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My advice to First Time Buyers...
Martin_OB
Posts: 49 Forumite
Dear all Moneysavers...
There's a motto in life which says 'you get out what you put in.'
Seeing as I have benefited enormously from this website, I thought it was only right to share my experiences with you all - in the hope that it may help someone who needs it.
Our homebuying experience began on Saturday 2 September 2006. My girlfriend has a job 40 miles away from our current homes in Liverpool - and we were looking to relocate. The first house we looked at was lovely...although the neighbours back garden resembled Steptoe and Son's yard. (I kept expecting to see Hercules roaming around...)
The second house was very nice - but it was only two-bedroomed...and the third was our pick of the bunch. It was a little bit like Goldilocks - too big, too small - just right.
Uninterested vendor
Our problem was that the vendor wasn't willing to drop below the asking price. We went to view the property three times - and got rather excited about it...but the vendor wasn't happy with our offers. An EA friend of mine thought that he wasn't being realistic - and questioned his motivation for selling. It turns out that she was right...the house has since been withdrawn from the market.
Gazumped
Then one Friday afternoon, we received a call from the Estate Agent who was marketing the second house. The vendors had dropped the asking price by £5k - and would we be interested? We thought that it deserved a second look. Perhaps buoyed by a hint of desperation - we were impressed! The vendors told us that if we could agree an offer there and then - they would take it off the market. They offered us the bait - and we took it.
First mistake
We let our hearts rule our heads. Instead of dealing with the EA, we dealt with the vendors. Late one Saturday night, we agreed a price in their house for the princely sum of £142,000. They agreed to cancel the viewings they had scheduled on the following day - and withdraw the property from the market immediately. We thought we couldn't fail. I drove up to the EA to formally place the bid. It was accepted - and on the way back home, I stopped off to buy a bottle of champagne.
A sickening call
I was attending a musical afternoon at a local church, when in the break period, I noticed I had a missed call from the vendor. I returned it. It turned out that she had accepted another offer - 3k higher than ours. She had gone back on her word to remove the property from the market and she did not cancel the viewings scheduled. We were heartbroken. We still had a chance of buying the house, but did we want to offer 4k more...and do business with someone we couldn't trust?
The blind auction
My phone was red hot on that Sunday afternoon. I placed calls with friends, family and even posted on this forum for advice. On the Monday morning, we received a telephone call from the EA saying that if we wanted to buy the house, we should submit 'our best and final offer.' As our solicitor warned us: 'Watch out, you'll be going into a blind auction.' We decided, more out of principle - than hope, to offer the same amount. As expected, we didn't get the house...and it was with interest that we learned that the house eventually sold for £148k - £6k more than the vendors originally would have accepted.
Frustrations aplenty
The champagne had lost its fizz - and there were tears before bedtime on that Sunday night. Anger, upset, frustration - we experienced the whole spectrum of negative emotions. If I am being honest, I did plan to go round there and give the vendors a piece of my mind, but I realised that it would have been a futile effort. It was back to the drawing board. So, what else did the village have to offer? We arranged viewings for four more houses over the next three weeks: two were cancelled as offers had been accepted, one house was in an extremely poor state of repair and the other was out of our price range.
Last throw of the dice
There was one house that we had not viewed in the area. We had never liked the look of it from the Estate Agent's photographs or from a drive past the property - but we decided to go in order to 'cross it off the list.' We were resigned to looking at it, not following up our interest and being forced to wait until something else came along. But once there, we were amazed. After one single viewing - we knew that this was going to be our house. Yes, there was a lot of work which needed to be done on the property - but it felt right.
Desperation v desire
For us, it was not a question of desperation. From the moment our tour of the house concluded, both my girlfriend and I wanted this to be our home. So the bidding began. With our experiences of last time, we decided to offer £138 for house (on the market for £150k). We were told that the vendor would not accept anything lower than £143k. We waited 24 hours. Then we came back with £141.5k...it was accepted!
