First Ever House Viewing! Advice Please!

Bristol80

Hi Guys


Very excited as we are going to our first ever house viewing on Saturday morning! We weren't going to be going out looking for another few months whilst we built our savings up a little, but we've seen something that (on paper) ticks almost every box for us, so we decided we'd take the plunge and go for it!


I've been informed that the seller is still looking to find a place to buy, so it could actually work in our favour, as an extra couple of months wait would be no problem at all.


Just a few questions, as I'm really nervous/excited but want to make the best of the viewing opportunity!


- Are there any MAJOR do's and don'ts that I should be aware of? I like to think I'm a pretty sensible guy, and I'm quite particular, so I like to think I'll be quite thorough, but would still appreciate any tips!


- How long is usual to wait before making an offer (if we wanted to). We are viewing Saturday morning, and we will know within an hour of getting home whether or not we want to make an offer. Would you call the EA the same day? Does that look too keen and put you in a weak position?


- I'd also considered the idea of attempting to establish contact directly with the seller after the viewing. Is that an absolute no-no? All I was hoping to do was introduce ourselves, let them know that we are as genuine as they come, first time buyers looking to start a family, and that we would be as flexible as they need us to be in terms of completion - we wouldn't be pushy at all for them to get on and find somewhere.


Appreciate any tips you guys can give me.


Cheers!

fairy_lights

Bristol80 wrote: »

We are viewing Saturday morning, and we will know within an hour of getting home whether or not we want to make an offer.

You don't know that, chances are even if you love the house you're going to want to take a bit longer to think about it. This is a major decision so don't rush in to offering on the very first house you view without giving it some serious consideration.

Bristol80

fairy_lights wrote: »

You don't know that, chances are even if you love the house you're going to want to take a bit longer to think about it. This is a major decision so don't rush in to offering on the very first house you view without giving it some serious consideration.

I know what you're saying. But we have been talking about this for two years - we know exactly what we want and this house ticks 99% of the boxes. It's the only one in a month that we've seen that we can say that about. It's now about seeing it in person and ensuring it matches up with how it seems online!

Believe me, we will know - probably before we even leave the house - whether it's what we've been waiting for.

I believe there will be a lot of interest in it so we'd be keen to get an offer in at the first opportunity if we decide to proceed. However not being familiar with 'the game' that EA's play, I don't know if that makes you look keen/desperate and more likely to have an offer rebuffed?

I had it in my head that if we made an offer, we would go in at 90% of the asking price. Is that insulting? Or is that what sellers expect from prospective buyers? Providing everything is in order when we view we would be prepared to go to the asking price but obviously you expect to go in a little lower.

martinsurrey

Bristol80 wrote: »

I believe there will be a lot of interest in it so we'd be keen to get an offer in at the first opportunity if we decide to proceed.

...
...

I had it in my head that if we made an offer, we would go in at 90% of the asking price.

Those 2 statements do not add up.

What your opening offer should be is determined by the local market.

If you start at 90% and they get an asking price offer or two the next day, I wouldnt even ask the 90% people to match it, as I would be worried they would be looking for every opportunity to negotiate down again.

however if the property has been on the market for ages 90% might be too much!

MissBizzita

Coming from someone who has viewed a lot of properties recently, the ones that were perfect on paper, never were in real life! The amount of times I said "this is the one" after seeing an advert only to be horribly disappointed at the viewing!

We've ended up having an offer accepted on one we went to view more out of curiosity, but we loved it! I knew the minute I stepped inside that I wanted to offer.

If it helps, we offered on the same day we saw it but we know that property has been flying in that particular area... The vendor is annoyingly the estate agent, which has made things all the more pressured. We ended up increasing our offer to asking price then there was a battle to get him to take it off the market. He eventually did, once the mortgage survey was booked.

Good luck, it's stressful at the best of times! But you're in a much better position than me (selling my flat as well!).

Bristol80

Thanks guys. The property has only come on the market today.

As the property and EA are local, would it make a better impression to make an offer (if we decide to) in person to the EA rather than by ringing or dropping a letter in?

Anything I can do to butter the EA up has to be good right?

MissBizzita

We made our offer over the phone then followed it up by email, attaching proof of funds etc.

I don't think making it in person will make much difference! If anything, it's more likely to take up their time. Ultimately it's not the EA that matters, it's the vendor! They are unlikely to encourage the vendor to accept just because you did it in person.

If I can give you any advice it's to not get ahead of yourself or get your hopes up! Go and see it first, then decide. In fact go and see as many as possible! Until then it's all speculation!

chile_paul

I would be very cautious about putting an offer in on the same day as viewing the property when you're a first time buyer and it's the only property you've seen.

If you're convinced it's the one for you, at the very least I would only call the EA to let them know that you're interested but that you want overnight to think about it. Give yourself overnight to really think about everything that you will, in your excitement of having seen the property, have forgotten to ask or to look at. Unless the market is really flying in your area it won't hurt to ask for a second viewing a couple of days later.

Regarding the offer - again this depends on the market. If this really is the house of your dreams 90% seems a bit low. You should make sure that you ask the vendor what interest they've had, how many viewings there have been and whether there are already any offers on the property, how quickly they want to move etc and use this information to gauge where to go in at with an opening offer (another reason to give yourself overnight to compute all of this information and consider where you want to offer at).

fairy_lights

Do you have an agreement in principal? The agent will take your offer more seriously if you do and can show you are a serious bidder in a position to move.

chile_paul

fairy_lights wrote: »

Do you have an agreement in principal? The agent will take your offer more seriously if you do and can show you are a serious bidder in a position to move.

Good point, if you don't have an AIP (sometimes called a suitability recommendation) then in my experience they won't even put your offer to the vendor.

car0line123

Very good advice above. I would also book several viewing for Saturday, at least you will have something to compare the house with!