Survey on a recently re-done flat?

EagerLearner

Hi - we're seeing the IFA tomorrow and decided we're having Nationwide do both the valuation and also the Homebuyers report. The surveyor will do both during the same visit.

As the property is leasehold, we will pay £300 p/a to the freeholders for mostly buildings insurance, and we will also get contents insurance (for which I will refer to this lovely site too!).

Thanks guys,

EagerLearner

clairehi

EagerLearner wrote:

Hi - we're seeing the IFA tomorrow and decided we're having Nationwide do both the valuation and also the Homebuyers report. The surveyor will do both during the same visit.

As the property is leasehold, we will pay £300 p/a to the freeholders for mostly buildings insurance, and we will also get contents insurance (for which I will refer to this lovely site too!).

Thanks guys,

EagerLearner

hello, sounds like its all coming along nicely, which is good!

whats this business about paying £300 p/a to the freeholder for mostly buildings insurance? seems unusual to get insurance through the freeholder and expensive as well? or is the money for ground rent and service charge?

BTW yes this site has good advice re buildings and contents insurance Ive managed to get £100 knocked off mine.

Doozergirl

clairehi wrote:

whats this business about paying £300 p/a to the freeholder for mostly buildings insurance? seems unusual to get insurance through the freeholder and expensive as well?

clairehi, it is a freeholders responsibility to organise buildings insurance. The buildings insurance on our freehold property works out at about £250 per flat per year, so £300 doesn't sound so unreasonable to me.

Jorgan_2

The may be a simple reason why the Estate Agent wouldn't let the OP see a copy of the previous buyers survey, the EA is probably protecting himself under the Property Misdiscriptions Act. Under the PMA, an EA is, amongst other things, liable for any ommissions they make. If you ask them a question, to which they know the answer and they skip over the issue without answering, they could be held liable.

For example, if the EA has a copy of a previous survey and a new buyer asks about the electrics & the EA says they are fine, but the survey on file states otherwise, they have committed an offence under the PMA. If the EA hasn't seen the survey and is asked a question about the electrics , its ok to say for them to say that a previous survey was done & the lender was happy with it, as long as the reason for the sale falling thru wasn't as a result of the electrics being dodgy.

Most EA's don't get to see the outcome of surveys or mortgage valuations, they are between the buyer & the lender.

clairehi

Oops - I stand corrected!

EagerLearner

Hello everyone,

Well, it's all go!

We signed the paperwork for the Nationwide mortgage last night (4.69%, 2 year fixed Noooo HLC at all - thanks Martin!) and we are hoping the survey & Homebuyers report will take place early next week. Incidentally, the last buyer had had no survey done, that was my misunderstanding I guess (or the EA made it sould like there had been one, but now says no, my mind is awash so I don't know...)

Now we just need to wait for that, and all going well (and having read Money Diet again), start looking at Mortgage protection insurance and level term assurance. It seems like a bit of a maze, but we'll get through it!

Our IFA said we could get the decreasing type of assurance for £15-£20 per month, covering the mortgage if one of us died. As this is the decreasing type, I will investigate the level term assurance as Martin recommends this is the cost is not too much more... any ideas and expertise are welcomed from fellow MSE's!

Thanks for your patience, we have been 'takers' to date but I hope that with time and other knowledge we have picked up we can give something back soon ;o)

EagerLearner(s)

Heth_2

EagerLearner wrote:

Hello everyone,



Our IFA said we could get the decreasing type of assurance for £15-£20 per month, covering the mortgage if one of us died. As this is the decreasing type, I will investigate the level term assurance as Martin recommends this is the cost is not too much more... any ideas and expertise are welcomed from fellow MSE's!



EagerLearner(s)

Check whether you can get this cheaper from somewhere else! We are paying about 8 pounds for decreasing life assurance for both of us with sainsburies. Of course your mortgage might be alot more than ours, but we definitely found that the ifas we have dealt with and abbey, who in the end we dealt with directly, were alot more expensive.

clairehi

EagerLearner wrote:

Hello everyone,

Well, it's all go!

We signed the paperwork for the Nationwide mortgage last night (4.69%, 2 year fixed Noooo HLC at all - thanks Martin!) and we are hoping the survey & Homebuyers report will take place early next week. Incidentally, the last buyer had had no survey done, that was my misunderstanding I guess (or the EA made it sould like there had been one, but now says no, my mind is awash so I don't know...)

Now we just need to wait for that, and all going well (and having read Money Diet again), start looking at Mortgage protection insurance and level term assurance. It seems like a bit of a maze, but we'll get through it!

Our IFA said we could get the decreasing type of assurance for £15-£20 per month, covering the mortgage if one of us died. As this is the decreasing type, I will investigate the level term assurance as Martin recommends this is the cost is not too much more... any ideas and expertise are welcomed from fellow MSE's!

Thanks for your patience, we have been 'takers' to date but I hope that with time and other knowledge we have picked up we can give something back soon ;o)

EagerLearner(s)

I would personally read the small print very carefully before taking out any "mortgage protection" policy - they have a bad reputation for being expensive and having so many exclusions they hardly ever pay out. JMO though.

Definitely shop around for term assurance though. level term doesnt cost much more, but in the early years does not make much of a difference to the level of cover you have.

EagerLearner

Thanks Clairehi & Heth - I will shop around some more, since last night haven't had much of a chance but will do over the weekend - £8 per month is much better! Won't look at the mortgage protection unless it's cheap and with a company that Martin recommends in the book.

Re: term assurance, should we just go for that first then, and later 'upgrade' to level term assurance?

Thanks!

EagerLearner

clairehi

EagerLearner wrote:

Thanks Clairehi & Heth - I will shop around some more, since last night haven't had much of a chance but will do over the weekend - £8 per month is much better! Won't look at the mortgage protection unless it's cheap and with a company that Martin recommends in the book.

Re: term assurance, should we just go for that first then, and later 'upgrade' to level term assurance?

Thanks!

EagerLearner

when youre buying life assurance, its to protect others once you have gone.

lets hope thats not for a while!

if you have dependents, you need to think about how much you need to leave for them.

if its just you and your partner and you both work, then having the mortgage paid off, plus any death benefits from your pension, maybe be sufficient.

if you have kids its a whole other can of tuna!

there is sensible advice elsewhere on this site. have a look (and talk to IFA) further questions, come back here.

C x