Times have changed when it comes to finding property for sale in the UK. Not too long ago the only option was to walk down the high street and peer through the windows of estate agents, hoping to find a house for sale that would suit your families needs. Usually there would be only one picture of the property for sale and perhaps a small paragraph of information.
Today, with the advent of property websites, it has all changed. Now you are able to sit in the comfort of your own home and browse through many websites offering houses for sale, viewing many photographs and lots of detail.
Many of these websites are run by estate agents so the best course of action is to do as much research as possible when you initially find a house for sale, before you visit the estate agent. You are then armed with valuable information.
UK Property Listings
| Location | Property Type(Detached/Outbuildings /with land/etc) | No. of Beds | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | Spacious 2 bed terraced house in new development | 2 | £98k |
| Spalding | Detached 3 bed house for sale | 3 | £210k |
| York | Semi detached old style 3 bed house + character | 3 | £132k |
| Farnham | 3 bed semi in Farnham for sale. | 3 | £180k |
When trawling through property listings it can sometimes be a little overwhelming or daunting when you are presented with a huge range of houses, flats, plots, buildings and other property for sale.
The best thing to do is narrow down what you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a derelict house for sale or perhaps a property to renovate, don’t bother viewing anything else such as flats in London, plots of land for sale or commercial property.
These obviously don’t apply to you and will only serve to add to the myriad of potential choices when it comes to looking for a home.
UK Houses For Sale Online
When looking for houses online you are basically faced with two choices: View an estate agents website which will list their own properties or view a nationwide site which lists properties from al over the UK.
The internet has allowed the development of some huge property websites and estate agent companies that never existed beforehand, such as Zoopla or Rightmove. Although in some cases they do have high street branches, these massive sites depend on the web for almost all of their property sales.
If you find a house for sale that you are interested in it’s always a good idea to print out the details and photographs before you visit an actual estate agent office. That way you not only have the information on the property, you have also shown you have done your research and any photos the estate agent decides not to show will already be in your hands.
It’s also a very good idea to research the area surrounding the house for sale and decide of that area is a place you want to move to and live in. Simple information but it’s amazing the number of buyers that do not think of these basic steps when finding homes for sale in the UK.
Properties For Sale in the UK
There are differences in the way houses are bought and sold in the UK depending on the location of the property for sale. Scotland and England have their own laws regarding the selling of houses, land, plots and all other property sales, so be aware of any differences before you commit to the buying process.
The practice of “gazumping”, for example, is common practice in England but completely illegal in Scotland. Conversely in Scotland the “offers over” system means you do not know what other people are bidding, whereas in England you do.
Other regions such as Northern Ireland may have regional variations so do your research properly before making any commitment to buy any land or building.
The most common advice when finding properties for sale in the UK is take your time, narrow it down to the kind of property most suitable and find out about the local area and laws before buying.