Potential buyer - questions

hayabslee0

In our never-ending saga of house selling, we have had an offer today from someone.

This offer is a little lower than our minimum, however, they're apparently in a strong position as they have nothing to sell (they're letting their property out to buy another larger property).

While I'm tempted to accept, I was a little concerned about if the buyer had done their research into them doing a "let to buy". Our Agent says she has an agreement in principle (which I think means nothing as it's easy to lie), and have gone through a Broker. I was thinking of asking:
1) Do they know about the added stamp duty on buying a second property
2) Have they got permission from their current lender to convert their existing mortgage into a buy to let

I want to make sure we don't make a mistake - our sale recently fell through so this is an important decision.

Does anyone have any other ideas of what we should be asking?

fozziebeartoo

I am just a normal home owner/buyer, no professional knowledge.

But if someone asked me those questions (which appear to imply I am thick) I would be looking to spend my hundreds of thousands of pounds elsewhere!

hayabslee0

fozziebeartoo wrote: »

I am just a normal home owner/buyer, no professional knowledge.

But if someone asked me those questions (which appear to imply I am thick) I would be looking to spend my hundreds of thousands of pounds elsewhere!

Yes, that is a good point. We're just being a little more picky due to the previous sale falling through and having to accept a lower offer.

kinger101

Just ask your estate agent to confirm their position before you accept, making sure they account for the additional stamp duty as well the cash deposit. No need for the EA to imply the buyer isn't aware. I'd also get the EA to clarify the mortgage position. If they're the type that get offended by a few simple, pertinent questions at the beginning of the process, they're not likely to get a mortgage anyway.