “stamp duty holiday” from 1 April 2021, the amount of Stamp Duty which will be payable will depend on whether you are buying your first home or whether you have owned property before.

If you have owned property before, SDLT is payable on all homes with a purchase price of over £125,000. The scale of charges will be as follows;

Nothing on the first £125,000 of the property price
2% on the next £125,000
5% on the next £675,000
10% on the next £575,000
12% on the rest (above £1.5 million)

If you are a first time buyer in England, from 1 April 2021 you won’t pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £301,000 to £500,000.  A first time buyer is someone who has never owned freehold or leasehold interest in a dwelling before and who is purchasing their only or main residence.  Residential property anywhere in the world is counted when determining whether someone is a first-time buyer.  Where there are joint purchasers, all purchasers would need to be first time buyers.  The charges for first time buyers in England from April 2021 will be:

Nothing on the first £300,000 of the property price
5% on £301,000 to £500,000
Standard rates from £501,000 and above

NB – these figures are set by the Government, and are subject to change.