The future
Tomorrow, a full structural survey, an electrical survey and a central heating check will be done on the property. The vendor has agreed to pay for anything that the survey highlights - which is great news for ourselves. Hopefully, the surveyors will go in-depth and highlight a lot of the things which need to be corrected! Contracts should be exchanged before Christmas, with a completion date early in the New Year.
Our advice
When buying your first home, you are desperate for everything to go smoothly - and you are desperate to get the best deal. Our advice would be to always do what feels right. Appoint a solicitor who comes recommended by a friend - and he/she will guide you. Make yourselves known to the Estate Agents in the area - I'm on first name terms with staff at three branches...and also arm yourselves with plenty of knowledge of the area.
Useful websites
We found the following websites invaluable:
Rightmove.co.uk - the one-stop shop for house buying on the net.
Nethouseprices.com - gives you house prices in the street/region you're interested in.
Upmystreet.com - more detailed infomation on the area - what is the council tax payments? What are the crime figures?
Homecheck.co.uk - a free guide to flooding, subsidence, pollution, landfill sites...
Our situation
To give you some more information, we are two 25-year-olds taking out a 100per cent mortgage. I am self employed and my girlfriend is in full-time employment. Based on the research we have done, with our circumstances and situation, the following companies have offered us the best deal:
MORTGAGE: HSBC Graduate HomeStart
LIFE ASSURANCE WITH CRITICAL ILLNESS (Level Term): Tesco
PAYMENT PROTECTION: Best Insurance
*For buildings and contents cover - we have been advised to wait for the results of our survey. When this comes through, I will happily update this post.
Sorry for the length of this...I just hope it helps,
All the very best - and happy hunting,
Martin OB
There's a motto in life which says 'you get out what you put in.'
Seeing as I have benefited enormously from this website, I thought it was only right to share my experiences with you all - in the hope that it may help someone who needs it.
Our homebuying experience began on Saturday 2 September 2006. My girlfriend has a job 40 miles away from our current homes in Liverpool - and we were looking to relocate. The first house we looked at was lovely...although the neighbours back garden resembled Steptoe and Son's yard. (I kept expecting to see Hercules roaming around...)
The second house was very nice - but it was only two-bedroomed...and the third was our pick of the bunch. It was a little bit like Goldilocks - too big, too small - just right.
Uninterested vendor
Our problem was that the vendor wasn't willing to drop below the asking price. We went to view the property three times - and got rather excited about it...but the vendor wasn't happy with our offers. An EA friend of mine thought that he wasn't being realistic - and questioned his motivation for selling. It turns out that she was right...the house has since been withdrawn from the market.
Gazumped
Then one Friday afternoon, we received a call from the Estate Agent who was marketing the second house. The vendors had dropped the asking price by £5k - and would we be interested? We thought that it deserved a second look. Perhaps buoyed by a hint of desperation - we were impressed! The vendors told us that if we could agree an offer there and then - they would take it off the market. They offered us the bait - and we took it.
First mistake
We let our hearts rule our heads. Instead of dealing with the EA, we dealt with the vendors. Late one Saturday night, we agreed a price in their house for the princely sum of £142,000. They agreed to cancel the viewings they had scheduled on the following day - and withdraw the property from the market immediately. We thought we couldn't fail. I drove up to the EA to formally place the bid. It was accepted - and on the way back home, I stopped off to buy a bottle of champagne.
A sickening call
I was attending a musical afternoon at a local church, when in the break period, I noticed I had a missed call from the vendor. I returned it. It turned out that she had accepted another offer - 3k higher than ours. She had gone back on her word to remove the property from the market and she did not cancel the viewings scheduled. We were heartbroken. We still had a chance of buying the house, but did we want to offer 4k more...and do business with someone we couldn't trust?
The blind auction
My phone was red hot on that Sunday afternoon. I placed calls with friends, family and even posted on this forum for advice. On the Monday morning, we received a telephone call from the EA saying that if we wanted to buy the house, we should submit 'our best and final offer.' As our solicitor warned us: 'Watch out, you'll be going into a blind auction.' We decided, more out of principle - than hope, to offer the same amount. As expected, we didn't get the house...and it was with interest that we learned that the house eventually sold for £148k - £6k more than the vendors originally would have accepted.
