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monkey_writer
Posts: 180 Forumite
Hello,
We are looking at a repossession, thinking about putting in an offer.
We hope to do the conveyancing ourselves - both to save a bit of money, to make sure it's all done very thoroughly, and to learn about the property and area along the way.
Are there any particular complications brought about by dealing with a bank as opposed to dealing with a person?
My DIY conveyancing books don't cover this... But they do say that dealing with a ltd company is complicated and should be left to the experts.
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this? We'd be very grateful.
We are looking at a repossession, thinking about putting in an offer.
We hope to do the conveyancing ourselves - both to save a bit of money, to make sure it's all done very thoroughly, and to learn about the property and area along the way.
Are there any particular complications brought about by dealing with a bank as opposed to dealing with a person?
My DIY conveyancing books don't cover this... But they do say that dealing with a ltd company is complicated and should be left to the experts.
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this? We'd be very grateful.
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Comments
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Hmm are you getting a morgage? as some morgage companies will not allow this.Debt free and plan on staying that way!!!!0
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yes, we will be getting a mortgage, though we have a good sized deposit as well.0
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If you intend to do your own conveyancing and are taking out a mortgage then your lenders will insist on instructing a solicitor to act for them.
In these circumstances you may have little say in which solicitor they appoint and how much their fees are going to be. And don't forget, you will be paying the costs of the solicitor who acts for the lenders! In these circumstances what incentive is there for the solicitor to do the job at anything other than top rates? Their clients are the lenders but someone else is paying their fees!
The solicitor here will no doubt want to raise all the usual enquiries, carry out all the usual searches etc and, from a money saving point of view, there is a good chance that you will end up with a larger legal bill than if you did appoint a solicitor to act for you.
It is of course very unusual for lenders not to be happy for your solicitor to act for them as well.
In these circumstances it would be sensible for you to appoint a solicitor.
RiskAdverse1000 -
thanks Risk Adverse - I have heard of this problem and this will be one of my questions when going to lenders.
But has anyone had any problems stemming from conveyancing a property that is being sold by a bank due to a repossession. What particular problems might arise?0 -
If you are buying a property from lenders as 'mortgagees in possession' you have to anticipate that they will want you to exchange in double quick time and they will be reluctant to provide anything other than really basic information with the contract papers.
Lenders in these circumstances have a duty to sell the property for as much as possible. This means that they don't want a protracted sale in either a rising or a falling market.
In a falling market they could end up having to agree a price reduction if a buyer took their time in getting to exchange of contracts.
In a rising market they could end up exchanging contracts at less than the market value if the buyer delayed the transaction unreasonably.
You must also bear in mind that the lenders, not being individuals, will have no personal information about the property. They won't know of disputes with the neighbours, problems with the central heating, the planned development around the corner that the whole neighbourhood is against etc. This means a full survey is essential, along with tests of all the services, and you do need a better than usual knowledge of the local area. You might also want to plan to do some walking up and down the road at various times during the day (Saturday evenings?) to make sure there are no local noise problems for example.
Repossessions are often seen as bargains. Sometimes that is the case but you do have make sure that the property is not being sold cheap for other reasons!
RiskAdverse1000 -
You only need to appoint a solictor to hold the money released from your mortgage co. to be forwarded on completion.
This is the one part of DIY conveyancing that you cannot do youself - your mortgage co. will not release the money to you directly to pass on at exchange stage. Too much of a risk you might do a runner!!!! Phone around for quotes for this bit of the process - and don't pay a solicitor more than £70-£100 for it.
I have had a few friends who have done this. If you are buying without a mortgage you can do the whole process yourself.
Hope this helps.0 -
If monkey writer is going to do his own conveyancing then he won't have a solicitor acting for him!
If there is a mortgage involved then the lenders will instruct a solicitor to act for them. The solicitor won't be acting for monkey writer although he will be paying the solicitor's fees - and they will be more expensive than if he apppointed a solicitor to act for him (who the lenders would almost always be happy to act for them as well).
DIY conveyancing is certainly an option if there is no mortgage. If a lender is involved it may be good as a learning experience but not so good if your intention is to save money!
RiskAdverse1000 -
Any advice about the conveyencing process when you buy a repo. property with cash?
Having sold my house 6 months ago and moved into rented property, I have seen a house I like that was repossessed by the owner's lender a few months ago.
It is being advertised through a high street estate agent.
As I will be a 100% cash buyer, what sort of % discount should I offer on their 'offers around £180,000'? I want to offer low, but not so low that they dismiss it.
Presuamably the bank will look favourably on a cash buyer who has no mortgage holdups?
Is the conveyencing process more complicated than normal?0 -
As this is a money saving site and you are a 100% cash buyer.........
£125k.
They can only laugh!0 -
There are no conveyancing complications from the repo-ness. In fact lenders are easier to deal with, there's no chain, etc.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0
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