first-time (cash) buyer needing help/advice

dannin

hi all, i'm a potential first-time buyer. i've managed to save a lot of money myself, and therefore with parents willing to lend me some money too, i would be looking at making a cash purchase on my own property. whilst not absolutely desperate to move out asap i have found a house i quite like listed at 130k - the limit of what i could afford would be in the region of 120k. having read a lot on here, and researched the house prices to some degree i do believe that its probably worth in the region of 125k or slightly less. i was considering offering 115k before going upto 120k. would i be taken seriously to ring up and offer this amount of cash & would offering cash make it more likely i may get an offer around this price accepted? - without needing a mortgage and therefore not seeing any mortgage advisors or solicitors i am a bit unsure whether its as easy as just putting in the cash offer, and whether there is anything else i could/should be doing at this stage

jonewer

You can put in an offer for whatever you feel like offering. Some will say you "dont want to insult the vendors" this is nonsense. Offer what you feel comfortable offering, but always start low. Its easy to increase an offer, not so easy to reduce it.

You will need to choose a solicitor to do the conveyancing also. Having one at the ready will make your offer appear genuine.

dannin

can i quickly have a bit more information on how solicitors work? having quickly searched it looks like costing me around £600 for conveyancing, etc? is this a case of when i have an offer accepted on a house, i then pay the solicitor & they go to survey it, etc? then if it falls through for whatever reason and i later have an offer accepted on another property then i pay them the same fee again to go & survey the 2nd property?

jonewer

The survey is seperate. You dont have to have one if its a cash offer but it might be wise.

Some sols do a no sale no fee thing, others dont. If you need another survey, you have to pay again!

dannin

so that £600 quote for instance. that would be paid after the offer is accepted, and is basically for what? signing the contracts, etc? if i decided against having a survey this would be all i'd need to put back for solicitors fees?

jonewer

Its for the conveyancing. All the legal stuff, land registry, etc...

Think carefully before you decide against having a survey. You could end up buying a house full of asbestos or with serious structural flaws that may make it dangerous and unsaleable in the future.

dannin

i'm not categorically stating that i will not have a survey, i'm just trying to work out my next move - so if i approached this solicitor before putting in my offer as you suggested what would i be to say? i am looking to buy a property in the near future and have received a quote for your conveyancing? how would this conversation then go? what would they say / give me to prove that they are then 'in place' before making my offer? sorry to sound so dumb, i've done a lot of research on the house prices & money-saving side - but being a cash buyer all the legal side, solicitors, etc are somewhat alien to me

baileysbattlebus

dannin wrote: »

so that £600 quote for instance. that would be paid after the offer is accepted, and is basically for what? signing the contracts, etc? if i decided against having a survey this would be all i'd need to put back for solicitors fees?

No it wouldn't normally be all - there are local authority searches, bankruptcy search and various other bits and pieces to be added. Plus stamp duty if applicable.

Your best bet is to go and see a solicitor and try and get a better idea of costs. My daughter bought about 3 years ago - and if I knock the stamp duty off the solicitor came to around £1000 - £1200. She was a first time buyer.

The bill is normally paid after completion not after the offer is accepted.

Chinkle

Ring a few solicitors, say you are about to put an offer on a house and can they give you a quote for conveyancing. The costs will be their fees plus dispensations: searches, money transfer fees etc. The solicitor may ask for some funds up front to cover the dispensations but their fees are normally paid on completion.

When you have an offered on a property accepted you just pass the contact details of your chosen solicitor to the estate agent and they'll get the paperwork moving.

You can and should organise a survey of the property directly with a surveyor - these fees will be dependent on the style and age of the property as well as the level of detail you want - with a full structural survey being the most comprehensive and expensive.

delmar39

As a cash buyer you're in a good position. When making the offer, state you're good position i.e. cash buyer, can move quickly, no chain.

Re solicitors as per the above really. Get some quotes and get them to send you a breakdown of costs. Until you're offer is accepted they won't be able to give you an exact figure as stamp duty will depend on final offer price. You're correct with fees excluding stamp duty of around £600 (ours are £575 inclusive).

Get the quotes, find one you're happy with, get your offer in and accepted, then instruct your solicitor to crack on with things.

Re valuation, normally you'd get one with a mortgage application. So in your case you need to think like a mortgage company and make sure what you're buying is sound.

Running_Horse

We had a cash buyer (thanks to mummy and daddy) who not only forced the price right down but then demanded another £20,000 off for £2,000 of works identified in the survey.

In the end we told her to get stuffed, came off the market to do the works, and sold to a couple with a mortgage for full asking price. It was a relief to no longer deal with a spoilt brat whose every other sentence included "I'm a first time cash buyer".

Yes you are in a strong position, but no you are not a god to be grovelled to. Most sellers will have a bottom line and the skill comes in finding it; but you cannot force someone to accept less than they can afford to sell for.