House Buying - Moneysaving Tips

Arthurian

seanysean23 wrote: »

I think that when buying a house, one way in which you could potentially save money is by getting a surveyor to have a look at the house. This way you can see if there is anything that is likely to go wrong with the house either now or in a few years and can think about how much this would cost you. Surveyors can generally find things that most of us wont even notice. It may also mean that you can re-negotiate the price of the house if the surveyer finds faults with it. I personally have used CollierStevens,does anyone have any ideas of who else is good to use?

It's harder than you think to get a good survey done. They mostly seem to say "Well this might be a problem but you'd need to check with a roofer/damp proof specialist/wood and timber specialist/drainage expert/structural engineer." And they are often written like an essay, instead of giving clear and precise information. Many don't tell you how much repairs would cost. Or sometimes not how urgent repairs are. Googling around professional bodies for surveyors doesn't help, either - their websites are atrociously put together. The best I found on the web (no personal experience) is http://www.clearbuildingsurvey.co.uk/clearsurvey/viewStaticContent.do?page=sampleSurvey.html which shows exactly how surveys should be, in my opinion. Precise, clear photos of every defect, with how and when it should be repaired and at what cost. Why on earth every survey isn't like that, instead of vague essays, I don't know.

roofers

Buying a property is perhaps the single biggest investment made by a person during his lifetime. Thus, you need to exert due caution in buying a house, lest your precious savings goes down the drain. After zeroing in on the desired property, you still would have to wade through a formidable maze of tedious legalities and endless paperwork. Therefore, in order to cruise home in style, you ought to acquaint yourself with various legal jargons and other technicalities

yorkshire11

The best way to get an offer accepted is to appeal to a seller's emotions. Why? Because residential real estate transactions are put together -- and sometimes blow up -- over emotional hotbeds of insanity, lunacy and what often seems to be bipolar mood swings. So it helps if you can give the seller a reason to care about you.

eSomnus

Usually we will have a thought that I want to do this or that, only it is a feeling of emotion which have not very consider, thinking and doing are two side, we need to know if we are only thinking or we want doing.

Brial

Ah, thank you very much for these useful money saving tips for house buying. This may be helpful for me when i can afford a new house. Great.

FirstTimeBuyer2012_2

Hello,

I've just started saving seriously for a house and am looking for some advice.

After speaking to various people I've come up with a goal of 10K within a year for the deposit which as I have moved back in with my parents is tough but doable if I get the overtime in.

I'm just wondering about solicitors costs, fees, stamp duty, furnishings etc

How much extra would I be looking at to cover all the other costs? eeek scary stuff and very confusing!

Thanks

Sam

crazycatlady1984

heya,

well done on starting saving!

A lot of the below will depend on many things; however, first time buyers are exempt from stamp duty up to a certain level at the moment (I think it may be 250K), but this is only up until (I think) the end of 2012 - so if 2012 is your target, try and get it all concluded before then to avoid stamp duty!!

Conveyncing costs, you should shop around, but I think the cheapest is generally going to be about £800, with the average being roughly sbout £1,200.

Also depends on what you are looking for, as market is slow, a lot of housebuilders and new developments are doing all they can to sell and offering all kinds of incentives, with you pretty much just having to sort out mortgage and move straight in, with the property already decorated, fixtures fittings and appliances all fitted.

If you want a bit of advise on your saving, I saved like mad for a year and a half (during this time I changed jobs and OH became self employed so could not really budget/estimate, was just a case of save save save!). Once I had chosen the house etc, a few months ago and had mortgage arranged based on the deposit I had, I started saving for the other costs, (NB - its really easy to open up quick access savings accounts online for specific purposes) in individual accounts such as "conveyancing" "moving costs" (van hire, painting, DIY etc), "contingency" etc. If you plan out how much you can save per month, and speak to solictors about their fees, and you know how much work youre planning to do to a property, in the few months between deciding on a property and completion, you should be able to save the above costs over and above your desposit - in my opiion anyway!!

good luck!

First_Time_Buyer_Guru

Hi First Time Buyer 2012


Congratulations on starting your saving to get on the property ladder! Crazycatlady has hit the nail on the head...the real costs come in AFTER you've moved into your first home. Budget on around £600 for solicitors costs and £300-£500 or so for the survey (if you get one). The real cost of the little extras is all to do with the mortgage you get. Oftentimes first time buyer mortgages will have no set up fees but a higher interest rate.

Conversely, if you end up having to pay £900 as a one-off charge for the mortgage then you can expect a more competitive interest rate.

There's a good (our!) book on amazon called 'How To Save A Mortgage Deposit In Half The Time' you might be interested in.

Good luck with your saving

Lauram

AndrewSmith wrote: »

Thanks Doozergirl, must learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes, a point that I am sure Martin himself will gladly welcome

So, how to sucessfully negotiate with an agent or seller on the property you want, and how to get it for the price (or as near to it) that you want.

Selling or buying a house is ranked amongst one of the most stressful things that one will do throughout their lives. Think about it, you are talking about something that will be where your family memories and possibly members will be born and will bear special meaning to different people. Needless to say it is an immotive time at best.

I do not have all the answers, no-one does as it will vary from property to property, and person to person.

What I can offer however are some tips that I have picked up and still use from the 8 years I spent sat as a broker in an estate agency office.

1) Know Your Budget
Sounds obvious but there are buyers out there today who have no idea how much it is likely to cost them to buy a home, or what they can afford. Work out what you have coming in, and what you can afford to spend each month including all the household bills.

