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A little help...
Idiophreak
Posts: 12,024 Forumite
Hi there,
Quite new to this board, so you'll have to go easy on me if I don't make myself clear
GF and I were looking to move out of home and find somewhere to rent in the coming months...one way or another, however, we've ended up looking at places to buy...
We don't have a deposit, so the only sensible way we can see to buy anything is to use one of the shared equity schemes from a a new-build. I know that people have strong feelings on that one, but if we can avoid the bashing, that would be nice
Anyway, we've identified two possible properties, both of which are the last available on their respective developments.
We've spoken to the two respective "independent mortgage advisers" and are going ahead today with a credit check from one of them, with a view to getting an agreement in principle for the more expensive of the two properties.
The more expensive one seems to be our favourite at the mo, but I'm a little concerned that the asking price of £215k seems a bit on the steep side (it's a 2 bed semi, allbeit in quite a good location)
We spoke to the woman about prices when we looked round, she said that most of them have sold for asking price and that as it's the last they'll probably expect the same. She said that if we wanted to negotiate, we should do it by asking for extra stuff in the property, rather than reducing the sale price.
We can afford the asking price, it's still less than renting a similar property, but not sure I'd feel comfortable in the current climate paying asking price on a new build...
Someone put a "very low" offer in on it Monday, but this was rejected.
So, my questions.
1) Was she bound to say there's not much room to move on price, as a) we're using their shared equity scheme and b) it's what sales people do. Is it worth offering, say, 200 anyway...Or is this going to be viewed as "very low" too?
2) What kind of extra stuff could we ask for?
She suggested turfing the garden, carpet and stamp duty (the house already includes the white goods).
Other things we've thought we might like are:
Garden shed.
Extended patio / path to shed
TV aerial (there's already cabling in for it)
Alarm (likewise, the cabling's there)
Are any of these likely? Are there any more things we should be asking for? We've not really got any savings at the moment, so anything that saves us *real money* when moving in would be a definite plus.
3) We're going to go back and look around the property again on Friday - is there a list somewhere of things that we should check, ask about, that kinda thing?
Me and the gf are both very green at this stuff, so don't want to miss anything, but time seems to be short if we want to secure either of these properties. I know it's not the end of the world if we don't, there will be more etc, I know the arguments for waiting and saving a deposit etc, but the location of this place really is second to none for us...
Anyway, thanks in advance for your help/comments.
Quite new to this board, so you'll have to go easy on me if I don't make myself clear
GF and I were looking to move out of home and find somewhere to rent in the coming months...one way or another, however, we've ended up looking at places to buy...
We don't have a deposit, so the only sensible way we can see to buy anything is to use one of the shared equity schemes from a a new-build. I know that people have strong feelings on that one, but if we can avoid the bashing, that would be nice
Anyway, we've identified two possible properties, both of which are the last available on their respective developments.
We've spoken to the two respective "independent mortgage advisers" and are going ahead today with a credit check from one of them, with a view to getting an agreement in principle for the more expensive of the two properties.
The more expensive one seems to be our favourite at the mo, but I'm a little concerned that the asking price of £215k seems a bit on the steep side (it's a 2 bed semi, allbeit in quite a good location)
We spoke to the woman about prices when we looked round, she said that most of them have sold for asking price and that as it's the last they'll probably expect the same. She said that if we wanted to negotiate, we should do it by asking for extra stuff in the property, rather than reducing the sale price.
We can afford the asking price, it's still less than renting a similar property, but not sure I'd feel comfortable in the current climate paying asking price on a new build...
Someone put a "very low" offer in on it Monday, but this was rejected.
So, my questions.
1) Was she bound to say there's not much room to move on price, as a) we're using their shared equity scheme and b) it's what sales people do. Is it worth offering, say, 200 anyway...Or is this going to be viewed as "very low" too?
2) What kind of extra stuff could we ask for?
She suggested turfing the garden, carpet and stamp duty (the house already includes the white goods).
