decided not to go ahead with the transaction, would you do what i did?

vincentt

Hey guys,

The forum has been very welcoming to me and people have helped with the nitty gritty questions i have answered.

After a few weeks of negotiations, i have finally come to a price where the seller wont budge anymore and i have accepted this given the location and potential of the property. The house needs a lot of work but i am confident that it is a good home for me and potentially my family when i have one!

The agent contacted me and the seller to confirm that we are both happy and he has told me to appoint a solicitor asap. but i need to speak to the bank before i proceed as i dont want to pay and fees etc. I also need to do some research for a lawyer as well, not even sure where to start. (I live in SE3, Blackheath if anyone knows a local lawyer who can do the work at a good price)

What is the next steps after i have appointed a lawyer? from my research, the lawyers would just do their work then i get approved for the mortgage from the bank then it i leave it from there?

how hands on will i have to be? what kind of fees am i like to pay the lawyer and is it fixed? apologies if these are novice questions. i think that fees etc. will be c.2k if i am correct. but just wanted to check that i was right!

I look forward to hearing your replies!

UrWntr

vincentt wrote: »

Hey guys,

The forum has been very welcoming to me and people have helped with the nitty gritty questions i have answered.

After a few weeks of negotiations, i have finally come to a price where the seller wont budge anymore and i have accepted this given the location and potential of the property. The house needs a lot of work but i am confident that it is a good home for me and potentially my family when i have one!

The agent contacted me and the seller to confirm that we are both happy and he has told me to appoint a solicitor asap. but i need to speak to the bank before i proceed as i dont want to pay and fees etc. I also need to do some research for a lawyer as well, not even sure where to start. (I live in SE3, Blackheath if anyone knows a local lawyer who can do the work at a good price)

What is the next steps after i have appointed a lawyer? from my research, the lawyers would just do their work then i get approved for the mortgage from the bank then it i leave it from there?

how hands on will i have to be? what kind of fees am i like to pay the lawyer and is it fixed? apologies if these are novice questions. i think that fees etc. will be c.2k if i am correct. but just wanted to check that i was right!

I look forward to hearing your replies!

I was advised by my mortgage advisor to wait for the mortgage offer to come through before instructing a solicitor.

I'm not sure if this is standard practise, but it makes sense as mortgages can be declined for some very obscure reasons, and you would then lose your solicitor fees.

timmyt

UrWntr wrote: »

I was advised by my mortgage advisor to wait for the mortgage offer to come through before instructing a solicitor.

I'm not sure if this is standard practise, but it makes sense as mortgages can be declined for some very obscure reasons, and you would then lose your solicitor fees.

if you are not certain you will get an offer then yes, wait, otherwise don't, as you will lose such a long time and your Seller may not take you seriously.

Yorkie1

Two things happen in parallel: the legal stuff and the mortgage stuff.

As far as the mortgage is concerned, if you haven't yet applied for one then you need to identify the right product and apply for it. I wouldn't advise going just to your bank as they have a very limited range of products. An independent broker would be better as they can discuss your position in full and recommend the best fit for you.

At the same time as applying for the mortgage you pay any product / arrangement fee and decide what level of survey you want. You have to pay for a basic valuation for the lender - but you would be foolish not to get a separate survey for yourself. Either homebuyers or full. This fee is paid at the same time as applying for the mortgage. You can get an independent survey for yourself instead of through the lender but you'll need to arrange this and pay for it separately.

Solicitor. Get three quotes from firms. I asked colleagues and friends for recommendations. Make sure they send you an itemised quote so you can compare like with like. Check there's no small print surprises. Ask who will be doing your work for you - will it be the specific solicitor / licensed conveyancer or a general team? I got a feel for the solicitor I felt I would work best with, and went with them.

There are quite a lot of threads on this forum asking about fees, have a browse for them to get some idea of what you might be looking at. If you are a first time buyer paying under £250K then you won't be paying stamp duty.

After you've confirmed the solicitor you want to act for you, they will send you a letter with their terms in. You will need to supply an up front amount to cover some of the searches. They start doing those and eventually report back to you with what they've found out.

The seller's solicitor prepares some draft documents including a draft contract. This gets signed much later on, when everything is sorted out. You will also receive 2 documents from the seller: property information form, and fixtures and fittings form. You need to scrutinise these carefully to make sure that there's nothing missed out, nothing they are taking which you expected to be left, and nothing on the PFI which raises any concerns.

timmyt

vincentt wrote: »

Hey guys,

The forum has been very welcoming to me and people have helped with the nitty gritty questions i have answered.

After a few weeks of negotiations, i have finally come to a price where the seller wont budge anymore and i have accepted this given the location and potential of the property. The house needs a lot of work but i am confident that it is a good home for me and potentially my family when i have one!

