Being a cash buyer

tryfan

Hi all
I am in the lucky place of being able to buy a house as a cash buyer, having just sold mine. I've seen one I like and am about to put in an offer. Previously I've just bought houses using mortgages etc and just followed their lead. What I want to know is what sort of survey I need, where will I find a surveyor, what sort of % offer below the asking price is reasonable (mine sold for 95% after a bit of to and fro) esp when the seller has no chain and wants to sell quickly (already been reduced in price), anything else I need to take into account? How quick will it take, assuming no issues, esp with Xmas coming up, can I be in by the end of Jan?


Thanks

AndyPK

For the offer price compare with other similar houses locally, and how much you want the house. Are you prepared to loose it for saving £.

The survey depends on what risk you want, how old the house is.
You don't actually need one.

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally I don't think I would bother with a survey again...unless it was one of those centuries-old houses that would obviously require the highest level survey.

I had a Homebuyer Survey on my starter house (waste of money, as he didn't spot the most obvious defects). Had no choice, as I needed a mortgage.

I had a Homebuyer Survey on this house I have just moved to (waste of money, as he didn't spot the most obvious defects). Did have a choice this time, as I didn't need a mortgage.

That was just my personal experience. If I moved again (bar the centuries-old type house) I'd be looking for a good "How to be your own surveyor" type book and pay for that instead.

ValHaller

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Personally I don't think I would bother with a survey again...unless it was one of those centuries-old houses that would obviously require the highest level survey.

I had a Homebuyer Survey on my starter house (waste of money, as he didn't spot the most obvious defects). Had no choice, as I needed a mortgage.

I had a Homebuyer Survey on this house I have just moved to (waste of money, as he didn't spot the most obvious defects). Did have a choice this time, as I didn't need a mortgage.

That was just my personal experience. If I moved again (bar the centuries-old type house) I'd be looking for a good "How to be your own surveyor" type book and pay for that instead.

When you are a cash buyer, you should at least have a survey to mortgage standards to ensure that the property is mortgageable. Otherwise you risk no being able to sell on.

tryfan

Thanks all
some useful ideas there, esp VakHaller about reselling. Its had some internal work done on it so I'll definitely get it looked at just not sure of the extent to get.


Cheers

gazter

tryfan wrote: »

Hi all
I am in the lucky place of being able to buy a house as a cash buyer, having just sold mine. I've seen one I like and am about to put in an offer. Previously I've just bought houses using mortgages etc and just followed their lead. What I want to know is what sort of survey I need, where will I find a surveyor, what sort of % offer below the asking price is reasonable (mine sold for 95% after a bit of to and fro) esp when the seller has no chain and wants to sell quickly (already been reduced in price), anything else I need to take into account? How quick will it take, assuming no issues, esp with Xmas coming up, can I be in by the end of Jan?


Thanks

I got superb quotes from reallymoving . com for surveyors.

There are a lot of time delays in buying a house, lots of unknowns. An offer with no mortgage attached to it will be extremely valuable and attractive to a seller who has their eye on a house they want.

The_Earl_of_Streatham

I have just bought a house for cash. I had a full survey and got a local surveyor to do it. The surveyor actually suggested I don't bother with the full survey because if there's anything seriously wrong he'll pick it up anyway. I think it was money well spent, others may not. I'm buying a long way outside London so the price didn't seem too hefty.

As to the rest of the process, the searches took about ten days and you really wouldn't want to miss out on those. The rest of the process is absolutely dependent on the other party, mine took a while because I was very accommodating to the sellers who had problems with their new place at the last moment. A friend of mine found himself couch surfing for a week while his seller's solicitors acted at a positively glacial pace (even the Jarndyces were getting impatient). I think your January estimate may be optimistic given the holiday; house buying being what it is, the holiday is the only certainty in the equation.

My conclusion is that cash bought me few advantages in terms of price or pace but bought me enormous benefits in terms of stress, I had the flexibility to take setbacks that might scupper a mortgage transaction and it kept me out of a chain. I move next week, who knows, it could all fall apart even now.

Moving large sums of money into my solicitor's account has been the most stressful part. The banks I have dealt with seem to view such transactions as criminal until you prove otherwise. Perhaps I just look dodgy.