Other things we've thought we might like are:
Garden shed.
Extended patio / path to shed
TV aerial (there's already cabling in for it)
Alarm (likewise, the cabling's there)
Are any of these likely? Are there any more things we should be asking for? We've not really got any savings at the moment, so anything that saves us *real money* when moving in would be a definite plus.
3) We're going to go back and look around the property again on Friday - is there a list somewhere of things that we should check, ask about, that kinda thing?
Me and the gf are both very green at this stuff, so don't want to miss anything, but time seems to be short if we want to secure either of these properties. I know it's not the end of the world if we don't, there will be more etc, I know the arguments for waiting and saving a deposit etc, but the location of this place really is second to none for us...
Anyway, thanks in advance for your help/comments.
0
Comments
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All the asking price stuff is just sales patter. The extras will just be a way of persuading you to part with your money and really you can do them yourself any time for minimal cost.
Why not decide what you think is a fair and reasonable price in the current market and make an offer. Don't get drawn on the extras etc - red herrings.
The worst they can say is no and dont be too quick to up your offer. They might phone back in a couple of days with a conter offer.
Decide your "walk away" price in advance and when the negotiation gets there do just that!!
And remeber these people are generally experienced sales people / negotiators. Just do your own research and ignore all the patter.0 -
PS New builds are well know for being over priced, especially if you pay the asking price!!0
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PS New builds are well know for being over priced, especially if you pay the asking price!!
Yeah, that's my concern, basically.
I've no doubt that the price will go higher than the asking at some point (it's already dropped 10k in asking price), but obviously I'd like to have as much chance of getting my money back as possible 0 -
Have you looked on the net for actual sold prices, eg nethouseprices.com to see what similar ones have actually sold for. You can use one of the house price indexes to then estimate todays market value from past sales. Or do the same with zoopla or mouseprice.
None of these are accurate but it will give you your own idea of market value.
Then it is down to negotiation - dont be afraid to stand your ground.
Good luck!!0 -
Idiophreak wrote: »time seems to be short if we want to secure either of these properties
That's exactly how they want you to feel, and it's a nonsense.
It's a well known sales strategy - make you feel like you must buy today or the deal will be withdrawn.
Sales numbers have fallen through the floor, especially for new builds. The "last available on their respective developments" is another well known tactic to make you believe that the development is popular and you have to buy now to avoid missing out.
Don't fall for it. You are being taken for a sucker. Go in as low as you feel comfortable and then wait for them to get back to you - don't chase them.poppy100 -
Idiophreak
The important thing to do is to plan ahead for all eventualities.
Will you be able to cover the mortgage payments if interest rates rise sharply in a few years' time? Will you be able to cover the mortgage payments if one of you loses your job, or if your GF gets pregnant? What will you do if your relationship splits up and you are in negative equity and can't sell?
There are many threads on here from people who have got stuck in some of these traps. See, for example http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1451817
It's fine to go ahead and buy now if you have anticipated the possible problems and planned for them, but it's very risky to go ahead just hoping that everything will turn out OK somehow.
Out of interest, what made you stop looking for somewhere to rent, if you haven't got a deposit yet?
Good luck,
LydiaDo you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.0 -
Idiophreak
The important thing to do is to plan ahead for all eventualities.
Will you be able to cover the mortgage payments if interest rates rise sharply in a few years' time? Will you be able to cover the mortgage payments if one of you loses your job, or if your GF gets pregnant? What will you do if your relationship splits up and you are in negative equity and can't sell?
There are many threads on here from people who have got stuck in some of these traps. See, for example http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1451817
It's fine to go ahead and buy now if you have anticipated the possible problems and planned for them, but it's very risky to go ahead just hoping that everything will turn out OK somehow.
Out of interest, what made you stop looking for somewhere to rent, if you haven't got a deposit yet?
