House buying advice
Discussion
I am in the process of trying to find my first house. I am looking in an area that is fast moving, and with long gaps between properties being available. Would i be best of sorting out a solicitor now? In terms of mortgages, i worry that because of the long gaps between places being available that this will cause problems with applying now for them? (i'm in a good position for them with 40%+ deposit).
No harm in making contact, they should be able to give rough price lists for conveyancing, although the costs involved will (should) vary according to the complexity of the transaction and the property itself.
Solicitors will also need ID from you at some stage in any transaction, and so they might be willing to get that all sorted upfront. Ditto confirmation of funding (have you been given an offer of Mortgage in Principle? or even been givin some written confirmation of how much of a Mortgage you could expect to achieve from any lender?)
Have you got some recommendations of some Solicitors in your area? (Don't assume they're all as good as each other).
Solicitors will also need ID from you at some stage in any transaction, and so they might be willing to get that all sorted upfront. Ditto confirmation of funding (have you been given an offer of Mortgage in Principle? or even been givin some written confirmation of how much of a Mortgage you could expect to achieve from any lender?)
Have you got some recommendations of some Solicitors in your area? (Don't assume they're all as good as each other).
monthefish said:
No harm in making contact, they should be able to give rough price lists for conveyancing, although the costs involved will (should) vary according to the complexity of the transaction and the property itself.
Solicitors will also need ID from you at some stage in any transaction, and so they might be willing to get that all sorted upfront. Ditto confirmation of funding (have you been given an offer of Mortgage in Principle? or even been givin some written confirmation of how much of a Mortgage you could expect to achieve from any lender?)
Have you got some recommendations of some Solicitors in your area? (Don't assume they're all as good as each other).
I have not been given an offer of mortgage in principle. Should i do that? I haven't done so because of the fact it can be months between properties being available. I have a written amount from Natwest, though it's 5 months old now so not really of much use. Should i be doing something else here? As stated above, i have a large deposit, and do not foresee any problems getting a mortgage.Solicitors will also need ID from you at some stage in any transaction, and so they might be willing to get that all sorted upfront. Ditto confirmation of funding (have you been given an offer of Mortgage in Principle? or even been givin some written confirmation of how much of a Mortgage you could expect to achieve from any lender?)
Have you got some recommendations of some Solicitors in your area? (Don't assume they're all as good as each other).
In terms of a solicitor, i unfortunately do not have any good recommendations yet for the area. (does anyone know any? this if for Cardiff!).
Matt.. said:
I have not been given an offer of mortgage in principle. Should i do that? I haven't done so because of the fact it can be months between properties being available. I have a written amount from Natwest, though it's 5 months old now so not really of much use. Should i be doing something else here? As stated above, i have a large deposit, and do not foresee any problems getting a mortgage.
In terms of a solicitor, i unfortunately do not have any good recommendations yet for the area. (does anyone know any? this if for Cardiff!).
This is not a bad place to ask, but do you have any friends/family/colleagues that have used a Solicitor in the area?In terms of a solicitor, i unfortunately do not have any good recommendations yet for the area. (does anyone know any? this if for Cardiff!).
Even if they're not local (it helps but not essential), it is very important to find a good one, as a poor Solicitor could lose you, or at least significantly contribute to you losing, a house purchase or sale.
As for Mortgage in principle, without a property you're seriously interested in, perhaps not. Any application for a Mortgage will be dealt with on its own merits, however a recent Offer in Principle would 'grease the wheels' of any subsequent application.
First things first, make contact with a recommended Solicitor, and explain your situation and show them the written amount letter from Nat West (Solicitors, I think, are abliged to establish their clients wherewithall with regards to any purchase). Check solicitors fees, but don't focus too much on that (you're probably looking at around the £1k mark) and don't be tempted to go with the cheapest.
monthefish said:
This is not a bad place to ask, but do you have any friends/family/colleagues that have used a Solicitor in the area?
