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Free homebuying education · England

Buying your first home? Start here.

PropertySquares is a step-by-step learning guide for first-time buyers in England. It explains what happens, in what order, what decisions you will face and what can go wrong—from your first budget to collecting the keys.

Start with Step 1 Find my learning priorities

Free to use
No account
No sales calls
Progress stays on this device

An illustrated path through planning, budgeting, searching for a home, making an offer, signing contracts and receiving the keys — One connected learning journey—from the first questions to the front door.

What this is

Not property listings. Not a mortgage broker. Nothing to buy. PropertySquares teaches you how buying works so you can ask better questions, understand professional advice and make informed decisions.

Scope: buying a home in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland follow different processes.

The complete roadmap

Six phases. Forty-eight lessons. No missing middle.

Start before you browse, then follow the process through money, searching, offers, conveyancing, exchange and completion.

Phase 1

Picture Your Move

Start with the life you want, the places that could support it and a realistic timeline. This phase costs nothing, but it prevents expensive false starts later.

0/7 lessons reviewed

Phase 2

Sort Your Money & Mortgage

Turn savings, income and credit history into a workable buying budget, then finish with an Agreement in Principle.

0/10 lessons reviewed

Phase 3

House Hunt in Earnest

With your budget and AIP ready, narrow your areas, understand tenure and view homes with clear eyes.

0/8 lessons reviewed

Phase 4

Offer, Conveyancing & Survey

An accepted offer starts the longest and most fragile stretch. Build the legal, lending and survey evidence you need before committing.

0/11 lessons reviewed

Phase 5

Exchange of Contracts

Prepare carefully for the moment your purchase becomes legally binding, then organise the practical move.

0/7 lessons reviewed

Phase 6

Completion & Moving In

Follow the money and keys on completion day, then close out the legal and practical jobs of becoming an owner.

0/5 lessons reviewed

Two first-time buyers studying homebuying information together at their kitchen table — Learn together, at your own pace, before decisions become urgent.

How PropertySquares helps

Learn the process, then apply it.

Understand what happens next

Plain-English lessons put the English buying process in order and explain the terminology as it appears.

Test your understanding

Examples, knowledge checks and warnings expose common misconceptions before they become expensive mistakes.

Apply it to your decisions

Calculators and worksheets help you explore costs, priorities and trade-offs without selling you a product.

Practical learning tools

Put the numbers into context.

Use independent calculators for Stamp Duty, deposits, affordability, mortgage repayments, buying costs and rent versus buy. Every result shows its assumptions.

Explore all calculators Open the worksheets

Stamp DutyEstimate SDLT with current bands →Total cost of buyingSee the costs beyond your deposit →Mortgage repaymentsCompare monthly and lifetime cost →