2) Know What You Can Borrow And It's Cost
This goes hand in hand with the above. If you aim at nothing, you will hit nothing. Visit or speak to a broker to establish what you are able to borrow, how it works, what's involved and how the costs will fit in with your monthly spending budget. This is the point at which you will know whether your plans are, in fact, do-able.

3) Get The Funding In Place
If taking a mortgage, get an agreement in principle or mortgage promise from the broker. This will be invaluable when you come to actually begin bidding on a property as you will be taken far more seriously by the agent and seller if your finances have already been agreed. Never forget though that an agreement in principle is only as good as the information you provide to obtain it. Be honest from the start and it will prove worthwhile. Make sure that you have the necessary funds inplace for the deposit, mortgage fees (survey etc) and, as I will move on to, the Legal fees.

4) Get 3 solicitors quotes and decide which one you will use in preparation
Get at least 3 solicitors quotes based on the figures and budget worked out with your broker. I always suggest 1 Local firm, 1 Distant firm, 1 online form. See how they compare but remember that cheap is not best. Paying a little more could make the difference between a swift trouble free transaction, or having a solicitor who leaves your case till 'tomorrow'. If yu have the solicitor firm in mind, it will benefit you again when bidding.

5) Make Yourself Known To The Agents
Call the agents on a regular basis. On the desk of every decent sales negotiator there will be a small index card box called his 'hot box'. This is a list of people, usually first time buyers who are looking for property and are ready to proceed. Your aim is to be at the front of his 'hot box'. This requires a certain amount of persistance on the part of you and your broker. Call the agents at least once if not twice a week. Ask if there are any new properties on their books, have any sales fallen through. Get your broker to call and tell the agents that you rmortgage has been approved (in principle) and you are now keenly looking to move ASAP. Don't however let your broker tell the agents how much you can afford. Keep the pressure on the agent to find you somewhere, once they know you are serious you will be the first one to get a call when they have a new instruction.

6) Finding The Property
Once you have found the property you like, never seem over eager to the agent initially. View it more than once at different times of the day. What seems like a quiet suburban street at mid-day can become a rush hour ratrun at 4.30. The first time you view will be with your heart, the second time will be with your wallet. On the second viewing make sure it is in the evening after the agent has closed. This will allow you to be unhurried and have the current owner on hand to get honest answers to the inevitable questions you will have. The remainder of this bit is, Im afraid, down to you as you are the only one who knows what you are looking for.

7) Pre Offer Information
Before considering what to offer you need to find out as much about the situation of the seller as possible. Find out if they have found a property. Is the chain above you complete and how long is it. How stable is the chain and how well established is it. Are there any other viewings booked or other offers on the table? Do you think there is any wor needing doing to it? Armed with this information you will then be able to present yur offer in the best possible light to the agent and seller. After all the name of the game is giving the seller what he wants, and that is allowing him to move upwards. It is not always about finances alone.

8) Submitting The Offer
There are many different schools of thought as to how much you should offer on a property. Never forget that the seller will have a level he needs to achieve to make his move possible, and that he will not have seen blistering increases in the value of his own property, which will reduce the available room for manouver.

This is where i personally take over for the buyer and begin submitting offers to the agent on their behalf. The offer must be presented confidently and with supporting information. Example:
" Mr & Mrs x have decided that the property 'x' is the one they wish to purchase. They have their funds in place with the mortgage agreed in principle, and are in a position to instruct a solicitor immediately upon the offer being accepted. They are in an excellent position and can close the chain above and get it moving swiftly. Bearing that in mind they wish to offer 'x' subject to the following conditions.
All future and current viewings are cancelled
The property is withdrawn from the open market immediately and they have exclusivity over it
The sold board goes up within 48 hours
They receive weekly updates on the progress of the chain.

An example of 'the norm' would be something like an asking price of £120,000 with your opening offers beginning at £105,000 - £108,000.

9) Know Your Limit
Always keep in mind the amount you are prepared to pay for the property. Increase your offers by small increments say £500-£1000 on a value as above. The worst they will say is no. This is the point where it is actually better to ask your broker to bid for you as they agent is then less likely to try to play any 'games' to increase the price. If you are offering yourself it is better to go into the agency office and place the offer in person. You are then more likely to actually witness the offer being put forward to the seller and there will be less likelyhood for mis-trust. It also helps build rapport with the agent.



If you are seen by the agent as serious, they will take you seriously. If you overcome the potential problems such as cost, mortgage etc before you even look, again you will be seen as serious about buying.

Build a relationship with the agent who is selling the property you wish to buy. You want your name to be at the forefront of his mind when he is on his way to value a property suitable. This way you may even get to view it before it goes to the open market.

Once the offer is accepted it is then down to you to fulfill your side of the deal. Instruct the solicitor without delay and get your broker to submit the full mortgage application without delay.

A good broker / solicitor will hold your hand until the day you move in.

This is not a definitive guide and I will add to it when i think of more ideas. However the basic model is something that I have used with all my clients and has, until now, proved very successful.

Hope this helps and apologies for the length of the post

Andy

Thanks a lot Andy!

sunshineband

crazycatlady1984 wrote: »

heya,

A lot of the below will depend on many things; however, first time buyers are exempt from stamp duty up to a certain level at the moment (I think it may be 250K), but this is only up until (I think) the end of 2012 - so if 2012 is your target, try and get it all concluded before then to avoid stamp duty!!

Conveyncing costs, you should shop around, but I think the cheapest is generally going to be about £800, with the average being roughly sbout £1,200.

good luck!

Also with regards to stamp duty last time I checked it is the end of this financial year (march 2012) so keep this in mind!

We are first time buyers and had 12.8k saved deposit took 10.8k of this and the rest covered our conveyancing costs £980, and surveyors fees of £725.