Owner selling house themselves

goldengirl28

just seen a house that the owner is selling independantly, is there anything i need to pay more detail to as i don't have an EA in the middle sorting this out.

First on my list is making sure they have a HIP

anything else?

G_M

Do you mean not using an estate agent? Or solicitor? Or both?

Not that it makes much difference - you need to check all the same things.

The only major difficulty is if there is a mortgage on the property - solicitors allow these to remain after Completion. It is then paid off using the sale money once it is received. Solicitors give each othet 'undertakings' that this will happen, and under their professional code this is acceptable. A private seller's 'undertaking' would be risky to accept.

Negotiating price direct with the seller can sometimes be easier, sometimes harder - depends on their attitude....and yours!

goldengirl28

G_M wrote: »

Do you mean not using an estate agent? Or solicitor? Or both?

Not that it makes much difference - you need to check all the same things.

The only major difficulty is if there is a mortgage on the property - solicitors allow these to remain after Completion. It is then paid off using the sale money once it is received. Solicitors give each othet 'undertakings' that this will happen, and under their professional code this is acceptable. A private seller's 'undertaking' would be risky to accept.

thanks G_M and good point, i'll check about the solicitor, i think i will push for them to use one................just to amke sure i ahve some cover

googler

goldengirl28 wrote: »

just seen a house that the owner is selling independantly, is there anything i need to pay more detail to as i don't have an EA in the middle sorting this out.

First on my list is making sure they have a HIP

anything else?

Second on the list - everything else. Everything.

The owner says the lounge is 2.4m wide? Check it.
The owner says it was built in 1973? Check it.
The owner says it has a combi boiler? Check it.

Private sellers aren't regulated by the Properties Misdescriptions Act - a private seller can say anything they like about their property, and if it's wrong, you have no legal comeback. Check it all.

timmyt

Buyer beware when buying a house. never rely on the agents details (not that they say much these days), do your own homework.

seller doing their own legal work is fine, though your lawyer will end up doing more work bumping up your fees, only so that the seller can avoid his. Great!

I have acted for buyers from private sellers, and it is frustrating, and slower, and if you want to know the things to ensure I can list them - but OP is not saying he is doing his own legals so I will wait until you ask.

as for the HIP - I assume there was 'marketing' done to attract you, as if there was no 'marketing' there need be no HIP, only an EPC

goldengirl28

googler wrote: »

Second on the list - everything else. Everything.

The owner says the lounge is 2.4m wide? Check it.
The owner says it was built in 1973? Check it.
The owner says it has a combi boiler? Check it.

Private sellers aren't regulated by the Properties Misdescriptions Act - a private seller can say anything they like about their property, and if it's wrong, you have no legal comeback. Check it all.

so it sounds like that i should get the rolls royce survey done to help check these things, would you agree?

goldengirl28

timmyt wrote: »

Buyer beware when buying a house. never rely on the agents details (not that they say much these days), do your own homework.

seller doing their own legal work is fine, though your lawyer will end up doing more work bumping up your fees, only so that the seller can avoid his. Great!

I have acted for buyers from private sellers, and it is frustrating, and slower, and if you want to know the things to ensure I can list them - but OP is not saying he is doing his own legals so I will wait until you ask.

as for the HIP - I assume there was 'marketing' done to attract you, as if there was no 'marketing' there need be no HIP, only an EPC

thanks for your responce, i'm going to ring up and ask for a 2nd viewing and ask about the HIP and legal question.

they just have for sale sign in the garden with thier mobile number on, if i hadn't driven past i wouldn't have seen it

Badger_Lady

I sold my last house without an estate agent and everything was smooth and simple. The buyers were careful to check everything (as they should be anyway) - they even got a builder mate of theirs to check it over before making an offer. Just make sure you look at everything and ask all your questions. The advantage is that the person you're asking will know the answers!

As a direct seller, I was more than happy to accommodate all their checks - a total of three visits before the offer, and another couple of visits afterwards. We were polite and friendly with one another and had the benefit of direct communication, making things speedy and efficient and avoiding any crossed wires.

We each had a conveyencing solicitor to deal with the legalities and financials of the purchase.

G_M

timmyt wrote: »

I have acted for buyers from private sellers, and it is frustrating, and slower,

Can be slower... or quicker! Another generalisation!

I've acted for myself selling properties, and it tends to be the buyer's solicitor who slows things down. When I receive a query, document etc, I turn it round same day. Solicitors by virtue of the fact they are dealing with multiple clients may not action a request or task immediately.

I'm sure it's true there are individuals acting for themselves who make mistakes/don't follow normal proceedure etc, and doubtless this can slow things down, but as we've seen recently on this site, solicitors can make mistakes too!

G_M

goldengirl28 wrote: »

so it sounds like that i should get the rolls royce survey done to help check these things, would you agree?

The decision about which survey to have is different. I wouldn't for a minute recommend to someone to have a less thorough survey just because an estate agent was involved!

Whether to have a full survey or housebuyers depends on
age of property
general condition
whether you plan to extend/modify
how confident you are yourself in looking at the property
whether it's one of 100 identical houses in an estate or a one-off
etc

but NOT whether an EA has been involved!

googler

timmyt wrote: »

Buyer beware when buying a house. never rely on the agents details

There aren't any! That's the whole point of this thread.....