With the fantastic Budget announcement of the long-hoped for extension to the stamp duty land tax holiday, now is the time to make sure you take advantage of the initiative.

Our infographic provides a few pointers on how to get organised to ensure you beat the new deadline of 30 June 2021 if you are buying a property worth up to £500,000 or by 30 September 2021 for purchases up to £250,000.

Obviously, there are some stages in the process that you have little control over, but if you manage the steps that you can, it should help keep things on track and avoid unnecessary delays.

The first is to gather all the required documentation that your lender or solicitor may ask you for. From ID to bank statements, employment contracts to payslips, now is the time to start hunting them down. Most should be available electronically which will make them easier to source and send, but if not, try and find them and check how you should send them in.

Now is also the time to start thinking about who you want to use for your purchase. It's worth asking around to get recommendations for conveyancing solicitors, removals firms and even cleaners. The good ones will get booked up, so don't risk missing out or unnecessary delays by waiting too long to reserve their services.

It's important to communicate with all parties involved in your purchase - even more so if there's a chain. If just one person is not on board with the deadline, it could cause frustrating (and expensive) headaches later on in the process. And keep communicating. If there are delays on your side, let everyone know, so that adjustments can be made accordingly.

Finally, try to avoid leaving things until June (or September) as it's likely the key players will be very busy with other clients at that point and your case may be pushed back or added to a large pile of others hoping to beat the deadline.

If you go into this well prepared, then chances are you should be well placed to complete before the end of June or September.