The agent contacted me and the seller to confirm that we are both happy and he has told me to appoint a solicitor asap. but i need to speak to the bank before i proceed as i dont want to pay and fees etc. I also need to do some research for a lawyer as well, not even sure where to start. (I live in SE3, Blackheath if anyone knows a local lawyer who can do the work at a good price)

What is the next steps after i have appointed a lawyer? from my research, the lawyers would just do their work then no your lawyer starts, and side by side you get your mortgage offer issued and sent to the lawyer i get approved for the mortgage from the bank then it i leave it from there?

how hands on will i have to be? what kind of fees am i like to pay the lawyer it is based on the price you are paying, but expect min £500 plus VAT and third party expenses...and make sure you bag yourself your very own actual conveyancing solicitor or Legal Executive. Don't go cheap, or you might as well post a made up tale of woe now and save yourself the same bother later and is it fixed? apologies if these are novice questions. i think that fees etc. will be c.2k if i am correct. but just wanted to check that i was right!

I look forward to hearing your replies!

good luck OP

The_Palmist

Get mortgage approved first.
Find a solicitor and tell them to keep you on file but do not start anything till they have received formal "instructions" from you. This will save you monies if the sale falls through.
Once bank approves the mortgage, they will send a copy to your solicitor as well and then the sols can start the searches etc. [you will need to pay them some money at this stage]

If you any specific questions, post and I am sure you will find the best advice available and for general idea read these links

http://www.home.co.uk/guides/buying/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/oct/25/property.firsttimebuyers

timmyt

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Two things happen in parallel: the legal stuff and the mortgage stuff.

As far as the mortgage is concerned, if you haven't yet applied for one then you need to identify the right product and apply for it. I wouldn't advise going just to your bank as they have a very limited range of products. An independent broker would be better as they can discuss your position in full and recommend the best fit for you. yes, an IFA specialising in mortgages who considers EVER single lender INCLUDING those who will not deal with mortgage brokers but make offers direct to the customer. Many mortgage brokers say they do whole of market but they miss off so many Lenders and certainly the direct to customer deals.

At the same time as applying for the mortgage you pay any product / arrangement fee and decide what level of survey you want. You have to pay for a basic valuation for the lender - but you would be foolish not to get a separate survey for yourself. Either homebuyers or full. This fee is paid at the same time as applying for the mortgage. You can get an independent survey for yourself instead of through the lender but you'll need to arrange this and pay for it separately.

Solicitor. Get three quotes from firms. I asked colleagues and friends for recommendations. Make sure they send you an itemised quote so you can compare like with like. Check there's no small print surprises. Ask who will be doing your work for you - will it be the specific solicitor / licensed conveyancer or a general team? I got a feel for the solicitor I felt I would work best with, and went with them.

There are quite a lot of threads on this forum asking about fees, have a browse for them to get some idea of what you might be looking at. If you are a first time buyer paying under £250K then you won't be paying stamp duty.

After you've confirmed the solicitor you want to act for you, they will send you a letter with their terms in. You will need to supply an up front amount to cover some of the searches. They start doing those and eventually report back to you with what they've found out.

The seller's solicitor prepares some draft documents including a draft contract. This gets signed much later on, when everything is sorted out. You will also receive 2 documents from the seller: property information form, and fixtures and fittings form. You need to scrutinise these carefully to make sure that there's nothing missed out, nothing they are taking which you expected to be left, and nothing on the PFI which raises any concerns.

good luck OP

UrWntr

timmyt wrote: »

if you are not certain you will get an offer then yes, wait, otherwise don't, as you will lose such a long time and your Seller may not take you seriously.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to this.

timmyt is probably a solicitor.

vincentt

Hey guys,

Just to give you an update, i spoke to the solicitor and i got two quotes one for 1700 and one for 3000 (included stamp duty) but minus the stamp duty it goes down to c.1300

I am due to see the bank this weekend to confirm the details and get the bank rolling.
I will appoint the solicitor after i have confirmation from the bank.


The bank has provisionally agreed to give me a little more than i was expecting (there was a range, and i asked if i could get the upper limit and he said it was likely based on my credit score)

I will keep you guys updated with progress as it happens!
Rgds

timmyt

UrWntr wrote: »

I wouldn't pay too much attention to this.

timmyt is probably a solicitor.

You are an infrequent poster but you should know we all have our views on here. Unlike you, I see hundreds and hundreds of clients a year and this is my experience and so my view is first hand.

timmyt

vincentt wrote: »

Hey guys,

Just to give you an update, i spoke to the solicitor and i got two quotes one for 1700 and one for 3000 (included stamp duty) but minus the stamp duty it goes down to c.1300

not just about price...make sure you know who is the person actually doing your work/to blame if they get it wrong...make sure they are good enough for your hard earned cash.

I am due to see the bank this weekend to confirm the details and get the bank rolling.
I will appoint the solicitor after i have confirmation from the bank.


The bank has provisionally agreed to give me a little more than i was expecting (there was a range, and i asked if i could get the upper limit and he said it was likely based on my credit score)

I will keep you guys updated with progress as it happens!
Rgds

herm, see above