buying house without going through estate agents

biglad

we are looking to purchase the house we currently rent. there is no real need for us to go through agents as see it as just wasting money

what are we likely to save and how is the best way to go about it

also what is an average figure to offer as % below the asking price

googler

Has the landlord currently got the house on the market? If so, he's the one who'll be paying his agent for selling, and you need to hire a solicitor to take care of your legal work relating to your purchase.

Estate Agents are typically paid by sellers in the UK, not buyers, so you, as a buyer, won't need, or need to pay, an EA, so there's no saving on EA fees.

What you offer below the asking price depends on the condition of the house, the market in your area, etc etc

The landlord's view on whether or not he's trying to sell with or without a sitting tenant (i.e. you) may have a bearing on how likely he is to sell it to you as well.

biglad

thanks for reply

no the house is not on the market, they have just suggested that they were thinking of offering it to us if we wanted to purchase

we get on well with landlord and think due to econimic situation they could do with the cash from the sale. as they will be saving on fees could this play to our advantage as we would have something to bargain with. we could also give her a little bit in cash or is this not advised

it makes sense to us to buy as we would actually be paying less than we do to rent and it gets us on the ladder

Catblue

biglad wrote: »

we could also give her a little bit in cash or is this not advised

I don't understand. Why would you want to give her some cash?

biglad

Catblue wrote: »

I don't understand. Why would you want to give her some cash?

was thinking if someone has lots on credit cards etc maybe 5k-10k could help out a lot and knock that off the price of the house or does this not make a blind bit of difference

thought there was tax etc from the money from mortgages

sorry if i sound really dim lol

Catblue

biglad wrote: »

was thinking if someone has lots on credit cards etc maybe 5k-10k could help out a lot and knock that off the price of the house or does this not make a blind bit of difference

thought there was tax etc from the money from mortgages

sorry if i sound really dim lol

Do not get involved in anything like that. Your landlady's finances are her business and you do not want to be dragged into anything fraudulent. Trust me.

You need to make this as simple as possible for you.

You've got enough on your plate with sorting out your deposit, arranging a mortgage, survey and solicitor.

biglad

ok thanks a lot for clearing that up

we are in quite a strong position as we have around 25% - 30% to put down on the property as deposit.

looks like need to get good soliciter and survey done

didnt realise it was fradulant, but thanks for clearing it up

Hippychick

You have debt mentioned in your signature though, this may affect your mortgage chances.

biglad

ah forgot to mention it is going to be my girlfriend getting the mortgage solely on her own due to my debt. we arent financially linked in anyway and she has an impecable credit rating and no debts