Offer accepted, mortage in progress...what next?

smcqis

We have had our offer accepted and mortgage has been submitted. Do we just hang about now and wait for the mortgage (fingers crossed) before next steps?

Can someone give me a quick run down what happens or what we need to go if we get our mortgage? Im a FTB as you probably have already susses

pledgeX

I'm guessing you've already got a solicitor working on your behalf and have received draft contracts etc?

I've just had an offer accepted myself but I'm a FTB so I'm not sure of the exact time you should do things either.

I personally will not make the mortgage application until we have got a draft contract and started finalising all the fixtures fittings etc. I'm trying to wait until as late as possible as I don't trust the vendor, so I don't want to pour money in on mortgage fees/searches/surveys etc only for her to back out.

I'm ready to go with everything so hopefully I wont be wasting anyone's time, just don't want to lose any money!

m_13

We're just moving for the eleventh time and on our fifth time of mortgage applications so I hope to have some good advice.

You need to keep on top of what is being done and what needs to be done. Your vendors will want to see progress to prove you are genuine buyers.

For example, at some point the mortgage company will want documents from you and arrange, at minimum, a valuation of the property.

You will need a solicitor who will need to see evidence of how you are going to pay for the property including your deposit, who you are (money laundering rules) and take instructions on searches etc.

You will need to think about removal companies, utilities etc and whether or not you want more than a valuation on the property. We like structural surveys as they give you a list of things to think about fixing. We had gas and electricity safety checks done on the property we are buying and the boiler has been condemned and the electrics are unsafe but we now have the ability to negotiate allowances on these against the price prior to completion.

You will receive a fixtures and fittings list about the property and need to ensure everything you think is going to be left is included in the sale and anything you don't want is excluded. The vendors may offer you appliances for an additional amount - we're paying £100 for the gas cooker, washing machine and fridge freezer - so you need to think about what you might want and how much you would be willing to pay.

Start making a list of all the companies you will need to do a change of address with. We have a word document with a mail merge that has all the reference numbers and addresses in.

You will need to arrange buildings insurance on the property from the day of exchange unless it is a leasehold and the management company include it. Be warned that if you get quotes they will often be sent to the address instead of to you so don't do this too early and upset the vendors as we have!

House buying never really involves 'hanging about'. You need to make sure you do everything you are asked as soon as you can, make decisions quickly and try to think ahead as to what you might be asked next. We have a whiteboard that we put things on so we can make sure we know to chase them. There is a lot of waiting though. Just make sure it's not for you!

Good luck with your new home.

m_13

I think this is a very risky approach pledgeX. Your offer should not be accepted unless you have proof that you have the finances in place. At the moment your mortgage is hypothetical and you have no guarantee, even if you've had an offer in principle (which should cost nothing), that the mortgage company will eventually lend you anything.

Why don't you trust the vendor? This doesn't sound like a match made in heaven!

dander

pledgeX wrote: »

I'm guessing you've already got a solicitor working on your behalf and have received draft contracts etc?

I've just had an offer accepted myself but I'm a FTB so I'm not sure of the exact time you should do things either.

I personally will not make the mortgage application until we have got a draft contract and started finalising all the fixtures fittings etc. I'm trying to wait until as late as possible as I don't trust the vendor, so I don't want to pour money in on mortgage fees/searches/surveys etc only for her to back out.

I'm ready to go with everything so hopefully I wont be wasting anyone's time, just don't want to lose any money!

Be careful with this approach. The survey is really the first sign for a seller that you are serious about the sale. If, as a seller, I felt the buyer was dragging their heels over the survey I would not give them exclusivity and keep searching for a more serious buyer. Especialy in times when mortgages can be difficult - it could be a sign that the buyer can't get a mortgage.

I would also think that your solicitor is not going to be keen on producing draft contracts without the survey. An awful lot of the process can change with the survey - negotiations to be done based on the findings.

And if you're trying to hang out on searches as well - well, I don't really understand what part of the process you are prepared to commit to! Sounds like you're just finding ways to make the process long, slow and painful.

pledgeX

m_13 wrote: »

Why don't you trust the vendor? This doesn't sound like a match made in heaven!

As pretty much every time we spoke to the estate agent about progress on the house she had changed her mind about what she was doing!

