Second viewing and making an offer-advice needed please

scaredy_kat

Hi Guys,
This is my first time posting here and I'm just looking for a bit of advice on viewing houses and also putting an offer in. Firstly a bit of background, my boyfriend and I have been saving for a house deposit for a while. We weren't intending to start looking until after christmas, but I just happened to notice a house i really liked the look of has been reduced in price and is now in our price range. So we went to have a look around at the weekend and we both really love it.
However now we are not really sure how to proceed. We have worked out we have enough money for the deposit, fee's and surveys etc, but as of yet we have not seen anybody about getting a mortgage (is it just the agreement in principle we need at the moment?). We have an appointment with a mortgage advisor on wednesday afternoon and hopefully will be seeing our banks mortgage advisor later in the week too, but we have a second viewing tommorow night and I just feel we need to get an offer in asap, ie on wednesday morning. Would it be ok to do this without already having a mortgage agreed? and also should I just make the offer by ringing the estate agent or do I need a solicitor for this bit?
only a few more questions I promise, for the viewing there will be 5 of us looking around (both my parents and his dad, plus us) do you think the seller will think this is a bit rude? I just think our parents will be better at being critical about the property and therefore see any potential faults that we may have missed (blinded by love lol).
last one ) the property is advertised as offers in excess of £130,000. However approx £133000 would be the max we could afford, so were thinking of making an initial offer of about £127500. Do you think this would be too cheeky? Bearing in mind we have nothing to sell and that we know they really want to move asap.
Thanks for any help in advance )

poppysarah

You need to know how much mortgage you can get first. Else your offer is meaningless. If you offer 130k and you can only get £80k you're in for a disappointment.

How long has it been on the market? Is it *the*property of your dreams? how much mortgage do you think you can you get?

typeractive

I'd second what Poppy has said. It's always handy to know how long the property has been on the market for. Find out if the sellers are in a chain - if so, I'm sure they would be happy to get a wriggle on.

Seeing a mortgage advisor is well advised. Make sure you ask if they are whole of market. The one in the bank probably won't be as they will be paid to sell their banks' products.

As for the asking price, well I think this should be based upon the length of time the property has been on sale for, what prices have other houses in the area / similar size and features gone for? House Prices website may help give you some further information. Armed with a bit more info you will be in a position to negotiate. Are you a First Time Buyer? I'd assume so, otherwise you'd know more than me! heh If so, bare in mind this is a good position to be in if you can get the finances sorted. If things work out in your favour (on the market for a substantial period, sellers in a chain, other property selling for less) then I'd say you're in a position to offer less and negotiate up if need be. They can only say no. (Though don't blame me if it sells to someone else as you offered too low! :rotfl:)

Good luck - exciting times.

p.s. personally I think I would view with someone other than family (especially both sets of parents) do all the parents get on well? share the same views? The last thing you want is one set of parents saying "buy it", the other saying "run away from it". Well I guess this is just my personal opinion, so please feel free to ignore me if it does not apply. As other have said on here before, the first time you view a property is with your heart, the next time with your head. Be logical about it.

scaredy_kat

I think(hope) we should be ok with obtaining a mortgage (touch wood), as our credit history is ok and £130K is less than 3x our joint income. Still feel nervous though.
The property has been on the market since january and the sellers would like to be moved and settled by september. They have seen a couple of houses they like that are not part of a chain.
Its not the house of my dreams, in that the house of my dreams would have lots of land, stables and room for trillions of animals!! But it is definately the best obtainable house we have seen. Its in the area we want, meets all our other criteria and has a big garden and an extra bedroom thrown in for good measure. So yeh we would definately want to live there long term.

poppysarah

Deposit? How much you got?

scaredy_kat

We have £13000 deposit, but have access to a little bit more if we really need it.

Gettinglikemymother

You'd probably be well advised to wait a while - prices almost certainly have further to fall. However, if you're really set on it...

Have you checked nethouseprices to see what the house last sold for and when? And to see whether any similar houses have sold recently, and for how much? Very useful for working out what to offer - there is no substitute for your own research. Whatever the EA might tell you, do remember that asking prices are a very different animal from sold prices! Especially now.

Don't be too eager, or tell the EA or vendor that you love it. And don't be intimidated by 'offers in excess of' - they'll still very likely be expecting any offers to come in a good bit lower. While you can always up your offer, it's not half as easy to lower it.

Do take your parents - nobody will think it 'rude'. They'll very likely notice the boring but important things a FTB might miss. And please don't let yourself be seduced by a 'stylish' finish or 'dressing' - all the staging in the world is no substitute for e.g. plenty of storage space and and sound fundamentals.