Buying · 2 min read
Buying a home from a private seller: a checklist
Buying from an owner rather than an agent? The same legal protections apply. Here’s what to check, what to ask and how to stay safe.
Buying directly from an owner can be friendlier and faster. The legal process, and your protection, comes from your own conveyancer, mortgage lender and survey, exactly as with an agent sale.
Before you view
- Get a mortgage agreement in principle so sellers take your enquiry seriously.
- Check the basics online: the EPC on GOV.UK, the council tax band, long-term flood risk on GOV.UK, and broadband and mobile coverage with Ofcom’s checker.
- Look up sold prices nearby so you know what the home is worth.
At the viewing
- Ask why they’re selling, how long they’ve lived there, and what work has been done (with certificates).
- Ask about the boiler’s age, the roof, damp, the neighbours and parking.
- For flats: lease length, service charge, ground rent and any planned major works.
- Go back a second time, at a different time of day.
Making an offer
Put your offer in writing with your funding, your position and your solicitor’s details. In England and Wales nothing is binding until exchange, for either side. In Scotland, offers go through your solicitor and become binding when missives are concluded.
Protect yourself
- Instruct your own solicitor or conveyancer. Never share one with the seller.
- Get a survey. A lender’s valuation is not a survey. In Scotland, read the Home Report and consider your own survey too.
- Your conveyancer runs searches and checks the title, boundaries, planning and building control.
- Never pay the seller directly. Deposits and purchase money go through solicitors.
- Beware bank-detail emails. Confirm any payment instruction by phone with your conveyancer on a number you already know.
Taxes to budget for
You may pay Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland, or Land Transaction Tax in Wales. Rates and reliefs change, so use the official calculator for your nation.
On OpenSell
Verify your mobile and send an enquiry from any listing. OpenSell follows up with you and the owner by phone. OpenSell verifies mobile numbers, not property ownership or listing details, so rely on your conveyancer for the legal checks.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Buying a home
- GOV.UK: Check long term flood risk
- GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax
- Revenue Scotland: LBTT
- Welsh Revenue Authority: LTT
Last reviewed . This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and can change; check with a solicitor or conveyancer about your own sale.