Confused .... Please help

merlinthehappypig

loksat wrote: »

THanks Kiki.

We live in Scotland. So once we put an offer, it is legally binding. so do you think a homebuyers survey is needed before that. or will the lenders survey be sufficient?

The fact that you live in Scotland clears up the price query as another poster has already said. Depending on whereabouts you are, the seller will be expecting get significantly above the asking price. In Aberdeenshire, country areas were around 15-20% over earlier this year, but in Aberdeen city some flats were going for 100% over. The estate agent or your solicitor ought to be able to give you a pretty good idea about the percentage required.

The property was probably on for offers over £140000 or so when it last sold. The nethouseprices price can't be compared directly with the asking price now.

As for your last question. You can have a survey done first or make an offer subject to survey, but if it goes to a closing date the owners would normally choose an offer that wasn't subject to survey, all else being equal. If you can't get a mortgage in principle then you may well have to get the survey done first in order to get the mortgage offer. It's not quite as legally binding as you think as the missive period will give you plenty of opportunity to pull out if you want to, but it is sensible to approach it as if it was legally binding and have everything in place. This would show the seller that you are serious as well as avoid wasting anyone's time

loksat

We have the mortgage in principle. We have received quotes from solicitors. it is matter of choosing one. the next step is the survey and offer. and this is where we are confused. Thanks to all of them for the ideas. will take it step by step and see what happens.

merlinthehappypig

loksat wrote: »

We have the mortgage in principle. We have received quotes from solicitors. it is matter of choosing one. the next step is the survey and offer. and this is where we are confused. Thanks to all of them for the ideas. will take it step by step and see what happens.

Just check with your solicitor about the survey. He will know what you need to do and, if he doesn't, can find out from the seller's solicitor.

If it isn't going to a closing date and the seller will accept an offer subject to survey then there is no benefit in having the survey at this stage. It is possible that it is going to a closing date in which case the seller can set their own criteria and may want firm mortgage offers in place before people can bid. Good luck!

loksat

Do you think it is ok to use the same solicitor company as the seller? or should we go for another one??

SquatNow

People may "expect" offers 30% over the price. If you offer £172k and no-one offers then theres nowt they can do but take the money.

guppy

loksat wrote: »

Do you think it is ok to use the same solicitor company as the seller? or should we go for another one??

Generally speaking this would be a conflict of interest, and therefore you should choose a different solicitor.

IveSeenTheLight

SquatNow wrote: »

People may "expect" offers 30% over the price. If you offer £172k and no-one offers then theres nowt they can do but take the money.

Doesn't generally work like this in Scotland SquatNow.
The EA's advertise the price below the valuation to generate interest in the property.
Generally my experience is that you get a minimum of 3-4 bidders, although I have seend a few properties with 8, 9 and 14 bidders.
Remember in Scotland the bidding process is by a sealed bid, meaning you don't know what others are bidding, but you can get an idea in the morning of the bid how many people are placing bids. Mind you I instructed my solicitor to place a bid on a property 2 hours before it closed and I doubt the other solicitors were aware of my intention.
Definately in the Aberdeen area, the offers over price is about 15 - 20% below the valuation and the actual selling price is about 15-20% above the valuation. Although this will vary depending on the property, its location and the market that the area is advertised in

Good Luck

loksat

Hi,

Now the seller has changed the selling price to a fixed price of £208,000. They did mention there was room for negotiation.They bought the property for £177500 in 2005. I know it depends on lots of factors, but can someone tell me how much can we offer. It is a 3 bedroom ground floor flat in EH4.

Thanks
Loksat