First Time Buyer Red Flags

[Patapouf]

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What do you wish you had known when you bought your first home? What do you think are red flags to watch out for?

Are vendors using an online estate agent and doing their own viewings to be swerved?

What should you check for when viewing? Assuming a home buyers report will be commissioned...

What does 'offers in excess of' mean? £500? £5k??

Do you have to ask about whether a garden shed gets left behind or is it normal for them to take every scrap with them including lightbulbs?

I'm thrilled that I'm finally in a position to buy but antsy about the looming recession. Have DC so just need to get on the property ladder 😰

We’ve had a nightmare with someone in the chain using online solicitors. They are a big well known firm and absolutely dreadful. Avoid them like the plague, they almost caused the collapse of our chain. I would want my vendor to have a local solicitor or one that has good reviews at least.

you can ask about sheds, we move next week and they’re leaving the shed. And hopefully the lightbulbs! You fill in a big form to declare what you’re taking and you’re leaving so your buyer knows

I've heard lots about solicitors being slow! So searches etc genuinely take ages or am I to expect to wait 3+ months for a completion date?

Oooh at what point does the list get filled in? Is it appropriate to ask before making an offer about these things? I've seen houses with big summer houses that I'd consider to add value or the house...

Once the purchase price is agreed, you need to tell the EA who your solicitor/conveyancer is. The EA then produces a memorandum of sale with the names and addresses of the buyers and sellers and their solicitors.

The buyer instructs their survey, usually via the surveyor the mortgage company appoints. You can pay extra for them to carry out a survey for you otherwise they're just valuing the place for the mortgage co.

Sellers don't typically incur costs until the survey's done. Their solicitors then send them the forms to fill out.

The responses on those forms and the survey generate queries which the buyer's solicitor seeks the answers to. They'll also ask if there's anything else you want to know.

Searches are with local authorities and the time they take to come back depends on the council, etc.

Most conveyancing solicitors have big workloads and don't get paid a huge amount compared to other lawyers - they typically are reactive and will deal with your file when there is something to act on. They also usually act for your mortgage company too so are doing the work they need them to do to be sure the house or flat is adequate security for the mortgage.

You can do searches yourself. Cheaper and probably quicker. Solicitors and conveyancers often outsource the searches to another company and ime that’s the slowest way.
If you’re viewing properties don’t look enthusiastic. Look at the ceilings ( for signs of damp) corners of rooms for same. Sniff —- any smell of damp or overuse of air fresheners? If you can open and close windows and doors to see if they catch, do they open smoothly. Look at the windows carefully to see if any are blown ( leaking, there’ll be condensation between the layers of glass)
Ask the age of the boiler then ask to see inside the casing, they’ll be a permanent label, photograph this and check the code online. It’ll tell you when the boiler was made. ( I was told a boiler was 4 years old, check in-line showed it was 10 years old)
Dont say you’re interested, just you’ll think about it, other properties to view.
Look at Zoopla or RightMove, they show the selling history of the house.
Use your homebuyers survey to get the price down, gutters might need replacing, fencing, double glazing blown.
Just take it step by step. Once you’ve engaged a conveyancer phone them weekly. They’ll only push ahead if you push them.
Keep every email in a separate folder, saves stress searching for a particular one.

I’ve never known a buyer try to control the solicitor a vendor wants to use during the hundreds of sales I’ve dealt with. I suspect you’d get laughed at.
I very much agree that people should avoid the massive online conveyancers though. They are generally rubbish and very, very slow. Often takes an hour or lots to get through to them on the phone, then you get some stupid generic answer that they’ve read off the screen. A local solicitor who’s been recommended by a friend or family member is definitely your best bet.

In my experience locally offers in excess of means they won’t entertain an offer under the asking price.
It’s fair enough to ask before you offer if things like Summer Houses are staying.

Good advice about the damp. How cheeky to lie about the age of the boiler?

Will estate agents mind you opening and closing doors and testing water pressure etc? I don't want to look like a loon but I'm mindful there might not be a second viewing opportunity to go back and try these things again.

The things that should be included in the sale are 'fixtures and fittings' which means if it's screwed, nailed, glued or otherwise 'fixed' it should stay.

For example, a bedroom with fitted wardrobes and dressing table would have the wardrobes and dressing table included in the price because they are literally fixed to the walls and floors

A bedroom that has free standing wardrobes, dressing table etc. would be empty when the house was sold, the vendors would still own those and take them away.

Some people like to have an asking price and a seperate negotiation for carpets and curtains and other things, others include those in the price. It will all be detailed in the forms when the vendors declare what they are taking and leaving.

Extremes are that some vendors do take light shades and light bulbs and lots of plants from the garden, they basically strip the place bare. Others leave a lot, sometimes rooms full of their unwanted furniture and junk.

Just be absolutely clear at all times and query anything you don't understand.

It’s fine to state any items you particularly want when you make an offer. Our current house had lovely curtains/blinds in every room when we viewed and our offer stated that we wanted vendors to leave them all which they did. Of course they may have left them anyway but we didn’t want to leave it to chance. Same with a shed or garden office- if you want it you can make it part of your offer although the vendor may expect more money if they leave behind certain items.

I have bought three homes now.

I used a cheap solicitor once - never again. A good, thorough solicitor is worth their weight in gold.

Looking back I was too worked up about small stuff first time around.

I have learnt never to buy anywhere that has a management company

and those first couple of months are expensive - on things you forget about. I spent nearly £2k on blinds my first month in my house!!

its exciting - but also terrifying. Spending a huge amount of money. I got it wrong the first time - a new build apartment with a rubbish management company. But it’s not the end of the world. I sold up after two years.

When we filled in our fixtures & fittings form as sellers, it said that we were expected to leave a bulb/equivalent in each light fitting - it didn't give us an option to say that they were or weren't included.

Not that we wouldn't have left them, of course - the frustration of moving into a new home (maybe in a new area where you don't even know where the local shops are yet), tired, late, stressed, and then discovering the lights don't work is far worse than the pure financial value of the bulbs.

Of course, there's nothing stopping you from swapping fancy/expensive ones for cheapo ones, but as long as they work, no drama.

Our sellers' local solicitor was an arse tbh. Even on completion day he went out for lunch instead of confirming they had our money - our sale completed around 10.30am - which meant we and the removal firm were kicking around for over an hour and the sellers had moved out the day before. Grrr.

Don't do what we did and assume a load of IKEA furniture isn't being left by the sellers because technically it isn't fitted furniture and it hasn't been specified on the fixtures and fittings form. If there's anything your unsure of, always ask.

Have at least two viewings, the first to have a general look at the place, and the second to be more practical (damp etc). If you can’t have a second viewing, take someone with you the first time - they may see things you miss (good and bad).

Visit the area at different times of the day and week to see what the area is like - parking, noise etc

I look at things like boilers, kitchen, bathroom, general maintenance as Amber flags - they might put me off a property, but if I love the house I’ll overlook them.

Real red flags for me are things I can’t change - aspect of the house, area, parking, busy road, size of plot etc.

Make sure you’re clear on what’s a “must have “ and what is really a “nice to have” in your house search.
It can be easy to get carried away in viewings, particularly if the house is very nice inside. Be clear in your head about what you want (a written list is good). And make notes if you’re viewing several properties around the same time - they all blend into one after a while!

Don't be alarmed by the home buyers report our first one was a joke and basically a pass the book exercise. Didn't bother after that, current property is a renovation we took the builder we had in mind for a look round at £60 it was cheaper

Good tips- thanks all 🤓