Frustrations aplenty
The champagne had lost its fizz - and there were tears before bedtime on that Sunday night. Anger, upset, frustration - we experienced the whole spectrum of negative emotions. If I am being honest, I did plan to go round there and give the vendors a piece of my mind, but I realised that it would have been a futile effort. It was back to the drawing board. So, what else did the village have to offer? We arranged viewings for four more houses over the next three weeks: two were cancelled as offers had been accepted, one house was in an extremely poor state of repair and the other was out of our price range.
Last throw of the dice
There was one house that we had not viewed in the area. We had never liked the look of it from the Estate Agent's photographs or from a drive past the property - but we decided to go in order to 'cross it off the list.' We were resigned to looking at it, not following up our interest and being forced to wait until something else came along. But once there, we were amazed. After one single viewing - we knew that this was going to be our house. Yes, there was a lot of work which needed to be done on the property - but it felt right.
Desperation v desire
For us, it was not a question of desperation. From the moment our tour of the house concluded, both my girlfriend and I wanted this to be our home. So the bidding began. With our experiences of last time, we decided to offer £138 for house (on the market for £150k). We were told that the vendor would not accept anything lower than £143k. We waited 24 hours. Then we came back with £141.5k...it was accepted!
The future
Tomorrow, a full structural survey, an electrical survey and a central heating check will be done on the property. The vendor has agreed to pay for anything that the survey highlights - which is great news for ourselves. Hopefully, the surveyors will go in-depth and highlight a lot of the things which need to be corrected! Contracts should be exchanged before Christmas, with a completion date early in the New Year.
Our advice
When buying your first home, you are desperate for everything to go smoothly - and you are desperate to get the best deal. Our advice would be to always do what feels right. Appoint a solicitor who comes recommended by a friend - and he/she will guide you. Make yourselves known to the Estate Agents in the area - I'm on first name terms with staff at three branches...and also arm yourselves with plenty of knowledge of the area.
Useful websites
We found the following websites invaluable:
Rightmove.co.uk - the one-stop shop for house buying on the net.
Nethouseprices.com - gives you house prices in the street/region you're interested in.
Upmystreet.com - more detailed infomation on the area - what is the council tax payments? What are the crime figures?
Homecheck.co.uk - a free guide to flooding, subsidence, pollution, landfill sites...
Our situation
To give you some more information, we are two 25-year-olds taking out a 100per cent mortgage. I am self employed and my girlfriend is in full-time employment. Based on the research we have done, with our circumstances and situation, the following companies have offered us the best deal:
MORTGAGE: HSBC Graduate HomeStart
LIFE ASSURANCE WITH CRITICAL ILLNESS (Level Term): Tesco
PAYMENT PROTECTION: Best Insurance
*For buildings and contents cover - we have been advised to wait for the results of our survey. When this comes through, I will happily update this post.
Sorry for the length of this...I just hope it helps,
All the very best - and happy hunting,
Martin OB
0
Comments
-
Martin_OB wrote:To give you some more information, we are two 25-year-olds taking out a 100per cent mortgage.
A 100% mortgage ain't very smart.
Still, good luck to you.0 -
Meanmachine, you're being very mean!
What's so wrong with a 100% mortgage? Not everyone is blessed with a large deposit to put down. OK, if house prices fall then you are in negative equity, but you're not far from that with a 95 % mortgage, and negative equity only hurts if you want to move.
Don't be so harsh on people when you know nothing of their situation.
Matrin OB, good luck, we're hoping to complete next Friday but have hit a snag with the lack of a dropped kerb and vendor unwilling to pay/reduce house price (valuation included 'off road parking'). Hope it all gets sorted out, the removals are already booked!Offer accepted 18th September
Mortgage all approved, surveys OK.
Complete 24th November (we hope!!!)0 -
Interesting that you offer less than the asking price, where as here in Scotland we have an "offers over" system.
