URGENT ADVICE PLS! am I being conned?!!

silvercar

The underwriters are still not happy to reinstate the offer until the certificate is provided!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Catch 22 situation now where the only option is for us to pay for the work on the drive BEFORE exchange of contracts and get the architect certificate in place 1st.

This is the same as having an offer subject to the certificate being issued. Either way of looking at it, you are not going to have a mortgage offer until the certificate is issued. As I said yesterday and no doubt your solicitor will emphasise, to exchange without the certificate carries a risk for you.

karenthemummy79

Yes they have made a reduction in the purchase price to recompense for part of the cost of the drive but we decided we would prefer to get the work done ourselves so it is done how we want it rather than the cheapest job possible.

My colleague has just phoned me and they really are putting this to the highest bodies possible withing the mortgage company so I am hopeful for the outcome that we need ie: mortgage offer with a condition that the architect certificate will be issued between exchange and completion.

If they wont do that then if they confirm to me that the only concern is the certificate then we will have no choice but to get the work done before exchange but I would need some kind of guarantee from the asset management company that while we are undergoing this process (sorting out the property for them from being unmortgagable to mortgagable) that they will not consider any other offers.

karenthemummy79

Silvercar - what do you suggest is the best way forward then?? To exchange (if we get an offer with a condition) or to get the work done at our expense before exchanging to make sure we get the certificate???

I appreciate your advice.

silvercar

I wouldn't risk exchanging without the mortgage offer with no conditions. Too much can go wrong. An inspection can go wrong, paperwork gets lost, delays occur. Your lender could suddenly decide to withdraw from a section of the mortgage market. Its just too risky to exchange without an unconditional mortgage offer.

Be satisified that no one else could get a mortgage offer if you can't, as all would require the appropriate certificate.

If you want to do the work before completion, you should ideally have something in writing that they will reimburse you if they don't sell to you.

I would rather risk doing the work and losing the cost of that if you don't end up buying it, than exchanging without a mortgage offer.

karenthemummy79

Thanks for that silvercar - I think I might be in agreement with you about the drive as it is going to cost £3-5k and we cant take it away if anything goes wrong!!! The other condition is getting a boiler installed and a kitchen sink to make the kitchen classed as 'habitable' - I think these things are more straight forward as the mortgage surveyor will just have to go back to the property to check they have been done and tick the box to proceed.

It is hard to know what to do - we have pushed for so long to exchange contracts that I think I am tempted to exchange as long as we have a long period between exchange and completion to rectify everything.

Tomorrow will be the decider though - If the lender wont reissue a mortgage offer with conditions then we will HAVE to do the work before exchange.

silvercar

Hold on.

I thought the only problem was the drive. If you also have to get a boiler in and a kitchen sink, this is getting out of hand.

On the kitchen sink, there is another thread on here, where someone needs a proper kitchen, not just a sink.

On the boiler, all new boiler installations have to be notified to gas safety and the council. If you use an engineer that is registered (RGI) then they still have to do the notification. If you use another competant person it will need inspecting.

I wouldn't want to exchange without a certificate. Now it looks like you have a lot of work to be completed, and registered and re-inspected before you get your mortgage offer. A lot of money at risk here. What is to stop you doing the work, then them selling at a higher price (now its a mortgeable property) and then possibly reimbursing you later?

Big risks here.

I would delay exchange until they have done the work. Then you get your mortgage offer, then you can exchange and complete with not much time between the two.

karenthemummy79

Kitchen sink - we confirmed and confirmed again with the surveyor that it is definately just the kitchen sink that he wants to see.

Boiler - No mention has been made of certificates but the surveyor again just wants to see that a boiler has been installed. (we are using a registered plumber)

The risk of them selling the house at a higher price once it is mortgagable is exactly why I think I want to exchange 1st!!

I dont think that getting the asset management company to get the work done is an option as they would get the cheapest possible job done and would then probably expect more for the house.

I know we are taking some huge risks but I really feel that I have done my homework and with working for the bank have had people speak to the actual surveyor to double check exactly what he wants to see in the house and I have met and spoken to the Building inspector and he has confirmed in writing to my solicitor that the drive is all he needs to see to issue his final certificate. I have also double checked with the architect that the councils cert is all he needs to issue his cert and I have also double checked that none of these people are going to be off on hols in the the next few weeks!!!

Like I said in a prev post, we are in a catch 22 situation!

