Buying a house can be one of the most stressful experiences in life. The last thing you want is to end up unhappy or uncertain because of problems over the house buying process or money. You have to get it right.

STEP 1: decide what you can afford

If what you can afford depends on what your present house is worth, ask us for a free opinion.

are members of networks of solicitors and estate agents, so have access to the most up-to-date data on prices obtained for a large proportion of the properties sold in the local area. We are therefore better able to advise on prices.

Mortgages

There is such a variety of mortgages available now that, if you need one, we recommend you seek advice from a fee-based mortgage broker or adviser on the best one for your circumstances. Advice should cover not just what you can afford to borrow, but repayment methods, interest-only mortgages, early repayment options, interest rate alternatives, contributions to expenses, insurance, charges, tax and so forth.

STEP 2: start looking

We can tell you all the local sources of information on properties for sale. If a property is UNDER OFFER or SOLD SUBJECT TO CONCLUDED MISSIVES there is a 5-10% chance that the missives will not be concluded. Until then, there is no contract into which both parties are locked. Don't bother contacting the agents unless you are desperately keen, or have grounds for believing that the sale is going to fall through.

Location, location, location

We can point out possible disadvantages or advantages of a particular area, including schools, amenities, and reputation

STEP 3: noting interest

If you want to have the chance to offer for a house before it is sold, note interest. Most solicitors and some non-solicitor estate agents will not then sell before you have had a chance to make an offer. It is best done through a solicitor, for the selling agent will then be reasonably assured that you are serious, and can ascertain from the solicitor if and when you are ready to offer. Bennetts will note interest without charge.

STEP 4: deciding about surveys and valuations

If you are planning on a mortgage, your lender will need a professional valuation if your offer is accepted. If you don't need a mortgage, you should obtain a valuation unless you

have, or have private access to expertise in buildings, or the property is less than ten years old and was constructed by a reputable builder.

Whether you commission a valuation and survey before you offer , or make your offer subject to your being satisfied with them after the offer (usually within a few days) is up to you. An offer which is subject to survey can be renegotiated if the survey discloses a problem in the building which you could not have been aware of. We cannot continue to act for you if you want to change your offer because the valuation is lower than you offered or expected. An offer subject to valuation can be renegotiated if the valuation turns out to be lower than the price you have offered. An offer with these conditions will be less attractive to a seller than "clean" offers which have no such conditions.

There are two types of report which can be commissioned from a Chartered Surveyor:

• What is commonly called the "Scheme I" report is a basic valuation, which includes a brief report and opinion. You have no comeback if it omits to mention a defect in the building, but it is all a mortgage lender will need.

• The "Scheme II" report costs twice as much, and is more detailed, with the surveyor having to answer a lot of hard questions such as the condition of the roof, preferably inspected from inside the roof space. If the surveyor omits to mention something significant, such as that the windows do not conform to local building control requirements, you may be entitled to compensation.

We recommend that we rather than your mortgage lender (or worse still, the sellers estate agent) instruct the survey. We then have a direct line of communication with the surveyor and can ask any questions to which you may want answers before you offer. The surveyors we instruct will reproduce their valuation on your chosen lender's forms once you have made a successful offer, without charge.

STEP 5: deciding what to offer

Before you make an offer, we will assess all the information available about the property for which you are offering, including the likely competition, and guide you as to what price to pay, depending on your personal circumstances and how keen you are to buy.

An offer subject to your getting a mortgage , or subject to you concluding a bargain for the sale of your previous home may be ignored if there are other offers which do not have such conditions.

Where offers which are just over the stamp duty thresholds of £125,000(1%) £250,000(3%) and £500,000(4%) it may be possible to allocate a realistic part of the price to the contents ("Moveables") to bring the price for the buildings/s (the "Heritage") within the lower tax band.

STEP 6: making the offer

Offers have to be made and accepted in writing. Where there are two or more notes of interest, a closing date may be set. We will discuss with you the timing of an offer if no closing date is yet set, the entry date, what extras are to be included,

and any special conditions. Solicitors insert many clauses of a technical nature in offers to protect their clients, and then may negotiate until they are agreed with the sellers without having to consult their clients.

STEP 7: concluding the bargain

We make the offer for you and can conclude a contract even though you have signed nothing. If the sellers agent tells us that your offer is to be accepted, that does not mean that the house is yours, yet. Our offer will have had many conditions to it, and the selling solicitors will usually provide a "qualified acceptance" which does not agree to everything contained in our offer. This exchange of letters, which can sometimes amount to perhaps four or five letters in all, is known as the "missives". Solicitors can usually sort out their various conditions and qualifications between them, but we may need to refer to you for specific instructions.

The sooner we conclude missives, the sooner you will know that you have a contract for the purchase of your house. Until you have reached that stage, either party can pull out without penalty. However, our professional guide lines do not permit us to renegotiate the contract after an offer has been made unless such a renegotiation was envisaged in our offer (e.g. that it was subject to survey or valuation) or you could not reasonably have known about something (such as that the titles do not disclose a right of access to the garage along the lane at the foot of the garden).

Where the purchaser is slow to conclude the bargain, sellers may entertain fresh inquiries and show a property again. In such circumstances it would be open to the sellers to set a deadline for the bargain to be concluded, failing which they will withdraw their acceptance and accept another offer.

STEP 8: protecting your property and loved ones

Bennetts can provide unbiased guidance about life assurance, rather than a sales pitch from someone who is thinking of commission he will get for selling you a policy.

You don't have to take the buildings and contents insurance offered by your mortgage lender, if you have one.

safeguarding your interests