Advice on buying a repossessed house...

Jessycat

..Hi, I'm a FTB buying on my own. I went to view a property on 16th June that was on the market for £99 950. The house is a repossession and was in the process of being modernised. The property has no bathroom at present, just a brand new plain white bath & sink. Neither of which are plumbed in & there is no window in the bathroom either.

I made an arrangement to go for a second viewing with a plumber last week but this fell through. The house has also been reduced to £97 950 so I decided to put in an offer of £93 000 which was declined as the mortgage company who currently own the property said they wanted to accept my offer it with it being close but need £97 000 as that is what they are owed.

I am now going for my second viewing on Wednesday with a plumber, I've already got a quote from a builder regarding have a window put into the bathroom. The estate agent & mortgage broker have both called today asking if I can raise £97 000 and if I'm still interested in the property.

Does this mean the mortgage company are likely to budge & take an offer less than £97k?

The house is a 2 bedroom terrace but needs decorating (including new flooring) in every room except the kitchen. Houses in the area seem to be on the market at £110k mark.

Thanks in advance

JoeK_3

I think the mortgage company are just testing the water.

Based on your description and other property values in the area, your property does not sound cheap, with all the work required.

Do you have any money of your own?

JoeK

Jessycat

I thought I had a total of £19k After discussing it with the mortgage broker I was going to put £17k down as a deposit & keep £2k free for fees & surveys. I was then falling short by about £1k which I said I could probably get from my parents to help me out if I really wanted this property at £97k. Turns out my mum has £2k of my money anyway so I have enough to cover everything. They mortgage broker & estate agent were both ringing to ask me if I'd managed to get hold of this extra money today. I told them I was still mulling it over as I wanted to see how much the bathroom would cost.

millsee

Jessycat wrote: »

They mortgage broker & estate agent were both ringing to ask me if I'd managed to get hold of this extra money today. I told them I was still mulling it over as I wanted to see how much the bathroom would cost.

Tell them no. Also tell them that as a FTB, you are really disappointed and felt you could have exchanged within 28 days and that you are so sorry to lose it. You know, you have no chain, mortgage offer sorted, etc... and that after doing your sums again feel that £91500 is the highest you can go for. Then sit back and watch them squirm. The ball is well and truly in your court here.

Jessycat

The mortgage broker hasn't done an actual mortgage offer yet as he didn't want to do another credit check on me as I've just had one with Halifax. He has found me a better deal with another lender.

I've kind of confessed at sorting out a little bit extra so I was thinking of offering £95k

Ugh this housebuying malarky is so hard & stressful.

Thanks again for your replies.

Doozergirl

Always go less than they ask for as you can always increase your offer. With a repossession, never let an agent give you a quick fob off as it generally takes a good few hours, if not days to get a reply back from the mortgage lender.

You should always receive a notification of offer in the post, particularly with a repossession. They HAVE to do things by the book.

Jessycat

What's actually "by the book"? I'm just wondering all the actual legalities are from their point of view as I'm hopeless at this "playing them at their own game" stuff. Cheers

brock-cruse

Well here goes:
Nov 2006 - House on market at £250k owners trying to sell
Feb 2007 - House on market at 232K bank trying to sell (now repossessed)
March - we bid on house 210k, 215k, 220k (took a week and all rejected). While offering, bank reduce to 225K. Put in asking price and got for 225k
April - our chain of 3 fell through repo house back on market 225k
May - sell our house to ftb put offer in of 217k rejected. Offer again at 220k and accepted.
Got 28 day time (29 May) constraint but was told this could be flexible so long as things move fairly quickly. Mind you this time constraint was as soon as my offer was accepted and my sol said it should actually be from when he receives the paperwork as he is unable to carry out certain searches before then.
Passed the deadline about 3 weeks ago (flippin sols messing around no matter how much nagging and chasing etc) and bank is now saying we should exchange this week. Hopefully we will as our buyer signed, we sign tom and hope she has taken in deposit.
The thing is that you get no history with the house. The banks sol will send all paperwork to your sol and there will be nothing else. My sol spent a week chasing up planning permission for a conservatory (why i dont know) only to be told there isnt any so just accept it or else!
I think in my case we were the only ones to put in an offer they would actually accept. We had a property investor friend take a look at it (every room needs decorating and just a lot of cleaning) but he said it wasnt worth an investor taking on board. we found out from various websites that the house sold 2 years ago for 240K and we believe that very little has been done in the house since. Mind you looking at other properties on the road (ours is 5 bed detached - garage converted to study and big kitchen with upsatirs 2 extra beds and shower room whereas rest are 3 bed detached with garage) there is one currently on market for 220k (not sure it will get that) so we are about right paying 220k. Not sure it was originally worth 240K though. Fingers crossed
As a ftb i think thatyou would be in a really strong position adn i think your only threat would be a cash buyer. Cant you get friendly with the estate agent ( I travelled 20 mins and did a lot face to face so that they actually got to know me!! Works both ways!) That way they may tell you if anyone else is interested etc etc.
Hope some of this helps and good luck.

Doozergirl

Jessycat wrote: »

What's actually "by the book"? I'm just wondering all the actual legalities are from their point of view as I'm hopeless at this "playing them at their own game" stuff. Cheers

The mortgage company has to show that they made all reasonable effort to obtain the best price for the house. The EA has to document all offers properly.

They should not be playing silly beggars and refusing offers without even consulting the mortgage company, in an attempt to get you to offer higher. If you were to walk away and the house were subsequently sold to someone else for less, the EA would be in hot water.

Jessycat

Thanks for all your help. I'm considering an offer of £95k tomorrow if the bathroom isn't going to be a crazily expensive job. Any comments on whether this is sensible for next step or should I hold a bit longer insisting I can't afford more? As far as I am aware, there has been no other interest in the property. The estate agents did say they would let me know if there was.