Yes i will be asking around, but someone here might also have a suggestion.No i will not just go for the cheapest. I would rather this all went smoothly and had no problems, and that's clearly more risky if i go with the cheapest option...
May be worth you seeing a mortgage broker. It adds an extra cost but they can offer advice on how to proceed and look after things with regards to lenders and other financial products you'll likely need. Best to go with recommendations and consult a couple of them before committing to their service. We've gone with one from country-wide as they are apparently incentivised by their employer rather than the lenders. They were also upfront about their fee. Initial consultations were free. Paid £99 when we were ready to make our mortgage application. The remaining £150 is paid upon completion of the sale. For that they act as a go between, between you and the lender they help you put together your information pack in readiness for your application and generally work to make sure everything goes smoothly with regards to your mortgage.
For us as first time buyers it makes some sense to have that extra reassurance.
For us as first time buyers it makes some sense to have that extra reassurance.
I put an offer in. I'm expecting to hear back soon 
I've been speaking to a few places for a mortgage (FD and Natwest [i bank with NW]). Both have similar offers of sub-3% fixed 5yr, which is good. FD would be really slow though, even getting a mortgage in principle is a couple of weeks, whereas NW would be far quicker. I have an agreement in principle from NW (this isn't necessarily who i'll go with though), so that should put me in an ok place i hope.
What is the situation with people the EA says are 'cash buyers'? Are they likely to actually be full cash buyers, or really just first time, no chain buyers?
I've been speaking to a few places for a mortgage (FD and Natwest [i bank with NW]). Both have similar offers of sub-3% fixed 5yr, which is good. FD would be really slow though, even getting a mortgage in principle is a couple of weeks, whereas NW would be far quicker. I have an agreement in principle from NW (this isn't necessarily who i'll go with though), so that should put me in an ok place i hope.
What is the situation with people the EA says are 'cash buyers'? Are they likely to actually be full cash buyers, or really just first time, no chain buyers?
Matt.. said:
I put an offer in. I'm expecting to hear back soon
I've been speaking to a few places for a mortgage (FD and Natwest [i bank with NW]). Both have similar offers of sub-3% fixed 5yr, which is good. FD would be really slow though, even getting a mortgage in principle is a couple of weeks, whereas NW would be far quicker. I have an agreement in principle from NW (this isn't necessarily who i'll go with though), so that should put me in an ok place i hope.
What is the situation with people the EA says are 'cash buyers'? Are they likely to actually be full cash buyers, or really just first time, no chain buyers?
Hi Matt,I've been speaking to a few places for a mortgage (FD and Natwest [i bank with NW]). Both have similar offers of sub-3% fixed 5yr, which is good. FD would be really slow though, even getting a mortgage in principle is a couple of weeks, whereas NW would be far quicker. I have an agreement in principle from NW (this isn't necessarily who i'll go with though), so that should put me in an ok place i hope.
What is the situation with people the EA says are 'cash buyers'? Are they likely to actually be full cash buyers, or really just first time, no chain buyers?
I'm a mortgage broker and can happily help you with your mortgage requirements, if needed.
Drop me a PM if you want a chat?
Liam
cash buyers seems to be open to interpretation.
We lost a house to supposed cash buyers who then strung the seller along taking ages to get a surveyor, then struggled to get a mortgage.
We were called several times during the transaction, offered to match the buyers offer but refused to gazump them. We got a better house in the end.
I think the sentence is used too freely nowadays.
Fingers crossed for you!
We lost a house to supposed cash buyers who then strung the seller along taking ages to get a surveyor, then struggled to get a mortgage.
We were called several times during the transaction, offered to match the buyers offer but refused to gazump them. We got a better house in the end.
I think the sentence is used too freely nowadays.
Fingers crossed for you!
Edited by Tino on Thursday 29th August 09:47
Congratulations!
For the second viewing take measurements for things you will need to buy fairly quickly when you move in:
Curtains/blinds/curtain poles?
Carpets?
Will your furniture fit?
Will you car fit in the garage/on the drive?
