Estate agent financial 'advice'

AliceBanned

On the advice of another EA after enquiring about a property I saw their in-house broker today. Who then told me she charges £600 for a mortgage application.

This broker's findings were less optimistic (maybe a good thing) - suggesting £173k borrowing max and factored in repaying the debts not paid off by then, plus all moving costs, stamp duty and fees plus £5k debt taken out of my remaining equity to leave lower deposit. This would mean buying of at max £208k which is not enough for what I want.

So I've not been feeling great about the whole thing and now not sure what to do. This broker suggested holding off until January as selling my flat and not finding something I want to buy would be awful. More properties come on the market in Boxing Day apparently?! Of course I could cancel the sale, if it came to that but now I'm reconsidering staircasing instead. Never thought all of this would be so difficult.

AliceBanned

Hi

I'm still going round in circles a bit. Broker now said £230k and £235k (including current equity) for next purchase if I sell current flat at its valuation (which is fixed as it is shared ownership). That is not too bad but around £5-10k short for what I want. I'm still viewing properties and just don't have the nerve yet to put mine on the market. I want to move on to a two bed property but it won't be as nice as the one bed that I have. I want to move out of shared ownership to 100% ownership and can do this. I have two choices: staircase in current property or sell and buy new bigger property in less desirable area. So difficult. I know no one can make this decision for me but just throwing out there my concerns. Current flat has 81 years on lease and would cost up to £10k for lease extension, much less for informal lease extension. I like living here but don't see it as long term proposition at all and it was my first time buy so never intended as such. Just find myself too attached to it though but the finances aren't good enough to stay in shared ownership.

AliceBanned

Hi

I'm still going round in circles a bit. Broker now said £230k and £235k (including current equity) for next purchase if I sell current flat at its valuation (which is fixed as it is shared ownership). That is not too bad but around £5-10k short for what I want. I'm still viewing properties and just don't have the nerve yet to put mine on the market. I want to move on to a two bed property but it won't be as nice as the one bed that I have. I want to move out of shared ownership to 100% ownership and can do this. I have two choices: staircase in current property or sell and buy new bigger property in less desirable area. So difficult. I know no one can make this decision for me but just throwing out there my concerns. Current flat has 81 years on lease and would cost up to £10k for lease extension, much less for informal lease extension. I like living here but don't see it as long term proposition at all and it was my first time buy so never intended as such. Just find myself too attached to it though but the finances aren't good enough to stay in shared ownership.

csgohan4

First off EA in house Brokers are never a good idea as is using their in house services, their usually not cost effective and not whole of the market

You may find it difficult to get to sell due to the short lease and making an offer without an offer on your own house will likely lead to your offer not being taken seriously. 

Wish you all the best but you may need a better broker, however you can generally only lend x4.5 of your gross income and overtime may not be all taken into account, some lenders only take 50% of this

AliceBanned

csgohan4 said:

First off EA in house Brokers are never a good idea as is using their in house services, their usually not cost effective and not whole of the market

You may find it difficult to get to sell due to the short lease and making an offer without an offer on your own house will likely lead to your offer not being taken seriously. 

Wish you all the best but you may need a better broker, however you can generally only lend x4.5 of your gross income and overtime may not be all taken into account, some lenders only take 50% of this

Thanks csgohan. I've left all of this for a while and continued beavering away with my debt busting and saving. I am being patient as I now realise that this month is the first time since 2013 that my debt has fallen below £5k, and that it was never above around £3k before I owned property. So it has been an expensive purchase for me just getting on the ladder but things should be looking up soon as I am in better paid job and have busted over 60% of by debt and changed my lifestyle habits for good. I still think I did the right thing but am definitely ready to move on. 
Someone else in my block is in a similar position and about to put hers on the market for more than I have put mine on. I also bought several years before her so should have enough equity for a new and bigger purchase. 

If I don't sell I will look at staircasing, renewing the lease and waiting longer as I am quite happy where I am for a while and it may be a good investment. Ideally I will move but I am in an expensive part of the country so need to be realistic. Yes I only managed via shared ownership but hopefully I can own my own home fully soon.

AliceBanned

Oh I didn't realise I hadn't posted that since the previous posts my flat has been on the market, I've reduced the price by £10k, and not sold yet. Though unusual and difficult times so it may take longer. Decided to be patient and see what happens. Not sure whether to try another estate agent at some stage..

AliceBanned

My neighbour spoke to a friend of her friend who wanted to find a flat in the area. Her friend was showing her round, and they stopped to chat at my ground floor neighbour's window. She recommended the flats, she bought hers last year, and gave her a brief viewing through the window then told her mine was up for sale. She then viewed mine a few days later and loved it. I've accepted her 'offer' (it's fixed price really as SO). So the ball is rolling for me for my next home - full ownership. :-)