This section gives you some important information that we hope you will find useful if you have not purchased a new home before. Many of our customers say the legal process can appear both daunting and mysterious, so here we have provided a step by step summary to take you through the purchase process. It is also a guide for the steps likely to be followed by your own legal advisor. If you are a first-time buyer we hope this section will be particularly helpful. If you have bought and sold one or more properties previously, you will probably be familiar with this, however it may prove a useful aide-memoire.

Reservation

When you reserve your new Pure home, you are given specific information about your new home and your sales advisor will go through a reservation checklist that ensures we supply each other with all the information necessary to proceed.

You complete a reservation form and pay a reservation fee that secures your house purchase. This fee means we will withdraw your chosen home from sale and it will not be subject to any price adjustment during the reservation period.

Your sales advisor discusses all aspects of your reservation including what the purchase includes and the level of commitment required from you to ensure your agreed ‘exchange of contracts’ deadline is met. This means that you may need to take immediate action on making mortgage and legal arrangements.

Upon reservation you will need to provide:

• Your reservation fee
• Contact details of your solicitor or conveyancer
• Contact details of your financial advisor or mortgage broker
• Contact details of your Estate Agent (if you have a home to sell)
• Photographic proof of your identity such as a passport, driving licence

Personalising your new home

If your home is at an early stage of construction you will be offered the opportunity to personalise it. This is done at ‘your choices/planning meeting’ (which often takes place on reservation). In this meeting, you can select your own style and colour of kitchen, including the units and worktops and bathroom tiling. We also offer a range of optional extras so you can tailor your home to your own individual needs and style.

We aim to offer as many of our customers as possible the opportunity to choose their own kitchens and bathroom tiling. To achieve this, we carefully plan the construction of our new homes so that kitchens are installed and bathrooms tiled in the final build stage. Some customers may reserve a home that is already built, in this case a kitchen will already have been fitted and the bathroom tiled.

You will need to order any optional extras within the timescales advised and pay for them at the time of your order. If you withdraw from the purchase we will be unable to provide you with a refund.

If you delay in choosing, ordering or paying for any extras, this could mean that the opportunity to personalise your home is missed.

Now you have reserved your new Pure Home you need to:

• Contact your solicitor as soon as possible to confirm that he/she is instructed to act on your behalf. Give him/her a copy of your reservation form containing the full purchase details of your new Pure Home
• Pay your solicitor the fees required to carry out the local authority searches
• Progress your mortgage application to a formal offer stage
• Ensure your solicitor is aware of the exchange of contracts deadline
• Ensure your solicitor has full details of any third parties involved in your purchase, for example your purchase may be dependent on the sale of your existing home

Mortgage and legal arrangements

Your reservation deposit secures your home only until the exchange of contracts deadline, which is initially for 28 days.  You will need to make your mortgage and legal arrangements promptly to ensure you meet this deadline.

To help your purchase process run smoothly and efficiently we would suggest that you use our recommended independent mortgage brokers.  These professionals works with us regularly so are familiar with our procedures and practices.  This can save a lot of time for both parties and helps ensure contract deadlines are met and your desired moving in date is achieved.

Independent mortgage brokers advise on current mortgage offers and the type of finance that bet suits your needs.

Our legal representatives will liaise directly with your solicitor to ensure everyone knows your exchange deadline so we can all works towards it.

Exchange of Contracts

This is when two identical contracts—one signed by Pure and the other by you are exchanged.  This legally commits us both to buying/selling your new home on the agreed terms.  Signing normally takes place when your solicitor is satisfied everything is in order and when you have your mortgage offer.  At this stage your deposit is paid and the balance is paid on legal completion.

Subject to the stage of construction, it may e some months before you are able to move in to your new home.  We will give you at least 10 working days notice of your moving in day.  If your home is already built, we can agree a fixed legal completion date on exchange of contracts.

Keeping you informed

Our aim is to keep you informed right from the minute you reserve your new home, until the day you move in.  The period between exchange of contracts and legal completion is a critical time and your sales advisor will be in regular contact with you.  Once you have settled in our Customer Care team will be in touch to introduce themselves.

Yours sales advisor will update you on the build progress of your new home, share news about the development and discuss any opportunities for you to come and view your home during its construction.  They will also advise on the anticipated completion timescale for your property.

We aim to keep you informed and give you as much information as we can at this stage, as we now this is a time when there are many things to organise before your move in day.  Do discuss your requirements with your sales advisor so they can keep you fully updated and informed.  It is also important that we understand every aspect of your situation so that your move runs smoothly and we are all working to the same expectations and timescales.  Regular two way communication is vital at this time.

Once our legal department has confirmed to your solicitor (who has then confirmed to you) that your new home is indeed finished and ready for legal completion and occupation, you can begin making arrangements for your move.

Behind the Scenes

Mortgage and legal arrangements

Your solicitor will receive from our legal representatives

• The Contract
• Details of the title of your new home
• A copy of the Consumer Coe for Home Builders
• A schedule of all the information that he/she might need in order to process the purchase of your new home

During the purchasing process your solicitor will:

• Liaise with Pure’s legal representatives to raise any queries on your behalf about your purchase and the development
• Discuss with you any mortgage conditions
• Go through the contract papers and search results—you may received this in a written report
• Ask you to sign legally binding contract documents in readiness for exchange of contracts
• When instructed by you and within the time period agreed, exchange contracts with Pure Homes legal representatives and arrange for the deposit to be paid (usually 10% of the contract price)
• Arrange for you to sign the transfer
• Arrange for your purchase to be registered with the Land Registry

Exchange of Contracts

In readiness for exchange of contracts your solicitor must:

• Hold a signed contract
• Have your cleared deposit funds, usually for 10% of the contract price
• You must hold a mortgage offer, or have other means to pay the whole of the contract price
• If you have a property to sell, then your purchasers (and any others within the chain) must be ready and able to exchange contracts

If there are any problems meeting deadlines please tell lus immediately for we may be able to help

Please be aware that failure to exchange contracts within the agreed timescales brings our reservation agreement to an end and we may have to place the property back on the market.  You will also forfeit your reservation fee

In readiness for completion your solicitor will:

• Arrange for you to sign the Transfer and Mortgage Deed (if required)
• On completion provide a statement setting out how much money you require and when it is to be paid to ensure completion takes place.  This sum will include stamp duty, your solicitor’s fees , our document fee and any other associated legal charges
• Send a form report on title to your mortgage provider requesting the mortgage advance