repossessions

before_hollywood · 23 March 2009 at 3:46PM

hi does anyone have any advice about buying a repossessed house? how much below asking price to offer etc

poppysarah · 23 March 2009 at 4:07PM

Loads less.

You need to be able to move quickly

princessamy86 · 23 March 2009 at 4:08PM

It can be very difficult buying a repo. There's no magic figure to offer, go and see it, do your homework and fix a price in your mind that you won't go over. Then I would offer around 10% below the price you want to pay. Bear in mind that most repo companies will require you to exchange within 28 days, and will probably want to advertise your offer and encourage gazumping right up to the exchange date! You may get gazumped even if you have paid out for survey etc and this money will be lost forever. Also, they attract a lot of attention as people perceive them as being "cheap", when in actual fact the repo company wants as much money as possible and will encourage any practices which will achieve this for them-no matter how much it will annoy a buyer! That said, they can be very good value depending on the area. It's buyer beware as well-check and test everything you can before you exchange!

before_hollywood · 23 March 2009 at 4:16PM

i can move in a flash, i'm a ftb the only issue i have is that i only have one day off when the banks are open, got offer in principle from bank already, they have said as soon as i get an offer accepted then book in to see them and thats all cool.

i'm happy-ish with the asking price subject to everything being as ok as i think it looks (its an ex rental place).

i want to drag the parents round it and get them to check it out and see if there is possibility for off street parking round the back.

ps86 the 10% you suggested is that 10% below what i want to pay or 10% below asking price?

kaznelson · 23 March 2009 at 4:17PM

Sorry for jumping in, but how long does a repo stay with the Estate Agent for before going to an auction? Is there a set timescale?

princessamy86 · 23 March 2009 at 5:21PM

10% below what you want to pay, leaves you some negotiating room. Defo take your parents round, they might spot something you didn't! Once you get your mortgage agreed get the survey done as fast as you can, pay for it there and then and emphasise that you want speed! I would definitely say get at least a homebuyers report, the mortgage lender should let you tag this on to the valuation report.

Kaznelson, the repo company we deal with has no set timescale, their emphasis is on pricing correctly and we have never had one which needed to go to auction. However, some companies send the properties direct to auction so it's a bit hit and miss!

p00hsticks · 23 March 2009 at 5:54PM

before_hollywood wrote: »

i can move in a flash, i'm a ftb the only issue i have is that i only have one day off when the banks are open, got offer in principle from bank already, they have said as soon as i get an offer accepted then book in to see them and thats all cool.

I think you might be being a bit naive/optimistic here. Even if you've got an offer in principle, the bank will want a survey and valuation on the specific property when you've made an offer. And you'll probably want a survey yourself, and need to get a solicitor to do all the conveyancing, and get the deposit in place. 28 days to exchange is really not very long to get everything in place - remember once you exchange you are committed to the purchase.

pipo · 23 March 2009 at 6:26PM

Hi all,

I was also pondering going the repo way, as me and OH are FTBs. My question is, where do you start looking for repossessed properties? I think i'm googling it all wrong, as all I get are auctioners.

Hope someone can point me in the right direction...

princessamy86 · 23 March 2009 at 6:31PM

Check all your local estate agents, a lot will go through there but there won't necessarily be a big neon sign saying which one is a repo. Why is it that you want to buy one pipo? They're not necessarily any cheaper and it's a lot of hassle. A lot also do go to auction.

before_hollywood · 23 March 2009 at 7:28PM

pipo- as a general guide alarm bells should ring when on the pics you notice tape with 'do not use' over anything electric, gas or water based?

the place i am looking at is 67k, should i be offering about 58k then? :eek:

before_hollywood · 23 March 2009 at 7:30PM

roughly how much is a survey? my lender wants one doing for their purpose which is £100-odd which i am fine and am aware of, how much roughly would one for my purpose be?

repossessions

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