The Moving Experience

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The Buying Process

We know that the actual process of moving home is about more than just finding the right property. This is why we are committed to ensuring that from the moment you reserve one of our high-quality properties, the next steps of your exciting journey are seamless.

Money Matters

The first step on your journey with Dorchester Living is to speak to an Independent Financial Advisor, who will be able to check your finances and ensure you are in a position to proceed with the purchase of your selected property.

If you require a mortgage, now is also the time to speak to a mortgage advisor who will offer reassuring advice and talk you through your available mortgage options. You can be comforted in the knowledge that whichever financial advisor you choose to guide you through this process is bound by law – by the Financial Services Act – to provide the very best advice, and we will do whatever we can to ensure you are given the best options available.


You only need to agree a mortgage in principal at this point, and you can choose a different mortgage provider later.

1. Starting Your Journey

At this stage, you will have chosen your ideal home and agreed with your Sales Consultant the purchase price and length of time the property will be held off the market for you.

3. Arranging your Mortgage

Before your mortgage is agreed, your mortgage lender will have your property valued, and this survey is paid for in advance. Once this is done, you will be in a position to agree your mortgage.

To help you save time and to ensure your mortgage application goes as smoothly as possible, we have compiled a handy checklist of items that you may need to provide to your lender:

5. Legal Completion

As soon as your new home is ready, our solicitor will contact your solicitor, and completion must take place at an agreed time. If notice has been served, this must happen within 10 days. Your solicitor will send you a letter confirming any outstanding payments that need to be made prior to completion.

If you have taken out a mortgage on your new home, it is possible that your lender will want to make their own final inspection, and we will of course accommodate any such request. Once your payments have been finalised by the banks and the legal formalities are complete, that’s it – you are ready to move in to your fantastic new Dorchester Living home.

7. The Warranty

Your ten-year structural warranty will be with Premier Guarantee and has been developed for Dorchester Living new build homes.

premier guarantee for flawless moving experience
NHBC - Protection for homeowners
The Moving Experience
2. Instructing a Solicitor

The next step is for you to formally instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf. If you don’t already have one in mind, our Sales Consultants can recommend a panel of local solicitors.

Before you instruct your solicitor, we would recommend that you ask for a written estimate of all of their fees (including VAT) and specify that this includes all searches, land registry fees and stamp duty.

Once instructed, your solicitor will act on your behalf to ensure that any contractual requests are met within the time frames committed to on the reservation form. They will also be responsible for transferring the ownership of the property.

4. Progressing your Sale

Your Sales Consultant will be in regular contact with you to keep you up to date with the progress of your house purchase. However, as your solicitor acts for you, it is your responsibility to be in regular contact with them. If you have a related sale, your Sales Consultant will maintain contact with your selling agent throughout the sales process.

They will also be the integral contact between all solicitors and any other related sales contacts to advise on completion dates and building progress.

6. Occupation

Your Sales Consultant will be the person to give you the keys at a handover meeting, which will be pre-arranged with you to take place within a few days of legal completion. At the handover meeting, we will also talk you through the use of your appliances, plumbing etc. and will arrange for our build manager to visit seven days after you move in, to go through much of this detail again. After all, there is a lot to take in on this exciting day, so we want to ensure that nothing gets overlooked from your point of view.

We will take the meter readings with you and send these on to your suppliers. After the meeting, we will give you your handover file which contains information on all the important topics such as instructions for appliances, warranty certificates and contact details for us, customer services and, if applicable, your managing agents.

The Moving Experience
1. Starting Your Journey

At this stage, you will have chosen your ideal home and agreed with your Sales Consultant the purchase price and length of time the property will be held off the market for you.

2. Instructing a Solicitor

The next step is for you to formally instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf. If you don’t already have one in mind, our Sales Consultants can recommend a panel of local solicitors.

Before you instruct your solicitor, we would recommend that you ask for a written estimate of all of their fees (including VAT) and specify that this includes all searches, land registry fees and stamp duty.

Once instructed, your solicitor will act on your behalf to ensure that any contractual requests are met within the time frames committed to on the reservation form. They will also be responsible for transferring the ownership of the property.

3. Arranging your Mortgage

Before your mortgage is agreed, your mortgage lender will have your property valued, and this survey is paid for in advance. Once this is done, you will be in a position to agree your mortgage.

To help you save time and to ensure your mortgage application goes as smoothly as possible, we have compiled a handy checklist of items that you may need to provide to your lender:

4. Progressing your Sale

Your Sales Consultant will be in regular contact with you to keep you up to date with the progress of your house purchase. However, as your solicitor acts for you, it is your responsibility to be in regular contact with them. If you have a related sale, your Sales Consultant will maintain contact with your selling agent throughout the sales process.

They will also be the integral contact between all solicitors and any other related sales contacts to advise on completion dates and building progress.

5. Legal Completion

As soon as your new home is ready, our solicitor will contact your solicitor, and completion must take place at an agreed time. If notice has been served, this must happen within 10 days. Your solicitor will send you a letter confirming any outstanding payments that need to be made prior to completion.

If you have taken out a mortgage on your new home, it is possible that your lender will want to make their own final inspection, and we will of course accommodate any such request. Once your payments have been finalised by the banks and the legal formalities are complete, that’s it – you are ready to move in to your fantastic new Dorchester Living home.

6. Occupation

Your Sales Consultant will be the person to give you the keys at a handover meeting, which will be pre-arranged with you to take place within a few days of legal completion. At the handover meeting, we will also talk you through the use of your appliances, plumbing etc. and will arrange for our build manager to visit seven days after you move in, to go through much of this detail again. After all, there is a lot to take in on this exciting day, so we want to ensure that nothing gets overlooked from your point of view.

We will take the meter readings with you and send these on to your suppliers. After the meeting, we will give you your handover file which contains information on all the important topics such as instructions for appliances, warranty certificates and contact details for us, customer services and, if applicable, your managing agents.

7. The Warranty

Your ten-year structural warranty will be with Premier Guarantee and has been developed for Dorchester Living new build homes.

premier guarantee for flawless moving experience
NHBC - Protection for homeowners