2nd viewing with owners this evening - what questions to ask?

Chris_Quartly

Hi there, basically we're having a second viewing of a house this evening.

They have had 2 offers on places they want to buy accepted so I am assuming they are keen to sell, they have also said that they will pay the stamp duty given certain conditions (which probably means paying asking price which I won't be bidding at).

I was just curious as to what questions I should ask them, I might be missing anything obvious. I've read the HIP so I know a few things about the house (bought for £154k in May 06, asking price now is £175k, Zoopla values at £163k which is obviously a crude valuation).

So far I have down (although obviously they can lie about anything):

What would they be leaving behind when they move?
What are the neighbours like?
What do they pay for electricity and water bills (water is not on a meter)?
What are their conditions re: stamp duty?
There's a conservatory on the house but it must have been built before they moved in as there are no alterations on the house on the HIP for their time there. Is there a way I can check if there was any planning permission for when it was built?

I'm a FTB with nothing to sell so will emphasise any potential bid from us will reflect that we should be able to act quickly once a bid is accepted. Our mortgage advisor has recommended we have a bid accepted first before we sit down with him again to finalise a mortgage, which I wasn't expecting but he has been very good with us so far so I'm going with his advice.

Thanks in advance

sunshinetours

Chris_Quartly wrote: »

Hi there, basically we're having a second viewing of a house this evening.

They have had 2 offers on places they want to buy accepted so I am assuming they are keen to sell, they have also said that they will pay the stamp duty given certain conditions (which probably means paying asking price which I won't be bidding at).

I was just curious as to what questions I should ask them, I might be missing anything obvious. I've read the HIP so I know a few things about the house (bought for £154k in May 06, asking price now is £175k, Zoopla values at £163k which is obviously a crude valuation).

So far I have down (although obviously they can lie about anything):

What would they be leaving behind when they move?
What are the neighbours like? Have there been any disputes with neighbours and i would also knock on the neighbours door if its a decent area - get a feel for it
What do they pay for electricity and water bills (water is not on a meter)? Water will be on a meter when you move in as the Water company will change it
What are their conditions re: stamp duty? Ignore that - if you like it make your best offer and stipulate that is to include stamp duty?
There's a conservatory on the house but it must have been built before they moved in as there are no alterations on the house on the HIP for their time there. Is there a way I can check if there was any planning permission for when it was built? If the conservatory has been there for a long time there would be no planning issues now. Most conservatories these days don't require planning. just get your conveyancer to check it out specifically if you are worried

I'm a FTB with nothing to sell so will emphasise any potential bid from us will reflect that we should be able to act quickly once a bid is accepted. Our mortgage advisor has recommended we have a bid accepted first before we sit down with him again to finalise a mortgage, which I wasn't expecting but he has been very good with us so far so I'm going with his advice.

Thanks in advance

Check out if any local planning applications maybe and ask vendors if they are awaer of any neighbours proposed planning issues

Check garden for large trees and any trees near house. Soil type?

Good luck!

Chris_Quartly

Thanks, all good additions.

<sebb>

Chris_Quartly wrote: »

they have also said that they will pay the stamp duty given certain conditions (which probably means paying asking price which I won't be bidding at).

Be careful about this. My mortgage offer specifically does not allow this to happen and I think others are similar.

Chris_Quartly wrote: »

Our mortgage advisor has recommended we have a bid accepted first before we sit down with him again to finalise a mortgage, which I wasn't expecting but he has been very good with us so far so I'm going with his advice.

I'm surprised at this too. I was told to at least have a decision in principle from at least one lender before putting in offers. I managed to get one by filling in a simple form online from my mortgage lender. I used the details of a property that I was thinking about putting an offer in to get it, though this isnt the property I ended up putting an offer in. Took about 10 minutes. Do be careful about getting too many of these though as they leave a "footprint" on your credit record.

Just remember that mortgages are pretty hard to get these days, so you just want to be sure that you will get accepted. It also shows the buyer that you are serious. Have you shopped around at all for mortgages to see what is out there and get a feel for how much your monthly repayments will be?

Chris_Quartly

We've gone through a few calculators with the mortgage adviser, and another guy at an estate agents (not that we'd use them) went through some that showed the monthly repayments, we'll be looking at around £900-950 a month, which although frightening, is ok. But yeah I was weary of doing anything extra because of the credit footprint, as you say, but I did think we'd at least sort out something in principal at this stage.

My mortgage adviser was also fairly scathing about the specific estate agency the house is being sold with, so I'm expecting them to try and pressure me into using their own people but I'll just keep them at arms length as best I can.

Richard_Webster

Ask why they are moving? Does it sound a genuine reason (move to another part of the country for work or bigger property to accommodate growing family) or doe sit not really make a lot of sense?

Are they buying anything else and if so have they found anything yet? They may not be very motivated to find anything to buy or may have some very hard to satisfy requirement like they want to buy a house with a granny flat and they will need to tie move in with granny's sale and she hasn't got a buyer yet.....

Are there any signs of friction between the sellers if there is more than one of them? If there are then they may have row later and decide not to move.

motherofstudents

sorry if this is a silly question but why will the water comany put a meter in?
I agree with knocking on neighbours doors, I did that when we moved so I would recommend it.

sunshinetours

Because many water companies do a complulsory meter install on a change of occupier

Sammy85_2

sunshinetours wrote: »

Because many water companies do a complulsory meter install on a change of occupier

Depends on the water company. Ours doesnt. But you can request one and they'll install it free of charge. You then have a years grace where they will remove it again for free if you decide its not worth it.

Fire_Fox

Chris_Quartly wrote: »

So far I have down (although obviously they can lie about anything):

I'm a FTB with nothing to sell so will emphasise any potential bid from us will reflect that we should be able to act quickly once a bid is accepted. Our mortgage advisor has recommended we have a bid accepted first before we sit down with him again to finalise a mortgage, which I wasn't expecting but he has been very good with us so far so I'm going with his advice.

Thanks in advance

The vendors would be silly to lie if you put your questions to them as part of your offer letter. That gives you the opportunity to clearly state your strong position as buyers and you can enclose a copy of your MIP and solicitors name and address so they are in no doubt that you are ready to proceed. MIP does not leave a footprint on your credit file and is essential to be taken seriously as an FTB.

Fire_Fox

Sammy85 wrote: »

Depends on the water company. Ours doesnt. But you can request one and they'll install it free of charge. You then have a years grace where they will remove it again for free if you decide its not worth it.

One year not three. I *think* the grace period is only if you request a meter, not if the decision was taken out of your hands.