House Buying - Moneysaving Tips

gavinburgham

you should be able to find a list of good local solicitors from the forum - just not sure where. find someone yopu know who has a positive experience of using a particular solicitor and if the price is Ok then go with them - if they were good for your friend or family member then chances are they will be good for you as well.

shockedsaver

Hi all

Thanks for this thread! I am a first time buyer and have found it really helpful in explaining things!

I do have one question - I have had a survey done on the property that i am buying and it has thrown up some areas i am having checked out. The estate agent has asked for a copy of the survey but some of my friends who have also recently bought houses have advised me not to do this. Im not sure what to do, can anybody tell me if the agenst are entitled to a copy?

Thanks

tb1105

singleworking_parent wrote: »

Hi Im a single working parent and am looking to buy my own property instead of renting, however, i do have a bad credit history, but, my income is enough to allow me to afford £600 mortgage per month. Would anyone know where I would be able to obtain a 100% mortgage on my own

nowhere is doing 100% at the moment, there are some 90% around so you would still need 10% deposit xx

hometrader

shockedsaver wrote: »

Hi all

Thanks for this thread! I am a first time buyer and have found it really helpful in explaining things!

I do have one question - I have had a survey done on the property that i am buying and it has thrown up some areas i am having checked out. The estate agent has asked for a copy of the survey but some of my friends who have also recently bought houses have advised me not to do this. Im not sure what to do, can anybody tell me if the agenst are entitled to a copy?

Thanks

If you are looking to renegotiate the agreed price then they will need a copy of at least the relevant parts of the survey to prove that there is a problem with the property - otherwise you could just be making it up.

If you are just having further checks done but are still happy with your agreed price then there is no need for the agent to have your survey.

nollag2006

Not sure if it's already in here, but Chickmug's thread on offer strategy is excellent:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1907059

bonfire3

HI, we have our house on the market and are looking to buy a bigger place. Most of the houses we are interested in are on the market for 225,000. How much do you therefore think the owners are hoping to get, and with that in mind, what should our first offer be?
Thanks
S

Numberlock

1stimebuyer wrote: »

Hi all, this is my first post here and I'm just looking for a bit of advice. I've seen a house that I'd like to buy, it's on the market for £155k, it's been up for sale since the summer and the owner has moved abroad so it is currently empty. There is no chain and I'm a first time buyer with no chain, a deposit and a mortgage agreement. What do you think my opening offer should be? Thanks for your help..

It's over a month since your post so apologies if my input is too late. Basically, you are in an excellent position so keep that in mind when you put in an offer you feel is right for YOU. Do your research on Nethouseprices and also the House Prices page on the Nationwide website which will help in ascertaining the true value of the property and not what the EA/seller thinks it's worth.

Do not be afraid of offering a price well below the asking price. I offered a price which was a lot less than the vendor wanted. EA tried to pressure me into going higher. I refused and within two days they came back to me and accepted my offer. Never mind "cheeky or embarrassing" offers - a house is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. Good luck!

Numberlock

bonfire3 wrote: »

HI, we have our house on the market and are looking to buy a bigger place. Most of the houses we are interested in are on the market for 225,000. How much do you therefore think the owners are hoping to get, and with that in mind, what should our first offer be?
Thanks
S

It's easy to check the selling history of a property. I find the nethouseprices website very useful as well as the House Price page on Nationwide's website. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what the owners are hoping to get, it's what you can afford and are happy to pay. Don't be embarrassed to make an offer of at least 10%, 15%, off the asking price. UK house prices are still ridiculously over-valued. Do your research and make offers on several similar properties. Try not to focus on just one property.
I wish you well.

Alexh_3

I've recently got a mortgage and am heading towards completion, its been a bumpy road and here are my tips.
* Before starting get your credit report and correct any errors or wait till any issues have cleared.
* Make a budget and memorise the key figures, earnings, debt, estimated bills. Everyone asks for this information more than once (you think they'd write it down).
* Get a mortgage decision in principle first (ie apply for a mortgage) before you get too excited with viewings.
* 10% mortgages don't really exist, they are for the credit perfect people who've cleared all their debts before applying.
* Don't be afraid to walk away from a property, my partner and I 'fell in love' with 3 houses during our hunt and we didn't buy any of them. Other houses come along.
* Estate agents are full of crap, they'll tell you anything to get an offer. If possible ask them via email questions which are important to your offer.
* Moving house, Solicitors, Surveys, Mortgage arrangement, Stamp duty cost me £4k, budget for it from the outset.
* When you do make an offer on a property put a short deadline on it (2 days), a number of sellers have 'considered' my offer over a month and by that time other properties have come on to consider.

slosher

Hi all, would be appreciative of any advice you can give me, am a FTB with cash and with no house to sell and am looking at a house for asking price of £249.950 what would a good starting offer be? House has been on the market in 2008 and then back on again in Nov 09, they wanted £297000 for the house in 08 and now want £249.950.

Many thanks for your help.