House Buying - Moneysaving Tips

Alex_Field

I would like to add that quite a few folk are being ripped off and they really need to think about buying a hip direct perhaps through their own solicitor along with the conveyance in a sort of package
IMHO the house buying/selling is getting very competitive and i advise 3 quotes
Here in Birmingham you should for example not pay ore than 299+vat for a full hip, Folk do need to be very alert in the current market as many are offering a free Hip but i would urge folk to read the small print

dunnomate

Don't move at all and stay put - you save loads of money !!!

cheers

dunnomate

dunnomate

These sort of sites never work !!!

cheers

dunnomate

dunnomate

Good advice Danish !

dolce_vita

This is the No.1 house-buying tip at the moment:

If you can wait a year or two, then wait.

If you really want to buy now-

Do not pay anywhere near what sellers are asking for.


You should make your starting offer at least 25% less than asking price.




To all you FTBs out there:

Don't worry about "missing the boat" cos there'll be another one along soon.

best wishes

IveSeenTheLight

dolce_vita wrote: »

This is the No.1 house-buying tip at the moment:
If you can wait a year or two, then wait.
If you really want to buy now-
Do not pay anywhere near what sellers are asking for.
You should make your starting offer at least 25% less than asking price.
To all you FTBs out there:
Don't worry about "missing the boat" cos there'll be another one along soon.
best wishes

Theres no need to hijack each thread with your opinion (not advice) on house prices. You may be right, but then have all the other "house prices are going to crash" brigade since 2002 been right.
If they missed the boat in 2002 then even if a crash occurs then they will have still missed that boat and I would doubt prices drop that far.

This thread is a sticky for House Buying - Moneysaving Tips
Time to re-quote some very good advice on this topic

izzysearch wrote:

Top Ten Tips for first time Buyers

Buying new house or a flat can be daunting with all the procedures involved and obviously the expenses. You have to consider a lot of things before you make a decision. The factors like the cost of moving, maintenance, regular payments, your affordability etc...Here are the top ten tips specially for first time buyers:

» Affordability - It is important that you determine the amount you are willing to spend not only on the property as a whole but also the monthly repayments. It is vital to keep up the repayments to avoid your house being repossessed. Also, you many want to consider decorating the house when you move in according to your needs and wants.

» Help at hand - Helping hands play an important part when buying a new home. You should take help from your parents or any experienced buyers when buying and taking up home mortgages.

» Budgeting - It is important that you take into account all the bills payable on regular basis once you move into your new home. These bills include council tax, gas & electricity bills, water bills, entertainment bills etc...Budgeting will help you organise your finance and assist you in repayments of your home mortgages.

» Council Tax Band - Check out the council tax band area you interested property falls in. This will help you estimate your monthly financial out-goings and help to budget perfectly and hence aid you in making your affordability decisions.

» Children Friendly - Look out for children friendly neighbourhoods. This will be very valuable in the near future when you decide sell your home. It will yield you healthy profits and your property will be valued because of the children friendly locality.

» Transport - If you travel to work, you might want to keep in mind the possible transport cost involved to and from work. The closer the home to your work, the less likely you would pay for local transport.

» Car Insurance - You may be thinking what has car insurance got to do with buying a home? Well when you decide to move out from your parents house with a private garage to a smaller property with on street parking, You will have to pay more for your insurance depending on where you park your car. This might affect your monthly budget and may also affect your repayments.

» Local Facilities - List the local facilities around your new home like shops, restaurants, community centre, sports clubs, parks and any other recreational facilities. Before making the final decision, make sure you scrutinise the local area and find out more about the facilities available near to your new home that can be easily accessible.

» Internet - I believe you use internet if you are reading this! Make sure you find out that you fall into the cable broadband area that can be affordable and fast speed.

» Commuting - Buying a property on the outer skirts of london can be really cheap, however consider the commuting cost which can be one of the biggest expenses. You might want to consider buying nearer to your work. However, buying expensive property near your work will save you valuable time and your precious money, It is a long term investment.


Danish

Hurdler

There's some really sound advice at the start of this Sticky - so thanks to all those who contributed the useful suggestions.
Hoping to put my offer in on Monday for when the vendor returns.
Nervous about putting it in - but also realise that it's the way the game is played - it's a starting point after all...
I have in mind a percentage/figure at which I want to settle - but I also have the capability of meeting the full asking price anyway.

I have a list of projects with a rough idea of how much they will cost to completely modernise the place... I will simply lop off projects until I reach the "must-do's" and then if there's an impasse... oh I dunno! Probably flip a coin!

dolce_vita

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Time to re-quote some very good advice on this topic

I agree, so here it is again.........:




This is the No.1 house-buying tip at the moment:

If you can wait a year or two, then wait.

If you really want to buy now-

Do not pay anywhere near what sellers are asking for.


You should make your starting offer at least 25% less than asking price.




To all you FTBs out there:

Don't worry about "missing the boat" cos there'll be another one along soon.

best wishes

lilfairy

Hi all.

Some great info at the start of this thread, thanks to all who have contributed.

Myself & bf have just found a house that we are about to put an ofer on, and would like to know what people think.

The house is up for £164,995. It was up for £172,000. I m not sure how much to offer for it.

Bf & family used to live next door to the house we are looking at, so know the sellers very well. I don't want to make an offer too low and offend the sellers.

What does everyone think?

Thanks :rolleyes:

Lilfairy.

Hurdler

Congrats Lilfairy - I started the new year doing exactly that!
Start at 10% below as a starting position and then work up. I made it very clear to the estate agents that was a starting position so that the vendor wouldn't get offended... and to be honest at some stage in their house buying livesm, they will most likely have done the same thing anyway!
In your mind have a stop figure (to allow for stuff you want to do if you get it) and try and stick to it.

For me - I had a figure of 7.5-10K below the already reduced asking price... and thankfully he caved in before I had to employ the "I'll think about it" tactics and not contact them again for a few days - that's the bit that takes real nerve!