Good luck,
Lydia
I'd like to think we've thought of a lot of stuff...Ran through our SOA with the mortgage advisor bloke (and have shown it to a number of other people for discussion) - it's quite comprehensive and pesimistic. At the end of the day, we have something like £700/month spare, even after "social" and "holiday savings" are taken out, so with a few months being careful when we move, we should be in quite a strong position for most of the eventualities you mention. We're both "young professional" a couple of years out of uni, so you'd like to think our wages will only go one way (gf is a teacher, so her wages are structured to rise, anyway). In 5 years time our combined income should be a good 10-15k more than it is now (depending on how much worse this recession gets, anyway), so hopefully we could absorb a rates rise.
(also, we'll take a 35yr mortgage with a view to regular overpayments to brind the actual term to 28-30 - then if push comes to shove we will drop the overpayments and be left with the smallest payments we could get, gives us more flexibility should anything crop up)
The thing about splitting up is a toughie - call me an optimist, but I've not really thought too much about that situation - but we've been together for going on 9 years, have survived 9 A-levels, 4 degrees (with around 200 miles between our unis
), my gf living in France for some time and a number of other traumas - so I'd like to think we're pretty solid at this point
You can never be 100% sure how life will turn out, so I guess you've just got to be sure you've covered as many potholes as you can, then jump on, enjoy the ride and hope for the best
The thing that stopped us looking for somewhere to rent, really, was one of those big signs up outside a development saying "move in today for £99" - having looked at a £1500 deposit on local properties, plus another £800 in rent up front, it seemed like a quick fix. So we went in and had a look, then we thought we'd better look at other places for comparison - it all snowballed a bit, but in a good way. And everyone I've spoken to seems to think I have my head screwed on right about the idea, so hopefully it will work out all right in the end.
I always wanted to buy straight off, whilst prices were rising, then got scared into accepting the idea of renting by all the doomsayers and their cold hard math, basically - but now I'm thinking more about affordability than total cost and looking at the longer-term picture in terms of buying a home and "years under out belt" - and I'm not too worried anymore
Thanks for your comments, too, poppy10 - I'll stick them in the melting pot.
Think they're quite genuine about them being the last left on the developments - unless they've really gone to the effort of buying cars to park outside every other house in the street The main one we're interested in is actually the site office at the mo, but as they're done selling them, it's time to flog the thing The property market around here also seems pretty stable, generally, prices are easing a little, but nothing like the standstill we're seeing elsewhere in the country.
That said, I think we're still going to start low (ish).
We'll offer around 10% off to start, I think (195/215) - which, to be fair, seems cheap looking around at other things locally. I'd love to end up around the nice round 200 mark, so that will be the aim.
Thanks again everyone for your input...Really appreciated.0 -
I am in a very similar position indeed sir,
Shared Equity has it's good points and bad points. We are looking at an 85%-15% Shared Equity Scheme rather than the 75%-25%. Reason why ... 25% is going to be a lot to pay back after 5/10 years time (£55k on a £215k house). You have to factor in how you are going to pay this back in 5/10 years time! Remortgage? Saved money etc? This is essential when considering the Shared Equity Scheme.
House Prices! We are looking at a new build, so new it's not even been built yet. It was originally valued (over 1 year ago) at £230k, however it has since dropped to £200k (about 3-4 months ago). We are looking to offer them £160k, which is very very low but you have to start somewhere.
Have a look around at other New Builds in the are and see how much they costs. We have found many cheaper than £200k!
Start low, make your intentions clear that you like the location and property. Let them know you have done some digging and that you are looking at other places due to the cheaper price. They will soon start contacting you!Why do I get the feeling the banks are trying to find new and more clever ways to screw us!
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Thanks for your thoughts, funkyspuke, was running numbers of how to save that cash just now - not too easy - and you presume if we're selling it will be to upgrade, so might end up having to add 50% onto the size of the mortgage, which would be a struggle, I think.
Anyway, the property we were favouring was sold today for asking price, so I guess we need to do some rethinking one way or another now...0 -
BummerIdiophreak wrote: »Anyway, the property we were favouring was sold today for asking price..
. Sorry to hear that! 0
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