How can I find a good surveyor / solicitor for house purchase?

Procrastinator333

Hello all,

I will soon be putting in quite a few cheeky offers for properties and I'm just considering the next step if any of them actually say yes.

Could you advise me of how I go about finding a reputable surveyor and solicitor?

Will be buying in South East London - Caterham area - If anyone has any experience of any in that area I would be grateful to hear of any recommendations.

Thanks

Tiger_greeneyes

I used to live in Coulsdon and ran survey offices that dealt with the whole area so I've got some local experience. As for finding a reputable surveyor then the RICS website will be the best place for you to find a surveyor. If you're going to be getting a mortgage then your lender will have their own surveyors/panel surveyors who they'll have a good relationship with. If you want more than a basic valuation (the mortgage lenders own survey) done then let your lender know, they can ask their tried, tested and trusted surveyors contact you - if you have your own survey (homebuyers or building survey) done at the same time as the valuation, you'll save some money that way.

With solicitors, I usually ring around a few of them for quotes. Make sure you get the full price with everything accounted for - some solicitors will give you prices for the basics and add more on as time goes on. That makes them seem cheaper than others. Go for the one you have better instincts about. I've used the same solicitor for the last five or six properties and have an excellent relationship with her. Some solicitors can be a nightmare because you can never get hold of them - that doesn't put faith into your buyers/sellers. I'm lucky with my solicitor because she's always at the end of the phone or will email me straight back. That's what you need in a solicitor imho. I'd be happy to give you her contact no if you want to pm me.

Is this your first property?

Procrastinator333

Thanks for your helpful reply :T

Will run that query past the mortgage lender (HSBC) and keep your points regarding solicitors in mind :beer:


Yep this is going to be our first house :j
But in truth, the offers we are making are rather low, so not sure if we are going to get any takers.....

Any other house purchase tips would also be appreciated!

Thanks again :beer:

Tiger_greeneyes

Get to know the market, basically! I've been watching the local market for over a year, ever since we decided we were going to relocate here. I've watched houses come and go, drop in value etc. The one I've just bought has been on the market for a year and it's empty. The vendors (it's a probate) had dropped the value from £200k to £160k bit by bit and it was at £160k for a couple of months before I offered £130k. I had to increase to £133k but any more would have been stretching our finances and that's not something I'd recommend to anyone.

The next thing is to make your case as appealing as you can. I had a few things to take into consideration when I made my offer - the house was empty and had been for over a year. Winter's coming and no vendor wants the aggro of having a property sat empty at that time of year. By the time spring comes around and people start looking at buying again (spring is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year in the property market) it could be worth £20-30k less than it is now. We're in a brilliant position - in rented property - we only need to give one month's notice and only need a small mortgage.

Take your time. Don't just jump in at the first property you like because it might be a bargain. Look at as many properties as you can. If you don't find what you're looking for, wait a bit longer. Personally, I think this is a great market to buy in if you're wanting a home as opposed to an investment. You can be looking at properties above your price bracket (that always seems to be where your ideal home is!) and people are getting some cheeky offers accepted.

Three months ago we found a house that we liked and offered £17k below asking price. We ended up withdrawing from the purchase because we had been looking at other properties on rightmove etc and getting excited about them - once we examined our reasons for buying this other house, we came to the conclusion that we were buying it because there was nothing better on the market. Something better will always come along so don't buy for the sake of it, especially not in a falling market.

HTH!

Procrastinator333

Thanks for that :T We are trying to keep calm, and not rush in, but it can be difficult!
That is quite a discount you got there! Nice one! :beer:

My personal thought is if you get 25% ish off the top of the market (based on previous sale prices in the same street for similar houses) then you ain't going to be too far wrong.

Anyhow, thanks again!

Any other thought on the house buying process? Any pitfalls to watch out for?

sima_2

Not sure about surveyors. We have usually used the ones used by our mortgage lender.

On one house we wanted a full structural survey and it worked out cost effective to use the same survey company carrying out the mortgage valuation survey.

As for lawyers, you can look up lawyers on the law society web site by post code and are of law.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor.law

Phone around and negotiate - we were quoted prices that varied by a thousand pounds. Get written quotes with a break down of charges.

When you speak with them ask them if they are happy to communicate by email as well as by phone.

It is always a good idea to follow-up any phone conversation with an email confirming your understanding of the conversation.

Good luck

Tiger_greeneyes

As well as local comparable sales, if you have an account with rightmove, you'll be able to sign in and see all the sold prices in the last 8 years.

Things like vacant houses or houses that have been on the market for a long time will probably take a bigger drop in price. Having said that, you just don't know. You might find that the vendor has found a property they're desperate to buy and could give you a better price on theirs. Speak to the agents if you find a house you really like - at the end of the day, sales are very much down and they're grateful for any sale they can get and will help you all they can with negotiations.

Procrastinator333

Thanks for the posts guys, some useful tips :j
That is a great link for the solicitors :j