When to view properties?

KarrieBee

This is really a question for sellers but all input welcomed!
My H and I are looking to buy in early 2010. Currently have a 12% deposit but are hoping to increase this to 15% at least - currently saving £1000 a month.
We are new to the area we are renting in and so would like to begin viewing properties to get an idea of themarket, whether our budget is realistic etc. But - I don;t want to waste the vendors time by viewing when realistically we will not be looking to buy for another 4 -6 months. However if we saw somewhere we loved we do have the option to cash in some bonds early to allow us to buy.

Sorry for the ramble but basically is it acceptable to start viewing in advance of getting a mortgage AIP and being in a position to buy immediately?
Many thanks

poppysarah

You could view now. If you are planning on buying then it is good to get an idea of what the local area is like though - and what the houses are like on particular roads. Why not explore the area on foot first and find out which streets you like the feel of before you book viewings. It's a good way of spotting sale signs too.

See what the local EA say when you register with them too. Say you're just starting to look at buying and want to know what's in the area. Some will be ultra helpful and give you an idea of what roads are in your budget etc.

KarrieBee

Thanks for the fast response! That sounds like a good idea. We are looking over quite a large area so that should keep us busy for a while.

Bufger

myself and my OH picked areas on the map of the city we would like to live in thinking about the distance to both of our workplaces, local ammenities (sp?), bus routes etc etc. Then once we had decided on that we had a drive around some of these areas with a pen and some paper. we noted down the estate agents and roads of the houses with for sale signs we wanted to investigate. Looking at the type of build and the residents gives you agood idea on what the area is like.

We got it down to 3 different areas within about 2 months and found a few styles of houses we really wanted. We also had an auto vito list each (like i wouldnt look at a house if it didnt have a garden, she wouldnt look at a house if the kitchen was less than AxB in size.

Its fun to do which is the main part. You learn alot and feel more prepared for whats ahead. Happy hunting!

poppysarah

And you can set up rss feeds of rightmove data too to make it easy to see what's new every day.

lowtidesurf

A word of advice,

Drive/Walk down the streets you are looking at, at different times of the day. Morning, Midday, Evening, Night and try and drive this way home from work to see if the traffic is hettic at peak times.

My freinds just starting renting a house as they thought it was a nice area. However at night it was anarchy. Boyracers and chavs everywhere. Needless to say they moved very quickly. You would not have this option of moving so quickly if you purchased a house.

Hope this has helped

chickmug

You can start viewing whenever you want. Why worry about wasting vendors or agents time as everyone does this. But be careful as some EA's may ask a few searching questions about your position and proceedibilty - whether you are a FTB and do you have your finance in place. On this latter issue we would of done checks but most agents seem keen to get all viewers through the door even though many are a waste of the sellers time.

homehunter

KarrieBee wrote: »

This is really a question for sellers but all input welcomed!
My H and I are looking to buy in early 2010. Currently have a 12% deposit but are hoping to increase this to 15% at least - currently saving £1000 a month.
We are new to the area we are renting in and so would like to begin viewing properties to get an idea of themarket, whether our budget is realistic etc. But - I don;t want to waste the vendors time by viewing when realistically we will not be looking to buy for another 4 -6 months. However if we saw somewhere we loved we do have the option to cash in some bonds early to allow us to buy.

Sorry for the ramble but basically is it acceptable to start viewing in advance of getting a mortgage AIP and being in a position to buy immediately?
Many thanks

Nope, get out there and start looking! It will help you to realise what it is that you want, and what you'd be willing to compromise on. You'll get to know more about the values of properties you like, and you can watch them (perhaps on rightmove?) and see how long they remain on the market, and if they are still there next year, you'll know there's a deal to be done...It's all part of the fun

We have been looking since June/July 2008, and when things went downhill we decided to keep saving and see what happens...we saw a couple of places that we would have moved into that day but we weren't quite there in terms of a deposit. Now we are in the process of buying our first house - one very similar to the ones we missed out on! - valuation fine and mortgage offer made yesterday. We didn't have an AIP when we offered - our research meant that we knew we'd be able to get a mortgage, so we just sorted it the next day.