House Buying... *gulp*

Squirrell

I've been reading threads in this section for the last two months and we have decided to finally go see an independant mortgage advisor. He gave us a figure of what we will be able to borrow once we have the deposit ready. He told us to start looking for a place asap as it would normally take about three months for everything to go through, plenty of time to save for the last bits and bobs.

Now the scary part comes in when we do find a house, what happens then? Do I contact the mortgage adviser and then make an offer or how would I know when to make an offer? We are very new to the "way" houses are being sold in the UK.... all a bit daunting!

We are first time buyers, have the 10% deposit....and I am pretty sure our credit record is good as I have been following money advise on this website for the last three years..... any tips would be appreciated. :eek:

Doshwaster

I was in exactly your position 2 months ago - wanting to buy a house but not having a clue of how to do it.

You have been sensible and got an idea of how much you can afford to borrow/repay. That's a good start.

The next step is working out what that buys you in your area. Hw many bedrooms do you want? Garden? New or old? Have a look around local estate agents and property websites (Rightmove.co.uk and Zoopla.co.uk ar two of the best). have a drive around the area to see if there's anything you like with a "For Sale" sign.

Now comes the fun bit - and it doesn't cost a penny - arrange some viewings of properties within your budget and up to 10-15% above your budget to see what's available at the top, middle and bottom of your price range. Do you want somewhere ready to move into or would be prefer a "project"? Don't rush this stage - even if you see the perfect house early on, make sure you see at least 10-15 different places. Looking around other people's homes can be an interesting hobby for a few weekends!

If a place has potential arrange a second viewing when you will have time to look at the property in more detail

When you come to making a offer it goes through the estate agent - it has nothing to do with the financial advisor until a price has been agreed. That's when you need to start spending money.

Good luck and have fun!

Fire_Fox

Make sure you have at least three months mortgage payments in the bank on the day you complete, if one of you falls ill/injured/ difficult or unplanned pregnancy/ gets made redundant the state will not help with your mortgage interest for the first three months.

[Deleted User]

Bear in mind too that sometimes using a mortgage advisor can be a bad thing. We bought a house., and initially used a recommended advisor and didn't get a single mortgage offer. When we approached building societies on our own.., (the same ones) we got two from two applications. It turned out that BS's get so many enquiries from Mortgage Advisors, BS's view them negatively as soon as they arrive. Don't worry about it unless u have problems getting a mortgage but if u do, don't panic and be prepared to see the Building Societies off your own bat.., its may not be a problem with your circumstances, more a problem with where the enquiry is coming from.

tealady

Hi
When I bought my house the estate agent tried to show me the crappiest houses on their books. So what I did was ask as many agents as I could for details of houses up to £x ( a price above my budget). I then looked at the details, worked out what areas they were in and binned the worst. Then I asked for viewings on some. As a FTB with a mortgage agreed I was welcomed.
Be prepared to compromise. I could have bought a bigger house in a worse area but I thought that it was better to have a worse house in a good area than a good house in a bad area as it is easier to improve the house.

Emmzi

quick check - are you in England?

I did my seaqrching on rightmove as the majority of stuff is on there. But first, having a list of what you want is helpful. For example, mine was

- study
- guest bedroom
- downstairs loo (mum not so good at stairs now bless her)
- parking
- small or no garden
- close to work
- needing no decoration or major works
- ideally with a kitchen I could fit a table in
- don't care if it is detached semi or terraced

A list os good otherwise you will end up seeing hundreds of places!

Doshwaster

tealady wrote: »

Hi
When I bought my house the estate agent tried to show me the crappiest houses on their books. So what I did was ask as many agents as I could for details of houses up to £x ( a price above my budget). I then looked at the details, worked out what areas they were in and binned the worst. Then I asked for viewings on some. As a FTB with a mortgage agreed I was welcomed.
Be prepared to compromise. I could have bought a bigger house in a worse area but I thought that it was better to have a worse house in a good area than a good house in a bad area as it is easier to improve the house.

Quite right - if you don't tell the EAs what you want and don't want they will show you the crappiest ones on their books. The dogs which have been on the market forever and that the cannot get rid of.

A FTB + mortgage agreed is the ideal buyer - they aren't time wasters ("Oh, just looking around as we might want to move - one day") and it's less likely that their finance will fall through.

I ended up going for the smaller/nicer option than the bigger/cheaper/needs gutting option. I'm just about capable of changing a light bulb. I didn't want to spend the next year putting in a new kitchen, bathroom and totally redecorating.

When looking for a seller, your ideal one is someone without a chain ahead of them. A FTB + no chain seller is a match made in heaven.

Squirrell

Thanks for all the great advice so far!

How much under the asking price should I offer the vendor when I finally found the right place.... don't want them to rip me off!

getmore4less

Many people have parents that have bought houses so know the basics a good source of initial info.

There have been a few recent changes like HIP and mortgage criteria but the rest has not changed much for years.

Emmzi

Squirrell wrote: »

Thanks for all the great advice so far!

How much under the asking price should I offer the vendor when I finally found the right place.... don't want them to rip me off!

offer what you thinkk is a fair price. and have your "walk away" figure in your head. and renegotiate if the survey comes in low.

various posters will tell you different ("offer 50 more a day, offer an odd amount " etc). As a seller I would see that as messing about. your call, works for some.

Doshwaster

Squirrell wrote: »

Thanks for all the great advice so far!

How much under the asking price should I offer the vendor when I finally found the right place.... don't want them to rip me off!

Ask 100 people and you will get 200 pieces of advice. There are so many variables - how much do you want it, how quickly do they need to sell, is anyone else interested, is the market going up or down, is there a chain, does the house need significant repair work, are you prepared to walk away?

Expect the first offer to be rejected, so go in lower than you are prepared to pay - but if you go in too low the seller may think you are taking the p!ss and may not treat you like a serious bidder. Some agents are fairly honest in helping you negotiate the price, others lie through their back teeth.