Then with all the measurements you can pre order stuff (wait until contracts have been exchanged) or just put them into Sketch up and plan your room layouts etc.
For the second viewing take measurements for things you will need to buy fairly quickly when you move in:
Curtains/blinds/curtain poles?
Carpets?
Will your furniture fit?
Will you car fit in the garage/on the drive?
Then with all the measurements you can pre order stuff (wait until contracts have been exchanged) or just put them into Sketch up and plan your room layouts etc.
Craikeybaby said:
Congratulations!
For the second viewing take measurements for things you will need to buy fairly quickly when you move in:
Curtains/blinds/curtain poles?
Carpets?
Will your furniture fit?
Will you car fit in the garage/on the drive?
Then with all the measurements you can pre order stuff (wait until contracts have been exchanged) or just put them into Sketch up and plan your room layouts etc.
It's a bit of a project, so it will be checking that it's all achievable, and working out more of what needs doing.For the second viewing take measurements for things you will need to buy fairly quickly when you move in:
Curtains/blinds/curtain poles?
Carpets?
Will your furniture fit?
Will you car fit in the garage/on the drive?
Then with all the measurements you can pre order stuff (wait until contracts have been exchanged) or just put them into Sketch up and plan your room layouts etc.
No money has been spent yet, and won't be until after this second viewing.
Matt.. said:
Offer accepted, and sending over the basic docs to the EA later today. Hopefully a good sign, but you never know!
I am doing another viewing of the property on Saturday just to confirm everything.
I am doing another viewing of the property on Saturday just to confirm everything.
Excellent.
Stay on top of the deal and make sure you know who is doing what & when they will do it by.
Don't worry if you don't know the process - that's why Solicitors and Estate Agents get paid - just ask lots of questions.
OP, Just picking up on a couple of points you have made about Cash Buyers and the house being a project.
Is the Estate Agent advertising the property as "Cash Buyers Only", if so this can mean that lenders will not provide a mortgage on the property.
This can be for various reasons including a state of disrepair, structural issues, type of construction, subsidence risk etc.
I hope I'm wrong and have misinterpreted but thought I'd mention it just in case.
Is the Estate Agent advertising the property as "Cash Buyers Only", if so this can mean that lenders will not provide a mortgage on the property.
This can be for various reasons including a state of disrepair, structural issues, type of construction, subsidence risk etc.
I hope I'm wrong and have misinterpreted but thought I'd mention it just in case.
Tino said:
cash buyers seems to be open to interpretation.
Maybe is in some areas, but it shouldn't be:A cash buyer is one who has all of the funds (liquid) to purchase the property in full.
I usually bring a bank statement along to a viewing to show the EA I'm genuine/honest.
Perhaps the term has evolved a bit like "full service history" has?
scenario8 said:
People throw the term around with abandon. Even other agents misuse it. Fortunately a question or two usually gets to the bottom of the situation regardless of what descriptions others chose to employ.
Yes, but not much use if that 'question or two' gets asked too late in the process....The question(s) would be asked the moment they became significant - and usually on occasions earlier in the process as well. When the position (of a bidder) needs to be clarified we're either satisfied (and report it to the client) or we're not (and the vendor can decide, perhaps with advice, how to proceed).
It can get murky when a chain below contains a "cash buyer" as there are practical limits to what can be done to fully research a chain. On top of that individuals may bend truths or downright mislead - and if questions aren't asked in the correct manner (from the perspective of the indiviudal being asked) some bidders can react badly. It can be a bit of a tightrope at times. But then those are problems across the board regardless of any (mis)use of the phrase "cash buyer".
It can get murky when a chain below contains a "cash buyer" as there are practical limits to what can be done to fully research a chain. On top of that individuals may bend truths or downright mislead - and if questions aren't asked in the correct manner (from the perspective of the indiviudal being asked) some bidders can react badly. It can be a bit of a tightrope at times. But then those are problems across the board regardless of any (mis)use of the phrase "cash buyer".
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