First Time Buyer Questions

sammibo

Hello all!
My husband and I are looking to buy a house, we are arranging a broker and speaking to an estate agent. We're not telling our families till we have somehing more solid but this makes asking advice tricky!

Therefore I have a few questions that I would like to ask you very knowledgable sorts.

If we make an offer on a property and it is accepted, but then the surveyor indicates that the house is not worth the amount offered, what happens? Presumably a mortgage provider will only offer what  the surveyor says it is worth, and without the savings to make up a shortfall, I'm curious as to what happens next.

Thank you!!

hazyjo

You either ask for a reduction (they can decline), pay the difference out of savings, try another lender, or pull out.

SuperHan

You make a reduced offer, and either the vendor accepts or you walk away (assuming you cannot fund the difference). 

You can sometimes ask for a second survey, but this in specific circumstances only (I think if the surveyor is from out of your area, you can request one from your area). You could also try to get a mortgage with a different bank but this isn't guaranteed to give a more favourable valuation. 

sammibo

Having read a bit more,it seems like some people make an offer on the basis of the surveyors' report. Is this common? 

moneysavinghero

You start looking for another house.

badger09

sammibo said:

Having read a bit more,it seems like some people make an offer on the basis of the surveyors' report. Is this common? 

Any offer you make is conditional on several things, most of which are never spelled out! 

Most sensible vendors will negotiate if a survey brings up something unexpected & costly to put right. However, if a house is being sold as a 'doer upper' & priced accordingly, don't expect a reduction if a survey says it needs work doing.  

sammibo

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and helpful comments, I really appreciate it!