FTB - just wondering - silly offer

Blue_Monkey

Oh and one more thing - if I'm not back to work until Feb 2013, surely we'd then need 3 month's payslips before we could apply for a mortgage (as anything before that would be mat pay)? so that could put our buying plans back to Summer 2013?!? Gah

hazyjo

I'm sure if you could prove you were about to go back part time/full time, just the three months mat pay slips and a letter or revised contract or whatever would suffice. So long as you're with the same company, it shouldn't matter.

Jx

woodsey2002

Blue_Monkey wrote: »

Oh and one more thing - if I'm not back to work until Feb 2013, surely we'd then need 3 month's payslips before we could apply for a mortgage (as anything before that would be mat pay)? so that could put our buying plans back to Summer 2013?!? Gah

you may find that having returned from abroad that you'll need to wait that long anyway..many high street lenders require three years residency these days, i know as we returned from the US almost three years ago and finding someone willing to lend to us has been a disaster..Nationwide with whom we had a prior mortgage and a bank account with money in all the time we were away wouldnt touch us, still wouldn't two months. This was with an excellent score according to experian, no debt, 6 figure salary and a continuous employment history of 14 years..

we were away for 5 years though, your situation may be slightly better as you were away for less time but I know someone else whos just returned from Australia after two years of being there and they've resigned themselves to renting for the forseeable future, they had a 50% deposit to put down too.

We went with the Halifax in the end, give them a try.:)

Blue_Monkey

Thanks for the tips! I've heard good things about Halifax actually....

I guess renting for longer wouldn't be the end of the world, but we're paying nearly £1k per month so it is quite hefty (it is a beautiful place though)!

I had thought about buying a flat instead, using less savings for a deposit, smaller mortgage etc. The longer-term view would be to rent it out or sell, whilst using the difference in the lower mortgage payments to save more for a house eventually. However, guidance on here seemed to suggest stretching ourselves now to a longer-term house would probably be the better bet........

purple.sarah

19lottie82 wrote: »

jeezo...... can you really call 6' x 7' a bedroom these days?

Sounds like the "second bed room" in a house I use to rent, it was ok for a guest to stay overnight but not two! You couldn't use it regularly as a bedroom, you couldn't move! We just used it for storage, I had the other, actual bedroom and my housemate used the living room as a bedroom.

beefturnmail

If you think it's worth that then by all means offer it. Put the offer in writing direct to the vendor and justify your offer by e.g. citing what work needs doing etc. A lower offer gives you more room for negotiation.

Some people say vendor will be offended and ignore you in future negotiations. If I was the vendor, I wouldn't ignore you, I would probably refuse the offer, re-state the asking price and then see if you come back with an increased offer. I guess it depends on the vendor, but I would see a low opening offer as an 'opening offer' and expect you to move upwards, so that eventually you meet a point for which I am willing to sell. What would irritate me, is people contiuning to offer the same amount, or by edging upwards by tiny ammounts.

Squish_21

Worth a try I spose - they will either accept, be offended (& turn you down) or negotiate.

Let us know how you get on!

Blue_Monkey

If it's still there in a couple of weeks I might be able to convince OH that we should go for a viewing. Whether now is an appropriate time for us to apply for a mortgage is another consideration as I've touched on here.

The problem is, going even £1k over £250k makes the stamp duty over £7k, so it's not just £1k more, it's actually £8k more in total for us!

It'll be interesting to see what happens to it, I'll keep you posted

KateLiana27

If it hasn't been on the market that long (as in less than 6 months), I can't really see them accepting that much off. If they were willing to sell for £250K, it makes no sense to slap an extra £70K onto the price just to put viewers off.

If £250K was all you could afford and you weren't that bothered about getting the house, I'd say go for it - nothing to lose. But if you are seriously hoping to get this house, and are able/prepared to pay more, I would start higher so as not to alienate the vendor (as long as you think the house is worth it).

DVardysShadow

ReadingTim wrote: »

Err....isn't this fraud? - the application is be based on information which you've stated won't be true after December. Is this really a wise idea?

I think people sometimes get too carried away shouting "Fraud!". OP will be on maternity leave and will therefore have the job open to return to until the end of that leave. Other people who do not have a need for maternity leave could just decide to give up the job, be made redundant etc.