Is this allowed?m Offer the seller £10k more than the 1st buyer?

poppysarah

Unless the property is utterly unqiue then there's another one out there.

Doozergirl

You're right, you don't sound that picky so therefore this place is not your 'dream' place because dreams involve being picky. If you can find your dream house that quickly, you will find another dream house just as quickly. It's a simple fact. You also sound pretty impulsive - only because I recognise that in myself and I still need to grow up in that area

If your search area is that wide and you're not being picky then all you are doing is ticking boxes - you've found somewhere that ticks the boxes - that someone else wants and therefore you want because someone else wants. You are going to do yourself over if you offer on this property.

I'm concerned by the LTV % that you aren't going to get, like silvercar, but even if you did, this is no time to be offering over asking price - especially if your dream house isn't one in a particular area of a particular town where houses only come up once in a blue moon.

Enjoy looking because this is the most exciting bit.

maz_student

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. They've all been useful :A

I think common sense (as well as 20 other Money Saving Expert members ) are telling me to stay at home and save up more money. I dont like making hurried decisions, either, so its best to learn all the ins-and-outs of house-buying before making such big decisions.

Chris2685

Good choice maz. Either stay home and save money, or if you really feel you need to, move out and rent for a while. If nothing else, it gives you a feel of what it is like to have to pay your own bills!

The current market is definitely a buyers market, and offering more than the asking price on a property would be pretty insane for anyone to do right now, unless the property is really cheap!

As others have said, 10k will not go very far in buying any property in central London anyway...I would actually go so far as to say I wouldn't advise you to buy a property unless you expect to still have 10k in the bank after all the fees and deposits have been paid! A 10k cushion is much nicer than living on the brink of negative equity I should imagine.

maz_student

Wickedkitten wrote:

Well, renting certainly wouldn't be a waste of money because right now with a 5% deposit, you are guaranteed to be in negative equity even before you end up getting your keys. Not only that but if you put your 10k into your deposit, solicitors fees, stamp duty, mortgage arrangement fees, and buying furniture,

Wickedkitten wrote:

what will you do if the boiler packs it in and you have to pay for a new one 2 weeks after you move in?

At least when you are renting, any maintenance that needs done will be completely out of your hands as it's the landlords shout to sort out any expensive repairs.

Definitely though if you are set on buying, pop into a couple of estate agents and tell them what you are wanting out of a flat, so they can start sending you property particulars.

^ Sorry, the formatting is messed up.

This is in no way a smart-(rear)!!! answer. I mean this in the most sincerest way possible.
I thought you can pay British Gas something like £15/month and have your boiler covered.
Im asking this so that I (and other house-buyer-wannabes) can learn for future reference

FoxtonsRIP

maz_student wrote: »

I want to do the following, and am asking here because I dont know whether its allowed or not...I want to put in an offer aswell, but I want to offer £10k more than the asking price
Does this happen a lot when it comes to house-buying?

!)

It used to happen quite a bit, past-tense. Now the opposite is de rigeur. Wait until the original sale falls through and then offer £20K less.

JayZed

I thought you can pay British Gas something like £15/month and have your boiler covered.

Yes, you can get cover for boiler repairs, but they won't actually buy you a new one if yours packs in!

Offering £10K above the asking price in this market is utter madness. I don't necessarily agree with the line that this is a bad to time buy, or at least to start thinking about buying, but you really need to do a lot more research into the whole issue before you even think about making an offer on anything. These forums are not a bad place to start that research.

Wickedkitten

maz_student wrote: »

This is in no way a smart-(rear)!!! answer. I mean this in the most sincerest way possible.
I thought you can pay British Gas something like £15/month and have your boiler covered.

They inspect it first

5.6 First Service
If you choose HomeCare 100™ to 400™ or HomeCare Flexi 100™ to 400™, we will inspect your gas central heating system or gas appliance (or both) to make sure they are safe and in good working order. Your British Gas service engineer will fill in a safety inspection checklist to show you what he or she has checked. We will normally carry out this service within 28 days of the beginning of your agreement where possible. However, as we give priority to breakdowns, it can be later if there is a lot of demand for our services. If the service reveals a problem, we may:

• tell you what work is needed and what it will cost you for that work to be done;
• offer you an agreement from the section ‘Gas services’, which will not include the parts causing the problem; or
• cancel the agreement and refund your money.

We will not carry out an First Service if we have already carried out an Annual Service at the property within the last 12 months.

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/maintenance-and-repair/terms-and-conditions.html

Edit: Also once you are on the agreement

Your Boiler:

• If we agree that your boiler is less than seven years old, we will provide a replacement boiler if it is not possible to repair it because, for example, spare parts are not available, or we decide that it would cost more to repair the boiler than to replace it with a suitable new boiler we have approved.
• If British Gas installed your boiler and it is less than 10 years old plus you have had a continuous agreement with us for the ten year period, we will provide a replacement boiler if it is not possible to repair it because, for example, spare parts are not available, or we decided that it would cost more to repair the boiler then to replace it with a suitable new boiler we have approved.
• If your boiler is seven years old or more, and it is not possible to repair it or you choose to replace it at any time (however old it is), as a central heating customer, you are entitled to a discount on the cost of installing a boiler if we replace it.

[*]

lil'H

i don't see anything wrong with buying now, but to be honest you really need to find out if you can get a mortgage for that much? I really can't see it being possible. I am buying a property for 250k at the moment, and have allocated £4000 for moving costs and fees on top of my deposit. How would you cover stamp duty etc?

Also my property had just come on the market at 300k when i put my offer in, offers 30-even 80k are being accepted reguarly at the moment, do not whatever you do offer over the asking price!


How secure is your job? You must be earning huge amounts to think you will get a mortgage for 200k, will you still be earning that if you loose your job?

spuds_2

Could you not flat share in one of your chosen areas for six months? It's a massive financial comittment to take on such a large mortgage in the current climate and you may well be in negative equity in 6 months time. Renting is only dead money if you could buy the same place with a mortgage for the same as you are paying in rent. I am guessing the rent on a £200k flat will be less than the mortgage payments on one.

It's lovely to own your own home - but be wary of rushing into such a big committment right now. London is a huge place and you don't seem like you are determined to be in one specific area - so don't worry, there will be other flats along that are just as nice. Also, I'm with the other posters, it would be madness to offer over the asking price. For one thing, your lender will not value it at over the asking price and you will not get a mortgage.