Too quick to accept mortgage offer??

a1y5on

Hi all

How our homebuyers survey through with a couple of issues on it and with the overall description of the property being in reasonable condition but money being needed to have been spent at the outset. On receipt of this, we arranged a second viewing and asked for builders to go out to look at what was highlighted.
Prior to these we had a mortgage offer through from post office/bank of Ireland saying we only had 7 days to accept it so we hastily posted the signed offer back.
We then went for the second viewing with the survey in hand a realised that the whole utility room roof needs replacing along with fascias - these are things we wouldn’t have noticed due to their positioning and without a steer to look there.
We are now going to renegotiate with the buyer but, if they refuse to budge, are we now stuck with the property as we’ve accepted the offer of loan?

I’m fretting now (as I’ve done at many points during the whole process - they don’t lie when they say it’s stressful!!)

Thanks

AdrianC

No, you aren't "stuck with it". Not unless you've exchanged contracts...

If you end up negotiating the price down, then you'll need to rearrange the mortgage, but right up until you actually BUY the property, there's no mortgage, because there's no property to secure it against.

a1y5on

Thanks!

I was hoping that was the case!

I’m hoping that the vendor will agree to renegotiate. We think that they knew about the problems and just hoped they weren’t picked up on the survey (the main reason we think that is because they’ve drilled holes in the ceiling of the utility room to allow water through directly under where the hole in the flat roof is!)

ACG

Have a read of the Mortgage offer again.

You were not told you have 7 days to accept it, you were told it was binding on them for 7 days. That means they can not alter it unless your circumstances change for 7 days. Realistically that 7 days is worthless as I have never known anyone complete within 7 days of an offer being issued in 5-6 years of being a broker.

There is no timescale to accept the offer, the offer is made and it is there until it expires.