Buyers, don't be conned by unscrupulous sellers and EAs.

Orpheo

Some sellers readily admit that their aim is screw their buyers to the wall by misrepresenting their property and stripping it right down before completion. There is a thread advocating this at the top of this forum at the time of posting.You don't have to let this happen. You are spending a lot of money on a house, more than likely you are borrowing most of it! Protect yourself.

• Do your research. Before you view a property find out when the vendor bought it and what they paid for it. this information is freely available on websites such as nethouseprices. I always make it clear to vendors, when I am viewing, that I know when they bought it and what they paid. "You bought this house on x date for y price." For the most part, they are disturbed that you can find such things out.
• Don't arrange your mortgage through the vendor's EA.
• Ask difficult questions. You are not being rude, you are buying something. I always ask the vendor outright if, to the best of their knowledge, they have had any floods (whether it be by weather or whether it be by some internal factor), if there are any cracks in the property or if they know of any subsidence. I ask them what work they have done on the house, what has gone wrong and what repairs they have carried out.
• Don't be pushed by the EA, it isn't about what you can afford, it's about what you are prepared to pay. Tell them this.
• Knock on the doors of neighbours and suss the area out.
• If you make an offer put it in writing along with any conditions that you consider a must.
• Through your solicitor get a detailed inventory of everything included in the sale. With vendors known to rip out carpets, light fittings, kitchen units, curtain rails and light switches, you can't afford not to be very thorough with this. Insist that all of these things and more remain untampered with and included in the sale. BE THOROUGH.
• Through your solicitor ensure that all included appliances are working and in safe working order. Demand to see documented evidence. If necessary send in your own hired professionals to inspect them. £50 spent on a good plumber now could save you thousands in 2 weeks - 12 months time.
• Insist on viewing the property immediately prior to exchange of contracts. Use this opportunity to make sure that nothing has been damaged or modified in the interim and to clarify with the vendor any doubts.
• For the love of jubblies, always get a decent survey.

This list could go on and I'm sure that many will add their advice.

Mr_Thrifty

Here are some more tips from Mr Thrifty:

• Check behind furniture and under rugs. You will often find large cracks or holes or stains.
• Have a look behind any picture frames or large mirrors. They often hide a multitude of problems.
• Check for any signs of fresh paint. This usually means a cover-up is going on. DO NOT accept it when they say something like "we wanted to make it look extra nice to help it sell". That's bull. Rather, they wanted to paint over the damp spot and the mould stains. You know it's true.
• Visit the area at night and during rush hour. You want to make sure you check out the property and immediate area when they're NOT expecting you (many people arrange viewings for instance when they know their noisy neighbours will be out).
• Remember, people will lie to you on the phone or face to face, but are less likely to do so in writing. Get any important facts verified and confirmed in writing.
• Knock on the neighbours' doors and introduce yourself as someone who is likely to buy. You want to know what sort of people you'll be living next to. Plus, they may well tell you something that the vendors wouldn't (e.g. about that neighbour dispute they are trying to cover up).
• Check EVERY SINGLE tap, radiator, light switch. Flush the toilet. Turn the shower on and off. Open all the windows then close them again. You're about to spend a huge sum of money, so the least they can let you do is kick the tyres a few times.
• Check the loft.
• Check for cracks and suchlike, literally everwhere.
• Ask why they're moving. Be detailed and specific in your questions.
• Turn the boiler on and off a few times.
• Check the TV reception.
• Check the inside of every cupboard. You may find that some cupboards are only about 1/2 inch deep!
• Be alert to bodge job DIY disasters. You don't want to have to put right someone's bodged up DIY jobs.
• Negotiate price with the buyer, not the EA if you can.

:beer: Cheers. Here's to all the mugs out there. :rotfl:

lyndasharp

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Here are some more tips from Mr Thrifty:

• Check the TV reception.

:rotfl:

Very useful list, thanks. Your suggestion I've quoted is one I certainly never thought of until after I moved into my current house... though luckily I really don't miss the TV

I'd add it's also sensible to check how any outside areas are powered - our garage electrics run off a single socket in the dining room. DH was not impressed when I accidentally switched off the power while he was welding, he thought he'd blown the fuse or something :rotfl:

Mr_Thrifty

Oh yes, check mobile phone reception and broadband speeds too. Useful to know what you're getting into, tech-wise.

G_M

And check how high up their priority list the road is on the council's snowplough schedule.

Mr_Thrifty

Don't be over-eager to sign the paperwork.

Doozergirl

Orpheo wrote: »

Do your research. Before you view a property find out when the vendor bought it and what they paid for it. this information is freely available on websites such as nethouseprices. I always make it clear to vendors, when I am viewing, that I know when they bought it and what they paid. "You bought this house on x date for y price." For the most part, they are disturbed that you can find such things out.

I think that is downright rude. Great tactic if you want to get someone's back up - and I speak from experience of having someone say that to me and he could probably speak of the full subsequent dressing down that he got as a result. Flattery gets you everywhere, being arrogant and acting like you have some kind of upper hand in the scenario does not.

And it's pretty irrelevant. The offer you make has to be either reflected by the current market, whether that means being prepared to pay the current market value, or not.

Whilst it might be useful to help guage current market value along with many other factors, you can't think of it in terms of their profit or loss because most people have to move on and buy something else. It's the market that will reflect the eventual selling price of that too, not your 'insider knowledge'.

My advice is that if there is a roof or a cellar, look at them. What you can see in here is the gubbins of the house, not a pretty kitchen etc. You can see the age of the wiring, the pipework, and the state of the woodwork - that's the sort of thing that will immediately show long term damage from damp and rot. You'll get an idea of the true extent of maintenance that's going on and you can nearly judge the budget of future works based on what you can see. So whilst you will want a survey once offer is accepted, before you even make an offer you want an idea of what the house is really like and this will help.

Orpheo

Doozergirl wrote: »

I think that is downright rude. Great tactic if you want to get someone's back up - and I speak from experience of having someone say that to me and he could probably speak of the full subsequent dressing down that he got as a result.

Whatever makes your blood boil. It's not like I need your house. The sooner you extract your motions from the business, the easier you'll find it.

G_M

Orpheo wrote: »

Whatever makes your blood boil. It's not like I need your house. The sooner you extract your motions from the business, the easier you'll find it.

I've heard bulls h i t called a number of things before but this one I love!

Orpheo

Doozergirl wrote: »

And it's pretty irrelevant. The offer you make has to be either reflected by the current market, whether that means being prepared to pay the current market value, or not.

Wasn't irrelevent to the house that I viewed that was priced 5k higher than she bought it 14 months ago. She didn't want to lose money, bless. Strangely enough, not long after I viewed the price dropped to 5K below.

Doozergirl

Orpheo wrote: »

Wasn't irrelevent to the house that I viewed that was priced 5k higher than she bought it 14 months ago. She didn't want to lose money, bless. Strangely enough, not long after I viewed the price dropped to 5K below.

Market forces