Going very quickly: should I be suspicious?

dgerrard

So, bit of a rant here:

Went and viewed a property with the wife on the weekend.

It's the first one we've seen that we've been at all interested in. Hour commute to her work, house is spotless, within our price range, overall area is really nice.

But: the exact street it's on is, to me, a bit grubby. The rest of the people out and about in the neighbourhood all looked a bit rough, despite the fact that the area in general is meant to be fairly uber-posh.

The wife loves the house and doesn't see the street in the same way I do. And really, she's the one who would be out in it (I work from home).

My friends have all said I'm unrealistic in what I want in a home and I need to make compromises, but then again everyone always says how important location is. We don't know the area or anyone in the area, so can't really ask if it's a dangerous part of town or not. Crime stats don't turn anything up, but that doesn't paint the whole picture.

All in all though, the positives outweigh the negatives and we've decided to go for it. We put an offer in on the Tuesday around 12pm, 10% below asking price. At 2pm agent came back with immediate "yes they accept, please go online here to officially offer, here's a list of all charges once you've offered, etc etc". They're a reputable agency so I'm not worried about the charges necessarily. What does worry me a bit, is all day yesterday they were calling me, e-mailing me, texting me, chasing up why we hadn't done the official offer online yet.

Everything I'd read online said this process would take at least a couple of weeks! I told them we only just put the offer in, that I'd like to come and re-view the house this coming Saturday. They agreed and booked the second viewing, but essentially insinuated that by doing this, the house would likely go to some other mythical potential buyer.

I mean, I get it, people want to shift ASAP sometimes, but the whole thing feels really rushed to me. Heck, the flat we're in now we saw twice before moving in, and that doesn't involve a massive deposit, that's just for renting. It all makes me think that maybe there's some glaring flaw that I've missed, that would make it difficult to shift this particular house. Other houses in the area have sold recently for similar amounts.

It's our first home though, so I don't know, maybe this is normal. Thoughts?

martinthebandit

Stick the postcode here https://www.crime-statistics.co.uk/postcode


It'll either put your mind at rest.......


......or not

davidmcn

dgerrard wrote: »

At 2pm agent came back with immediate "yes they accept, please go online here to officially offer, here's a list of all charges once you've offered, etc etc". They're a reputable agency so I'm not worried about the charges necessarily.

What "charges"? There aren't normally charges by the EA.

trailingspouse

If it's not too far from where you're currently living, it would be worth your while visiting the area at different times of the day - in particular morning/evening rush hour (how busy are the roads), school home time, and pub chucking-out time. This will give you a good idea of what the area is like as a whole. Also at a weekend and mid-week.

dgerrard

martinthebandit wrote: »

Stick the postcode here https://www.crime-statistics.co.uk/postcode


It'll either put your mind at rest.......


......or not

Hmm, well, mixed reviews.

Looking on that site:

0 crimes in December 2018
1 crime in November 2018
91 in October 2018
104 in September 2018, with 2 on the exact road
95 in August 2018
20 in July 2018
103 in June 2018
124 in May 2018, 2 on same road
123 in April 2018
115 in March 2018, with 10 on the same road
115 in Feb 2018
108 in Jan 2018

Then again I checked the postcode where we are now, and there were 600-800 per month, so maybe I should count my lucky stars!


Was playing it safe and not saying above and not saying where it is, but what the heck: it's about 15 minutes walk from Bat & Ball Station in Sevenoaks. So it's a not great part of a really posh area. Anyone have experience around there?

[Deleted User]

They are not charging you are they? Is it an auction?

Mela322

You can zoom in and check to see exactly what those crimes are and I think they may have an incident update. Saying that, most are petty according to the police and won't have any real outcome. When we moved, we thought about our family so violent crime and anti-social behaviour had to be the same or lower than where we were currently living. As suggested to you above, visit the area at different times of the day.

AdrianC

You've offered, your offer has been accepted.
Your next step is to get all the details in place so the memorandum of sale can be issued. That tells both parties the very basics - who they're dealing with, who their solicitors are.


You also want to make sure that if there's a chain, it's complete. Perhaps this is moving quickly because you're the last link needed to complete the chain?


Then the slow bit starts - the vendor gets the draft contract together and to your solicitor. You get the mortgage in place, and your legals going.


But "charges"? That's raising my antennae, too. You normally pay your solicitors, searches, survey etc. You do not pay the EA - the vendor does that, since they hired 'em.

Give us more details, please...

dgerrard

Ah, sorry, think I've been confusing here: it's a conveyancing quote I've been sent, with quotes for things like:

Mortgage Fee
Stamp Duty Land Tax Fee
Search Pack
Land Registry Searches
Land Registry Fee
Stamp Duty Land Tax

So nothing like "Estate Agent fee, £3000" or anything like that.

AdrianC

Ah, OK.

Don't use the EA's recommended solicitor. It's that simple.

Remember, the EA works for the vendor. Your solicitor is the only person working on your side.

Their mortgage broker might work out good value, or might not. Again, remember the EA's primary motivation in recommending them is commission, not your welfare.

eddddy

dgerrard wrote: »

Everything I'd read online said this process would take at least a couple of weeks! I told them we only just put the offer in, that I'd like to come and re-view the house this coming Saturday.

There may be some confusion here.

You should only offer, once you've made your decision to proceed with the purchase.

It sounds like you've made an offer (which was accepted), but you're expecting to take two weeks to decide whether to proceed with the purchase.

If that's what's happened, I can see why the EA is frustrated with you. The EA might regard you as a bit of a time-waster.