If Offer accepted - When to proceed with rest

teffers

Considering putting an offer in on a property in the next few days.

I'm a FTB so no chain and ready to proceed with a DIP in place etc.

The vendor in question hasn't found anywhere as yet and this is where my question arises.

If my offer is accepted do I proceed with instructing a solicitor, mortgage application & survey's etc ? Or do I hold off, on anything that will cost me money, until the vendor has found somewhere ?

I know there are no guarantees even if they do but just wanted to get some other people's viewpoints ?

AndyAtu

Have they firmly accepted your offer, I.e. Property marketed SOLD STC?

IME EA only do so when seller and buyer have both provided solicitors details. So whilst you are waiting for seller to find a house to buy they may also find another buyer for their existing house ...

I also know of another person on this forum who is delaying contacting their conveyancing solicitors in a buyer capacity, until she is 100% sure of her buyers, I.e. Until the buyer pays the mortgage valuation and their conveyancing solicitors. What if your sellers do smth similar and only start looking for properties once you have instructed solicitors and started mortgage application?

I perfectly understand where you're coming from, but like you said, even if they find a property, there is no guarantee your purchase will go through.

Maybe speak to your solicitors and with the EA and agree on an estimated completion date, I.e. One that you're happy with, that the solicitors feel that they can realistically meet and one that allows the sellers to find a property and start the buying process themselves.

Later edit, after re-reading your post: you should only instruct solicitor and apply for mortgage once you have had the offer accepted.

ambioni

I would say wait until the offer is accepted before doing anything else, and make sure that an entry/completion date is part of the offer. Are you doing this in England/Wales? I have bought in Scotland and entry date is included in the written offer which then becomes part of the contract, but I am assuming England/Wales isn't that different. If the sellers accept that date then you should go ahead with the things you need to do. It's up to the sellers to maintain their side of the contract and find somewhere to live or else they risk eventually being in breach of contract so I wouldn't worry about them: just focus on what you need to do and take advice from your solicitor if in doubt (and if you don't already have one now is the time to get some quotes and find a reasonably priced one who is then ready to act for you)

BlaEm

Assuming England & Wales.

Firstly - you can ask when you offer whether the vendor would consider breaking the chain (e.g. moving in to rented) to aid completion. They may or may not but it's worth asking.

Otherwise - avoid spending any money until the chain is complete. You could spend £000s only to have the vendor have a change of heart if they can't find anywhere suitable. I know sales can fall through at any stage but it's riskier if the seller has nowhere else to go from the off.

You can instruct a solicitor but request that they do minimal work and don't order searches etc until the chain is complete. The vendor should understand and shouldn't expect you to be booking surveys and searches before then.

Also - do continue to keep an eye out for other properties if the vendor still hasn't found anything within a couple of weeks. Best to keep your options open.

teffers

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm putting the offer in today. I'll move forward with getting my mortgage offer sorted and engage a solicitor, but hold off on the searches etc just yet.

BlaEm

Good luck with your offer - NB some lenders offer free valuations (Santander did with me) and add the arrangement fee to the mortgage on completion - i.e. you could get your mortgage offer sorted without having to part with any cash.

Rambosmum

The first house we tried to buy we:
1. had offer accepted
2. Started mortgage app.
3. instructed solicitor
4. instructed own surveyor.
5. Pulled out of sale due to our survey showing rising damp in entire downstairs.
6. Paid solicitors £240 for starting searches, contract etc.
7. Paid mortgage company£180 for valuation survey.

2nd house:
1. offer accepted
2. mortgage started, told them to hold off on the survey
3. instructed out own survey
4. pulled out of sale due to dry rot in staircase and downstairs joists.
5.- nothing as didn't owe any money this time.

3rd house:
1. offer accepted.
2.survey instructed
3. mortgage application & valuation survey
4. solicitor instructed (they already had our basic details from property 1).
5. moved in.

My advice is get a survey asap then once that is back (we had a tc the same day with our surveyor, just to highlight any big problems) instruct the rest, otherwise you could end up paying for solicitors fees and valuation surveys for houses you don't buy.

halfabee

On the house I am buying, after offer was accepted, the estate agent actually told me to hold off on doing anything until the chain above was complete (the sellers were looking for a place to buy). At the time I thought that was weird, because I felt impatient to start knowing that mortgages can take a while to approve. But it was probably the sensible thing to do. The mortgage company wouldn't process my application unless I'd instructed a solicitor. So all the costs start to commit you to something that may never happen!

However, in hindsight, I would have lined up a solicitor and surveyor straight away - just not paid for searches etc or asked the solicitor to do anything - just have them ready to go when I need it. Would have saved a couple of weeks I think.

sam2015_2

You could do the AIP for the mortgage now then do the full mortgage application when the vender find a property and ready to move on. In the mean time ask the EA to give you regular(weekly?) updates on what is happening. Find out whether vender is willing to rent if she/he hasn't found a property buy within xx months or so.

Basically try NOT to to spend any money on this property just yet and keep looking.