22 And Desperate For Some Advice !!

freestyler

Hi everyone

I'm new to this forum and have spent quite a while reading various threads. I've found them extremely informative, especially for a 22 year old like me who is still at university !. However since my Dad had to move around quite a bit, we've been renting around till now ; so effectively we are first time buyers. Since he's quite old its pretty much all down to me now to go through all the hassle of buying a house.

I've been to a few EA's already and viewed quite a lot of properties. My search has been narrowed down to two houses now so I reckon I'm almost there as far as choosing a house is concerned. However, being new to this thing I'm not quite sure what to do once I've decided on a house. After reading a few threads I've decided to make an offer about 5k below the advertised price for one of them.

What I would like to know now is what are the procedures that buyers normally go through up till the point where the house is a purchased 'product' ! ? Do I have to get my own solicitor ? or do the EA's provide one ? I have recieved mortgage advice [on behalf of my Dad] and seems that we can manage things with a decent mortgage.

If anyone could help me with this I'd be deeply grateful. I dont need detailed advice as I can do research for that myself , I just need the steps that house buyers normally undertake before actually purchasing the property.

Cheers !
Bob

cam101

We just got a mortgage offer in principle, so we knew we could afford the house. We also did a lot of working out for our budget, so we knew what we could afford to pay each month.

Once that was all done, and our offer on a house was accepted, things like solicitors and confirming the mortgage came along next. They will do the survey, arrange the searches, basically you pay your solicitor to make sure everything runs smoothly!

It almost feels like it's too simple, but as we had no house to sell it wasn't half as stressful!

Good luck

cam101

Forgot to say- we arranged our own solicitor- best to keep them separate from the EA incase of any disputes- make sure the Solicitors have no affiliation to the EA!

Someone will hopefully give you more experienced advice about the stages (e.g. exchange, completion) as they are fairly new to me too.

freestyler

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it !

We had a free mortgage advice interview [more than one in fact], and we were told that with the current level of income [my parents'] a decent mortgage was manageable..however we havent actually approached a bank or building society yet and obtained an actual offer..I thought that came after deciding on one property [seems thats not the case !]..

This may sound really stupid but how do you find a good solicitor ? I'm considering going to citizens advice bureau..Did you just go to some good law firm and find one ? Once I do find one then I take he does the rest of the surveying , checking the property is fit for occupation etc..? And what do the EA's solicitors do ? Do they get involved at all ? What part do they play ?

Cheers
Bob

HelzBelz

If you can leave yourself alittle margin on the mortgage (don't take as much money as they are offering, unless you have to, it gives you a little extra for emergencies or the interest rates going up).

you do need to arange a solicitor (friend have just had abuyer pull out of a sale as they didn't realise they needed a solicitor to buy a house and hadn't budgeted for it)

But most of all don't get stressed, if the house you choose falls through, it isn't the end of the world.

freestyler

Thanks for the advice !

Everytime i ring my EA, they keep mentioning about 'their own solicitor'...do they mean the solicitor on the seller's side who could sort out the whole thing without us arranging for one of our own [which doesnt seem to the better idea] or is it mandatory that the buyer has his own solicitor ?

cam101

Well we had an agreement in principle (where they do a credit check etc on you), for 20 thousand more than the property we eventually went for. This way, we knew that we could get the money, and had an upper limit we could base house hunting around. Then, once having the offer accepted, we went back to the mortgage company with the house price, and they adjusted things accordingly. Then, we filled in and signed lots of forms, and they check your payslips etc. After that is when they arrange the survey (the mortgage company arrange the survey, as they need to make sure they aren't lending you more than the property is worth).

Wrt solicitors, I phoned around local places for quotes, and to "get a feel" for them. Most quotes are standard, as prices for searches and things are set. However there was a difference of around £100 for their fees, so we went for a mid range one that seemed to know their stuff (and my aunt had used them before).

Hope that helps:o

cam101

Not sure what they mean about their own solicitor, unless they are refering to the vendor's solicitor.

I would definitely say arrange one of your own independently, our EA seems quite pushy and I wouldn't trust them with arranging my legal things for me. As far as I know you HAVE to have you own solicitor.

Voyager2002

freestyler wrote: »

Everytime i ring my EA, they keep mentioning about 'their own solicitor'...do they mean the solicitor on the seller's side who could sort out the whole thing without us arranging for one of our own [which doesnt seem to the better idea] or is it mandatory that the buyer has his own solicitor ?

No, this would be a solicitor who would act for you, and who you would have to pay. However, they are offering to introduce you and would certainly be getting some kind of commission. The problem with this kind of arrangement is that if there were any problems and the EA was at fault, it would be difficult for the solicitor to advise you.

CAB would be a good place to find an impartial solicitor, or just ask a friend or neighbour to recommend one.

Running_Horse

Although I'm not one for silly offers, £5,000 under may make them hold out for full asking price. It is normal to have first offer rejected, then offer what you are willing to pay. All depends on the local market and how many similar properties are around. As a first time buyer you are in a good position.

We went with EA's own solicitor (OK, but a bit big and remote), but you may be better off to check yellow pages for medium sized local firm, so you can feel you are acting independently. I had mortgage offer in principle before going ahead, so perfectly normal, and will put you in a strong position when offering.

fimonkey

OK, depends on the price of the property to say whether 5K is too little or not, but decide in your heart what you think the property is worth (check nethouseprices.com for comparisons/other sold prices).

Has there been much interest in the property/other offers/how long been on market/position of vendor i.e. have they found a place already? (Those factors and others will determine whether 5k is OK under the asking price). Bear in mind you're VERY valuable as a FTB, if you get your AIP/DIP (agreement in principle/decision in pronciple) from your mortgage company then you are like Platinum/White Gold, and this should also work in your favour. Remember the housing amrket is cooling somewhat, so don't go wading in there with a higher offer!

See a Fee Free Whole of Market Mortgage Advisor. DO NOT go with the ones recommended by your EA, remember from now on the EA is not your friend and will not act in your interests (though they'll pretend that they are). Recommendations are best for this, but if you can't find one, the important thing is Whole of Market. And if you do end up paying fee's, check when these are due (i.e upon taking out the mortgage, or just for gettnig the advice)?

Solicitors, as this is your first purchase I'd recommend going with a local firm where you can actually pop in and meet them. From the minute you appoint a solicitor, he is YOUR friend and WILL act in your interests, so keep him/her up to date on anything and everything.Again DO NOT go for ones recommended by EA's, and if no recommendation forthcoming, then call up and speak to them, or even call into their offices and see how they treat potential new clients. (I dropped one firm of solicitors I was about to instruct because I told them they could not use my work phone to contact me, then they went and called me at work for a trivial matter. ... if they can't follow simple instructions such as contact details, then it doesn't bode well for the rest of their set up).

THEN commision a survey (not a valuation survey, which will have to be done for mortgage purposes). Make suer you tell your solicitor to hold off doing any work which you will have to pay for etc(i.e. searches) until you have the survey back and are happy with what it contains. If not, see your solicitor and ask their advice re: negotiating on price/pulling out etc....

All this can take between 1 - 6 weeks, so come back here whan that's done and ask the next lot of questions... i.e. 'what happens next?'

Good luck