GDB2222

Karen, I think you need to take a step back from this. As you know, other people were interested in the property and made an offer. Then, what they found out about the property made them withdraw that offer. You really need to consider whether they were right and you are wrong to be continuing. Every time a problem emerges, you think it is your job to try and sort it out, and you are going further and further out on a limb to try and do that.

Really, this is a matter for the asset management company to sort out. It is difficult for them, as they are at the opposite end of the country probably, and so it is hard for them to instruct builders, and so on. Also, they see you there dancing to their tune for them, so why should they bother? Finally, they probably see their role as realising the asset which is there, not the more entrepreneurial role of maximising its value.

I think you should prepare yourself to walk away from this deal, and then go back to the vendors and say what you want them to do. In my view, you would be absolutely mad to spend thousands of pounds on this property without a contract. Equally, you would be absolutely mad to bind yourself to buying this property without a cast-iron mortgage commitment, which means having all the bits of paper lined up. what you really need is for the asset management company to get all this sorted out at their expense. Very much second best would be some sort of option or conditional contract which will enable you to go ahead with the work but will not commit you to buying the property until you are sure that you have a mortgage in place. Then, at least, you are only risking the money you are spending and not the whole deposit (or worse!). If you are going to do all this work, the price you pay ought to reflect that cost plus something for the risk etc.

I am sorry that this is so negative, but you really need to have a reality check and think about whether you really prepared to take the very large risks involved in the course that you are considering.

franklee

GDB2222 wrote: »

Really, this is a matter for the asset management company to sort out. It is difficult for them, as they are at the opposite end of the country probably, and so it is hard for them to instruct builders, and so on. Also, they see you there dancing to their tune for them, so why should they bother? Finally, they probably see their role as realising the asset which is there, not the more entrepreneurial role of maximising its value.

I think you should prepare yourself to walk away from this deal, and then go back to the vendors and say what you want them to do. In my view, you would be absolutely mad to spend thousands of pounds on this property without a contract. Equally, you would be absolutely mad to bind yourself to buying this property without a cast-iron mortgage commitment, which means having all the bits of paper lined up. what you really need is for the asset management company to get all this sorted out at their expense. Very much second best would be some sort of option or conditional contract which will enable you to go ahead with the work but will not commit you to buying the property until you are sure that you have a mortgage in place. Then, at least, you are only risking the money you are spending and not the whole deposit (or worse!). If you are going to do all this work, the price you pay ought to reflect that cost plus something for the risk etc.

But is sorting things out something that the asset management company would do? Your first paragraph quoted above implies it possibly isn't.

Really what this property needs is a cash buyer. I hope the price Karen has agreed to pay fully reflects that the property is not mortgageable.

Karen I hope it works out but all in all it does seem pretty risky to me particularly as you haven't sold your current house either IIRC which will bring another set of costs.

karenthemummy79

Right another update...

My colleague phoned me this morning to say he had spoken last night to the head of underwriters who said that they cannot mortgage a property when a retrospective architect certificate is issued as they thought that it wouldnt cover the property for problems relating to the original build.

Cut a long story short, numerous phone calls to the architect and head of building control and the outcome is that the certificate DOES cover the build and we will actually be benefitting more because we will be covered for 6yrs from now whereas if the cert had been issued when the building was completed in 2004 then it would be due to expire next year!

With all that info in hand, I spoke to my colleague again who has managed to get the mortgage offer reinstated by the underwriter!!!! :j:j

So, the plan is, as soon as my solicitor gets a letter to confirm that the offer is in place (I dont think they are making the certificate a condition either and leaving it in my solicitors hands) then we will exchange contracts!!

We are going to get the drive done, boiler and sink fitted and then get all the relevant checks done for the mortgage. I know alot of your advice has suggested that this is very risky but I do think we are SO far down the line and that I do have an advantage that I work for the bank because today has proved that! I am confident that we shouldnt have any issues and actually feel excited about it all now!!

Franklee - as you said I also havent sold my house!! :eek: We have reduced the price and are hoping to get some interest but in 7wks we havent had a single viewing!!! I am not going to panic because if it doesnt sell within a few mths then we will just have to rent it out and the rent will cover the mortgage.

We are taking alot of risks but I really believe this house is worth it!!! It is a large 4bed detached with a large garden, the drive is 100ft long and the views are amazing!! It is a dream family home for us and to get it for under £145k is a steal!!! There are 3 other houses for sale at the mo that are very similar for £235k, £260k & £320k. We can afford to take a cut on the price of our house because of the low price of this one but at the same time I dont want to just give it away in a rush!!

Thanks everybody for your advice! Again, I am hoping to exchange tomorrow!! fingers crossed!