First time buyer: one bedroom in London

Crashy_Time

numbercruncher8 said:

Nice one, I believe they will accept. Looking at previous sales across that development, sales are real slow - literally only a handful of deals per year.

Until that time, they do accept, I'd keep looking. If you can move down the road this might offer better value, sure not a new build but probably won't come with large service charges.

Also keep a eye on this one - could be a bellweather for the market. A similar flat layout went in 2016 at c.£430k, so a fair discount. I know you said the charges on the 2-beds were steep, but if this drops in price, having a 2-bed, 2-bath for c.£335k vs a 1-bed for £310k offers far better downside protection.

An 80k price drop is excellent news for money savers!... but more drops to come on these types of flat I would say!

redefinr

Slithery said:

Is your chosen solicitor on your lenders panel?

my chosen one.

redefinr

I've decided I'm going with martintolhurst - they seems pretty alright on the phone and they also have more positive reviews compared to the ones I've saved.
I have a quick question though, what's the order now to go ahead?
Will it be find a solicitor, then a surveyor and then mortgage? Or can I go ahead all together?

hazyjo

The solicitor will have to be on your lender's panel so you'll need to know soon who you're going through.

The EA will need to know your solicitor pretty much immediately.

The lender will need to undertake a valuation. You may be able to upgrade to a homebuyer's report for less than sorting your own.

Slithery

There's no point deciding on a solicitor until you know who your lender is, if your solicitor isn't on your lenders panel then you'll end up paying for two lots of solicitors - one for you and one for the lender.

Hence my earlier question.

Crashy_Time

Good advice.

redefinr

hazyjo said:

The solicitor will have to be on your lender's panel so you'll need to know soon who you're going through.

The EA will need to know your solicitor pretty much immediately.

The lender will need to undertake a valuation. You may be able to upgrade to a homebuyer's report for less than sorting your own.

I'm getting the mortgage with hsbc - do I need to ring them or it's information i can find on their page? So far i cant see nothing like that?

hazyjo

redefinr said:

hazyjo said:

The solicitor will have to be on your lender's panel so you'll need to know soon who you're going through.

The EA will need to know your solicitor pretty much immediately.

The lender will need to undertake a valuation. You may be able to upgrade to a homebuyer's report for less than sorting your own.

I'm getting the mortgage with hsbc - do I need to ring them or it's information i can find on their page? So far i cant see nothing like that?

Ring them or ask any solicitor you're considering. There are internet sites which can tell you too but not sure how up to date they are so best check with HSBC.

redefinr

I'm confirming Grant Saw tomorrow. They seems to be quite responsive, they are local and they are on HSBC's panel.I'm not going to lie, they are quite expensive (around £3k) which is almost 1k more the previous quotes but I thought I may as well use a trustful firm - the reviews are great.
I did wanted to go with martintolhurst but they said they are too busy at the moment to take new clients...

jimbog

redefinr said:

I'm confirming Grant Saw tomorrow. They seems to be quite responsive, they are local and they are on HSBC's panel.I'm not going to lie, they are quite expensive (around £3k) which is almost 1k more the previous quotes but I thought I may as well use a trustful firm - the reviews are great.
I did wanted to go with martintolhurst but they said they are too busy at the moment to take new clients...

Some firms quote cheap but then charge for additional items which you might have assumed were included. Best to get a fully itemised quote if you haven't already