Confused FTB - lots of questions!

dumpallhere

kingstreet wrote: »

Is that a desktop valuation?

If you are applying for a mortgage, you'll probably find the lender wants an inspection. Either way, you'll pay the full price for the lender's mortgage report & valuation, even if it settles for a desktop, or drive-by.

The valuation report for the lender is free with the mortgage, so I am not worried on that front.

Since I will not be able to get a surveyor in in the house before the vendor accepts the offer, the only way I can think of getting a professional estimate of value of the property ... before I make an offer ..... is through an AVM (automatic valuation model) report.

I do wish to have an independant survey done on my own. But that can happen only after the offer is accepted. And, unless the surveyor I hire is one who belongs to / knows the local area like the back of his hand, I suspect he/she too will rely on technology and databases to come up with a valuation of the property ....... I don't expect any construction issues with a 2 year old build.

Hence am thinking of getting an AVM report .. to (hopefully) get a professional / technology based current valuation of the property. Costs 20 odd quids, so no harm in getting one!

dumpallhere

Had an appointment for second viewing on Saturday evening.

The EA called up 10ish saying that it may not be possible to go ahead with the viewing as another party had put in an offer the day before (which was rejected for being a "bit" low) and they intended to put in another offer before EOD, but that he will try his best to "give us a chance" and that we may have to put in an offer then and there itself. Ended the call saying he will confirm either way by 3ish.

Decided not to call back to enquire. The EA never called back so we decided to drive down for the appointment as scheduled. Reached there and the EA was waiting for us. No mention about the other party, their offer, or any warning that we will need to put in an offer then and there!!

Spent a good half hour viewing the property in detail, chatted with the vendor's wife who was present with her year old daughter. On our way out I asked the EA if there was an upper chain and he said he would check - went back in and asked the vendor's wife who politely replied that they had viewed some properties but nothing more.

So, the "other party" had made an offer and the EA didn't even know if there was an upper chain!!!! Time for goodbye, expecting "so, what offer would you like to make" .... but it never came up. Told him that we will have a think and get back to him on Monday.

Other than a hot iron (burn) mark on the carpet in the living room (which we brought to the EA's attention) and that one of the bedrooms and family bathroom had clowns, fairies, stars etc. painted on their walls, visually we did not discover any other issues.

The current value of the property as suggested in the AVM (automatic valuation model) report is ~20% lower than the listed price. But the AVM does state the forecast is subject to a 9.2% standard deviation. If I add the 9.2% std. dev. to the suggested current value (most optimistic current value), then the difference comes down to ~12.5%. Zoopla and mouseprice suggest the estimated current value to be ~10% less than the listed price.

Being an FTB isn't easy!!!! Both I and OH couldn't sleep the last night. Spent good part of the night and the whole of Sunday discussing and wondering what figure to quote as the 1st offer, decided to add a small "end-terrace premium" and make a first offer 9% lower than the asking price, tomorrow.

Questions (in general):

1. Should the offer be made verbally or in writing and subject to conditions such as - if accepted, property to be off market within X hours, offer subject to satisfactory survey etc. etc. If advisable in writing, any drafts available?

2. Wish to get a homebuyer survey done from an independent (not the lender's) surveyor and ideally from someone who is based in / has good knowledge of the local area. How to find one such?

3. Assuming an offer is accepted but the homebuyer report comes up with a current value much lower than the offered figure (let's say a difference of 15K or more, or in percentage terms let's say >5%), is it okay to ask the vendor to renegotiate .. or ... even walkaway if we decide not pay / cannot afford an unacceptable amount of premium over the current value? Any legal / financial implications involved?

dumpallhere

dumpallhere wrote: »

Questions (in general):

1. Should the offer be made verbally or in writing and subject to conditions such as - if accepted, property to be off market within X hours, offer subject to satisfactory survey etc. etc. If advisable in writing, any drafts available?

2. Wish to get a homebuyer survey done from an independent (not the lender's) surveyor and ideally from someone who is based in / has good knowledge of the local area. How to find one such?

3. Assuming an offer is accepted but the homebuyer report comes up with a current value much lower than the offered figure (let's say a difference of 15K or more, or in percentage terms let's say >5%), is it okay to ask the vendor to renegotiate .. or ... even walkaway if we decide not pay / cannot afford an unacceptable amount of premium over the current value? Any legal / financial implications involved?

Grateful for some pointers!

TIA.

highguyuk

Point 1. Make the offer however you wish, with whichever conditions you wish! You've already listed the usual conditions.

Point 2. We're all in different areas, so we can't recommend anyone. Best way is word of mouth. www.reallymoving.com has some different options.

Point 3. You can walkaway at any time until exchange of contracts. Or you can renegotiate. Financial implications are any costs incurred upto the point of walking away, such as property searches, HB report etc.

ghosti

for point #2 surveyor. as an idea you could ask your solicitor, the estate agent and your mortgage broker for recomendations, if any of those guys are local to where you are buying.

no harm in getting a quote and will be as good as from someone you havent dealt with before. at least someone recomends them, which means they cant be that bad, but beware of inflated prices though..