When we first put an offer in the plan was she was going into renting so could move instantly. Then there she had a a plan to still go into renting but didn't want to move until November :eek: but she wanted to sort contracts now. And now the latest is that she wants to move immediately as she's had an offer accepted on a flat. And all this comes from the estate agent, who should be putting her across as under control of the situation with her mind made up!

We do have an AIP but as you say this is just a piece of paper. But we do have the deposit in place and the mortgage form filled in, like I say we just don't want to get stung. We've got a solicitor and she has already been chasing the vendor as it's been 2 weeks and all we've had is the memorandum of sale, although we had two as they got the vendor's solicitors details wrong on the first one!

Is the normal process to apply for a mortgage as soon as the offer is accepted then? What happens if you want to negotiate fixtures and fittings, do you pay for this externally, e.g. just give her a cheque? And what if the survey throws up issues that are going to be costly, how do you renogotiate a price when you've already applied for a mortgage for a set price? Apply again?

**Edit** - We have paid for the searches and a booking fee for the mortgage. The estate agent knows this and I made it clear that we've aleary put in £500 so we're not doing it for a laugh. We also said that we ideally want a draft contract first to show that she isn't the one wasting time. The last thing I want to do is drag out time, I want to move in ASAP, I just don't want to lose any money!

dander

smcqis wrote: »

We have had our offer accepted and mortgage has been submitted. Do we just hang about now and wait for the mortgage (fingers crossed) before next steps?

Can someone give me a quick run down what happens or what we need to go if we get our mortgage? Im a FTB as you probably have already susses

Have you instructed a solicitor? That's normally the first step. Very often the estate agent will want to put the two solicitors details on the offer letter, so you may already have sorted that.
They can start on various legal searches - whether the vendor really owns the property etc, while you get the mortgage confirmed. Until the mortgage company value the property, you can't be 100% sure they'll be prepared to lend the agreed amount on that place, so for peace of mind it's best to get that organised fast. Last time I bought they were able to get the survey done within a few days of the offer being accepted. Then it's just a case of talking to the solictor - letting them know if you have any particular things you want checking out - finding out what they are doing - and generally just keeping them know you're keen to keep things moving, so they don't let you slip to the bottom of their pile.

hazyjo

People on threads here have been saying they've waited four weeks or so for their mortgage offer to come through, so might be worth bearing that in mind.

I'd definitely get that sorted at the beginning. I know you're (pledgeX) reluctant to spend money on it until you know the vendor's serious, but it's the gamble you take. If your mortgage offer's refused, your vendor would have spent a month or two thinking they had a buyer only to be told they were pulling out. Frustrating for both sides. The longer you leave it, the tighter the lending criteria might get... and the more doubt people have about selling. If you force them along with a broom behind their feet, they tend to get the job done. These things can drag and drag (taken us five long months to get to exchange).

Jx

smcqis

This is our current situation…we got our offer accepted at start of week, we have applied for mortgage, survey is being done this week by mortgage company. We have let the EA know who our solicitor is and the EA has informed us who the vendors solicitor is. EA also gave us a completion date in 8 and half weeks time.

I haven’t yet met with my solicitor to discuss anything and wasn’t really sure what the next step was. From what I gather the EA was getting the relevant stuff sent to my solicitor, do I need to inform my solicitor of anything?

I ideally would like to comfirm whats included in the sale, all we are concerned about is anything attached to house, eg build in cooker and built in fridge freezer, carpets and possibly blinds but nothing else really. I had asked the EA at time of offer what was included but he responded it would be sorted at solicitor stage.

Im mindful of doing a lot of anything else until my mortgage is agreed (fingers crossed). Any advice on what I should be doing? Do I need a meeting with my solicitor? I did tell hi m that if he needed me to call in let me know or give me a call.

kford224

After our offer was accepted....

1) We received a letter from the EA confirming the offer, our details, the sellers details and the details of the solicitors.

2) A day later we got the AIP from the mortgage company and sent off the documentation they requested.

3) We sent copies of our passports and driving licenses to our solicitor

4) We then received the draft contract/deeds from the solicitor (about a week later)

5) We received our formal mortgage offer a few days after this (Wednesday this week), with details of the survey and discovered they were retaining £2000 pending a specialist survey of all timber and damp in the property (with any subsequent works to be carried out)

6) Today we have a survey arranged for the property


So far it has taken just over three weeks, so not too bad

smcqis

Kford, did your solicitor inform you that they received these and whats the next step with them. Did they tell you what the draft contract basically said, did you have to meet with them?