It is all a gamble at the end of the day. Good luck and for goodness sake keep earning money - you will need it with 100% mortgageWe all evolve - get on with it0 -
Good luck - I hope it all works out for you....not many moves are a smooth ride and you may be in for a few more bumps yet, but I hope it goes ok.
When our EA did a leaflet drop through the doors in our street saying "sold within a week - we urgently need more properties in your area, blah, blah, blah", I bumped into one of the girls we had spoken to on the phone several times. I said "thanks for all your help". She said "its not over yet...". I thought "thats not very optimistic", but have to say she was right! Our first bump came when our first buyer pulled out. Several more bumps along the way. Lots of tears. But finally exchanged and now completing on Friday.
What I am trying to say is there's a lot more that could happen between now and exchange, you could have problems with survey, vendor (what if survey says a complete new roof at £6k...would they pay for that??), mortgage, what about people further up the chain? Where is the vendor going? If that falls through they might not want to sell. Sorry - I'm just being realistic. I thought it would be plain sailing, but it wasn't. I hope for you that it is.
One thing you have pointed out that is good - never judge a book by its cover...I'm glad the house feels right for you and I bet you're glad you viewed it now!! Good luck x0 -
In an ideal world, we wouldn't have taken a 100 per cent mortgage , but the mortgage we've gone for is at a fixed rate for three years.
Within this time, I will have some inheritance/work-related bonuses coming through - which will be saved to knock off quite a considerable chunk from our mortgage...
After the three-year period expires early in 2010, I am certain that we won't have a 100 per cent mortgage - or one with HSBC(!)...but we will be on the property ladder with a lovely home to boot. That surely isn't a bad thing.
I have spent hours researching this. I appreciate people's concern, but I must stress that we're going into this with our eyes fully open!
It's the biggest financial commitment of our lives and we're treating it as such.
In terms of cuffie's comments. You're right...and we are still quite nervous! We have been given a mortgage offer - and we are anxiously awaiting the results of the surveys to see what happens. The vendor is ready to move in to a new property with no chain - and actually wanted use to complete before Christmas, so we are not expecting any problems from them. I wish you health, wealth and happiness in your new home.
BUT - my original email was not intended to be a reflection of my own position, but a guide to first-time buyers in a similar situation.
If anyone thinks that they may be able to benefit from my experience - I'll happily answer any questions you may have...0 -
I thought the first post on here was interesting and informative. To the OP - you had a great 'blog' style to your writing, perhaps you should continue your house buying tale through one, i know i'd read it
Can i be nosey and enquire as to which area of the north west you settled for?
We were in the same boat last year and looked at many houses all over from Liverpool to Warrington.
Good luck with it all anyway.0 -
Allow me to give you your first "thanks". I enjoyed reading your post and wish you all the best, although its not relevant to my situation.
Good luck & hope it goes smoothly from here on & that you're happy in you new home :beer:Mike
Expat in Australia, but heading back to the UK when the dust settles.0 -
Thanks alot Martin-OB, we are in the process of buying and most certainly have had more than our fair share of bumps, its just put my mind to ease that these things happen to everyone and Im not just the unlcky one - I nearly gave up!
Your post has definatley given me strength to start all my calls in the morning!:j BABY A :j0 -
Yes...don't give up!
It would have been the easiest thing to do after getting gazumped, but we battled on. I would also stress that you should never settle for second best. When the list of options was decreasing, we looked away from our No1 area - we could have got something quite easier in another town or village, but we wouldn't have felt as content as we do now.
The remaining surveys are taking place tomorrow morning, so fingers crossed we've already gone through the major 'bumps' of this transaction.
BUT...the property has been withdrawn from the market. It is no longer available at the Estate Agents or on rightmove.co.uk - and the 'Sold' sign will go up as soon as the vendor's solicitor receives notification of our formal mortgage offer.0 -
I also think that your post was well written and informative. Best of luck and hope you are both really happy in this house ...have a feeling that you will be!!! :j0
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