First Time Buyer

Mike10

Hi all.

Me and my partner have just received a mortgage promise and are beginning to look at houses.

We can't actually move untill August time as that is when we will have the savings that we aimed for. This is for the deposit, legal fees and money to furniture the new place.

If we see a house we really like, is it feasible to put an offer in, saying that we wouldn't be able to complete the contract until August.

Anybody else being in this position?

Thanks in advance

kte

Sorry I don't have the answer but I'm interested to see what advice people can give as am also wanting to buy with a view to move in during August and am wondering how on earth to manage timescales...!

Good luck

poppy_f1

some sellers may accept it but some may not, would depend on how manys in the chain i think

elise83_2

I'm not going to say it's not feasible because anything can happen but you'll have to overcome some significant hurdles, like:-

a) You'll have to find a seller who isn't on some kind of time frame to move out of their place, usually because they need the money for a purchase of their own but maybe also if they are in financial difficulties (more and more common)

b) You mention you are still saving for a deposit, legal fees etc. Presumably this means then that you will not be able to exchange on a place (deposit required, some legal fees due upfront, mortgage fees, valuation etc.) until later on in the year too. This means that the seller would have to have 100% trust in you not to pull out of the sale before exchange if between now and August you find another place you like better.

c) Similarly, before exchange of contracts the seller is well within their rights to accept a higher offer for the property or even the same offer from someone who can complete the purchase quicker. Then you'll have lost any fees you might have paid up until that point.

There's absolutely nothing stopping you with making the offer and being upfront about your timescales, therefore letting the seller make up their own mind, but even if the seller agrees there are still big risks involved.

It might work differently if you are buying from a new development where there's a lot of "stock" left to sell however. Developers are likely to be more flexible with regards to exchange/completion dates and also for an upfront "commitment fee" of around £1-2k you can usually "fix" the price for a certain period of time.