The buying process

The right time to buy is different for everyone. But whatever your situation you need to be clear and confident about your financial position and how much you can afford.

When working out your budget, you need to know how much money you have for a deposit and to understand your credit score. You’ll also need to consider how you allow for typical additional costs such as a service charge.

Then it’s a good idea to get a mortgage offer in principle from a lender. This will give you confidence in how much you can actually borrow.

Buying a new-build home is a great option, especially if you’re a first-time buyer. New-build homes typically have lower maintenance costs and come with warranty periods. And they often feature integrated appliances, so you don’t need to buy washing machines, fridge and freezers.

Register your interest in one or more of our developments. We’ll then be in touch with more information.

Find the perfect home for you

Research favourite locations

Based on your personal priorities you should look at what different areas can offer you. For example, look into local schools, public transport, shops and parks or green spaces.

A great piece of advice is to visit the area at different times so you can see what it’s like at weekends or in the evening. Our new developments across the country offer everything from metropolitan apartments in the heart of city life, such as High Definition MediaCity in Salford Quays, to family homes in country villages, such as Brindley Green in West Midlands. And our sales teams can share their expert insights into each specific area to find the right home for you. 

And think about different buying options. Your deposit and mortgage are often much less if you buy with shared ownership or the First Homes scheme.

Explore our homes across the country 

Find your dream home

When looking for your new home, it’s good to decide what features are essential and what are “nice to have”. Deciding if you want a garden, or need a minimum number of bedrooms, is probably more important than whether there’s a utility room.

We have a huge range of new homes to suit all tastes and budgets, with floor plans, images and specifications enabling you to find your dream home.

Find the perfect home for you

Once you’ve found a home or development that appeals to you, simply register your interest. We’ll then be in touch with more detail. 

Many of our developments have stunning show homes for you to view. These give you a great way to see the quality of home you’ll be getting and check out the fixtures and finishes you can expect in your new home.

Lots of new-build homes are sold off-plan. This may mean there isn’t a show home to view. Instead we’ll guide you through a range of plans, galleries and virtual tours to give you the best idea of what the property has to offer.

Find out more about buying off-plan

Organise the legal things

Once you’ve found your perfect home with us, you may need to complete a shared ownership or First Homes application.

At this point a financial assessment with one of our panel brokers will confirm your affordability to progress with your First Homes or shared ownership sale. Our sales team will advise you. Whatever your purchase route, once a reservation deposit is paid your property is taken off the market. Once your full deposit has been paid, the purchase is legally binding.

You’ll need to instruct a solicitor to work on the legal side of things for you. Your solicitor will:

• check the lease, and speak to your mortgage lender and our solicitors
• carry out searches and anti-money laundering checks
• check the paperwork and your mortgage are in place to complete your purchase.

Using our recommended solicitors

We have a panel of experienced solicitors that we work with. They have first-hand knowledge of our developments and expertise in all the buying options we offer. Their knowledge saves everyone time and keeps your buying process on track.

When your home has been reserved, you will have a dedicated member of the sales progression team to manage the progression of your home from reservation through to exchange and completion.

Register your interest in one or more of our developments. We’ll then be in touch with more information about our recommended solicitors.

Move in

Our customer home experience team will contact you once a completion date has been agreed. We'll arrange a time to meet you to hand over the keys to your home on the day you move in.

You can expect your new home to have been professionally cleaned. A minor fault check (also known as 'snagging') will have been done by us. We don’t accept independent snagging lists. We'll discuss with you how we resolve any snags identified.

Prior to moving in we'll also organise a home demonstration to explain how everything in your new home works. We'll discuss details of warranties as well and provide you with your home user guide.

If you’ve bought with shared ownership, we’ll let you know about your relationship with Clarion as a landlord on your remaining share. If you want to find out about increasing your share at any point, take a look at our Staircasing page.

Did you know?

It can be cheaper to move earlier in the week. Most people tend to complete on their property on a Friday with plans to move in over the weekend. Moving home earlier in the week makes it cheaper to move and our team will be available to answer any first-day queries you may have.

On the day of completion we’ll meet you to give you the keys and welcome you to your new home. We're on hand for the next seven days to ensure you settle in. We'll also assist in troubleshooting any immediate issues you may come across.