50 House Buying Tricks guide discussion 23 October 2012 at 1:39PM edited 24 October 2012 at 9:16AM in House buying, renting & selling 43 replies 19K views

MSE_Jenny

Hi all, we've written a new 50 House Buying Tricks guide with help from your 'what I wish I'd known before buying' tales.

How did you find the info? Do you have any other tips you'd add? Did your new home come with any hidden catches that others could learn from?

Thanks for your help!

MSE Jenny

baerbel

Solicitors will often match lower quotes from other firms, so get some quotes and go back to your favourite solicitor to see if they will match it.

Richard_Webster

Solicitors will often match lower quotes from other firms, so get some quotes and go back to your favourite solicitor to see if they will match it.

Make sure you are comparing like with like and there are no hidden extras.

SleeplessinScandinavia

A comprehensive guide - I like the mention of the 'I must own property' mentality and I think many people are 'conditioned' to believe it.

Some property buyers live far away from the area they want to live in, and maybe the cost of travelling/accommodation (etc) is something else to 'factor in'?

An extreme example: I live in Sweden and have been looking for property in the UK for some time now. I've been paying airfares, hire car costs and hotel accommodation.

Just a thought

zappahey

Rather than buying and carrying a compass, be aware that satellite dishes generally point in a south east(ish) direction and give a rough orientation.

Suzy_M

"Open cupboards and drawers" - Surely this should read open fitted cupboards and drawers.
(Yes I know anyone with a modicum of intelligience would know this but it's amazing how many ill-mannered thickos there are out there.)

tenuissent

As a cash buyer (therefore no need to apply for mortgage) I was slightly caught out when I came to sell the house 13 years later. My best buyers were refused a mortgage and had to pull out. The reason was the "non-standard materials" the house was made of. It was a very sound house indeed, but was made of rubble mixed with cement and whitewashed. I did get a buyer in the end but at a considerably lower price.

Another problem was that the back gardens were not truly aligned with the row of these houses, and boundaries were very vaguely drawn on the deeds. Eventually new neighbours were difficult about my access to my own garden, and put a new gate and an aggressive dog in my way. Just another thing to think about.

christini5

You could also find out if the neighbour's drain(s) come under the fence to link to your drain. Look at large trees. If you want to plant vegetables does that chestnut shade the south(east) sun and do its roots take all the moisture and nutrition out of the soil? Are there leylandii type trees on the other side of the fences?

Hillbilly1

Need to mention avoiding the EA mortgage advice and poss highlight the companies that are a front for mortgage brokers...

Hales64

For all first time buyers there is a bank offering 95% lends. The yorkshire/clydesdale bank does 5% deposits and offers a 3 fixed interest rate. Check it out online ybonline.co.uk

christini5

Apologies for my first post which wasn't as detailed as it could have been. The point about the neighbour's drain leading to your drain on your property is a) what happens if theirs gets a leak or DynoRod espies a crack, and your front garden has to be dug up, and b) what if their drain gets blocked. In these cases, I dissuaded the neighbours from digging up my front garden, and in the second, when the house had been sold and let to five students, the problem was fortunately on their side. Phew!

As to trees, the trees I mentioned are in neighbours' gardens and I didn't notice when I viewed my house. If you even think about thinning a large tree, the owner/neighbour must agree, and might not, and then the local authority may have to send an arboreal person round who may say that nothing can be cut off it. We need trees and hedges for wildlife but if they're too big, they cut the light and cause other problems.:)