Putting in an offer on a repossession (help needed)

pukkapie

I went to view a repossessed house today and it's a property that I definately want to buy, however I'm not to sure about a cuouple of things:

1. the electric and gas wasn't working as the agent said it was switched off due to the repossession. She could not confirm if it was working but assumed it was as there is still some beds, furniture etc from the people who lived there. Is it normal for gas/electric/water to be switched off?

2. how much should I offer? I don't want to pay over the odds, but i don't want to loose the house. It is on the market for £109,950. I think there will be a lot of interest as it is a good buy and there have been viewings and enquiries made.

I am a first time buyer who has no credit problems and can lay down a £43,000 deposit.

thanks.

Cannon_Fodder

1) Yes. Being unoccupied, a leak could go unnoticed for days, which in the case of gas could be disastrous. Although its probably a more mundane reason, like the utility providers' bills have not been paid...

2) Research, research, research. Compare to equivalent properties that sold recently. Estimate the cost of works that need doing. Check a mortgage will be obtainable for the gap in funding, when you decide on a price that you are happy with.

pukkapie

I've put an offer in for £104,000 (which I expect to get rejected). I've been told by the EA that i have to meet their mortgage advisor to quailfy my offer with it being a repossession. The earliest they could fit me in was friday so I have a 2 day delay on my offer, which I'm not happy about. Is it likely that I could get my offer qualified over the phone? will i be charged for this meeting? (EA is Connells). I will not be taking a mortgage through them anyway.

Cannon_Fodder

Its only in part to qualify you, its mostly to try and sell you stuff.

Go and get your own mortgage, so by Friday you can say "here's the agreement in principal, no thanks to your products, now can I have the house please"...

princessamy86

You should be able to get your offer qualified over the phone, or get your mortgage advisor to ring the agents, confirm your AIP and then send them proof. The repo company we deal with won't actually even consider any offer until someone in the office has seen proof of funds with their own eyes.

shellstar

It's completely normal to have the utilities turned off in a repo.

I moved into ours on Monday and found that everything was just turned off at the meters. Flick of a switch or turn of the tap and hey presto. Had a slight problem with the electric as it is a key meter (changing it back next week) and I had to prove I wasn't the previous owner before they would give wipe down the debt. Took one phone call to the solicitor to fax over confirmation of completion and I had light by 8pm.

There is usually a lot of interest in repos but just offer what you can afford and what you think it is worth. They aren't always a 'bargain'. Mine certainly wasn't, but we bought it because we love it, know we won't be moving from it. Good luck!

pukkapie

Right, i visited the estate agents today to speak to the FA to quailfy my offer. He inevitably tried to sell me their mortgages but their best 5 year fixed worked out £1,500 more over 5 year fixed mortgage, which is the type that i want and i pointed this out to him. He said that they don't like to put offers through on repo's if people don't use their mortgage services because they can't guarantee that the other mortgage companies can complete the deal in 28 days. Anyway, i said that if he could get a deal for 104,000 i would use there services (as i was expecting to pay more anyway).

Am i right in saying that if my offer of 104,000 got accepted i could proceed with my own mortgage? surely the estate agents job is to get the highest price regardless of whether you take a mortgage through them?

urgent help is much appreicated, as i just want to buy the house and not fanny around with agents and advisors.

thanks.

johnson293

We completed on a Repo last month.

All our utilities were just switched off at the meters - that was gas and electric. Water was turned off at the stopcock under the kitchen sink.

The house we bought was also marketed at 109,950 when we made our offers - It had originally been up at 119,950, then reduced to 114,950, then down to 109,950.

My first offer was 95,000 which was rejected, as was my 2nd offer of 98,000. I went back with my final offer of 100,000 which was my final offer as it was the most we could afford (85,000 mortgage + 15% deposit).

The vendor asked (via the EA) if we could meet them half way at 105,000 which we couldn't -the next day, we were told they had accepted our offer of 100,000.

Once you have the offer accepted, remember that the property will remain 'on the market' and your accepted offer will be advertised, and you are liable to being gazumped up until exchange of contracts.

As for the mortgage, I had an offer in principal with my existing lender. I advised the vendors estate agent of this when I made my offers, and that was enough - they didn't request any proof.

I ended up taking another mortgage which was advised by the estate agent selling my house, which was a better deal than I had lined up myself.

MJ

pukkapie

cheers for the response.

the main point that i want to know is that if i manage to get an offer accepted, can i tell the EA and FA that i will not be using their mortgage services, even though i said i would if he could negotiate a good price? also do people think they EA will try and get another buyer if i say i will not be taking a mortgage through them?

princessamy86

Yes you can tell them you will not be using their services, it might be necessary to show them your AIP again but you are under no obligation to use them. It would be normal for them to need to see your AIP if you get an offer accepted, possibly even before the offer will be accepted as the repo company we deal with won't accept offers without proof of funds. Good luck!

pukkapie

AIP = Agreement In Principle?

If so they did photocopy my letter from Britannia that says how much they would lend me subject to a 10% deposit and credit scores etc. Is this what you mean?

thanks.