Help - we viewed the perfect house, but our AIP has expired! Can we still offer?

[househunterin]

Hello,

We are first time buyers (and a bit naive about the whole process)

We have viewed a perfect house today and want to offer tomorrow as we imagine other people will be offering too.

We had an agreement in principle done in September but it will have expired by now.
We will probably use a mortgage adviser, the same one who issued that AIP.

How do we go about the process and maximise our chances of our offer being accepted?

Once we’ve put the offer in, and it gets accepted, what do we do then? I know we need solicitors but have no idea how to instruct them :)

Many thanks

oh i pity your seller 😆

Well that wasn't very helpful!

Sorry OP I can't help either as I've never bought a house.

Hopefully someone will be along to assist you soon.

and that was?!

No, but it wasn’t rude. I don’t understand why you are quick to comment on many threads and seem quite unpleasant every time. Maybe next time you can scroll past instead, it’s quite easy. I suspect you wouldn’t find that as fun though.

Thank you very much.

Speak to L&C. They should be able to do you a new one quickly.

You could probably get an AIP online pretty quickly but then go through the mortgage advisor for the best offer for your circumstances when you do the real one. If you google AIP straightaway a few things come up. Halifax have a tool.

Make your offer and see what happens. The EA is likely to want to be sure that a mortgage will be forthcoming and will point you in the direction of that advice. But if you do not have this, someone is going to pip you at the post.

At the point where finance is agreed and offer accepted, you instruct a solicitor - finding a good solicitor who will actually do the job in a timely manner is a challenge! When you are choosing them, ask them specifically if they regard it as part of their basic job to chase up delays in the system (which always happen).

Almost all banks and building societies have AIP online , takes about 10 minutes to complete and then download your certificate. You could do one now with the bank you had the original one from , and then use that for the offer as long as you can still borrow the same amount .
Then book your mortgage broker Monday to work out the best deals around for you and do another one that you go forward with .

You can offer, but the sellers probably won’t accept your offer without a mortgage approval. Just be open about your circumstances, tell them how much you like the house, and get the ball rolling with a new AIP on Monday.

There are so many unpredictable elements in buying and selling a house. Your situation isn’t ideal for this house right now but there’s always a chance it will work out.

You can offer but it may not be accepted as you might not be seen as not proceedable with an expired aip. However you can get a new AIP online straight away - just make sure you choose a bank that doesn't do a hard search. I used Halifax to get an AIP online to view (and offer on the house I bought) but when with another mortgage lender (via a broker) to actually purchase.

Unless you are borrowing up to the hilt or have other special circumstances like shared ownership or self employment, an AIP is pretty quick to obtain. As PP say even same day online which isn't binding so you can continue hunting the best deal. The estate agent will want to see it very quickly - often within 48 hours of an accepted offer.

Usually you would offer, wait for it to be accepted, supply financial info including proof of deposit and AIP. You might need to show ID like passports too. Once the chain is complete- ie the sellers have an onwards purchase who have their onwards purchase sorted - you can instruct solicitors. Anything can change right up to the point contracts are exchanged but until the chain is complete it's even more wobbly- people change their mind if they don't find a house they like! Sometimes you can give a deadline like 6 weeks to find something, it depends on how popular the house is and how generous your offer is whether you can play hard ball like that though.

It is a good idea to have a solicitor in mind and a quote before that point though. Conveyancers are cheaper but you sometimes have to do more legwork yourselves.

The mortgage company will usually let you know about getting the surveyor round if it's included in the mortgage deal. Otherwise you book it when things are progressing and usually after you and the seller have filled in the forms about what is included - carpets curtains and light fittings, etc. This will come directly from the solicitor.

You'll get a potential date of exchange a few weeks in advance, at this point it's worth having uninvolved friends on standby to witness the contracts being signed (or the solicitor might invite you in to do it!) so not anyone who's given you the deposit or will have a share in the house. The exchange date can change quite a bit over the.weeks and it's at the point that this is confirmed that you'll pay your deposit. Some people exchange and complete the same day but it's nice if you can leave a week or two between to finalise removals bookings etc. Do get quotes before exchange though!

Hope this helps a bit

You can probably get an AIP pretty easily - L&C are good.

You need to appoint solicitors - friends or family may have recommendations.

You can make an offer without an AIP though it may be better if you can have this in your back pocket.

Good luck

You can get an AIP in about ten minutes online - L&C are generally the easiest. Use that to make your offer and then if it’s accepted you can get your broker on the hunt for the best actual deal. Good luck!

Re the next bit after you have an offer accepted, most EAs have a list of solicitors in the area that deal with house sales so ask for a recommendation. Many EAs now also have a sales progressor to guide you through the process and keep an eye, so there's that too.
I'm no expert but in a situation where you were selling as well as buying you'd use recommendations from the EA on your own house, but as you are FTBs I can't see why the EA on the house you're buying can't give you a list of solicitors as long as you use a different one to your vendors obviously.
The solicitor you appoint will tell you what's needed from you for their part of the process - like most things in the end it amounts to a lot of documents and signatures!
Good luck!

Thanks everyone, these are very helpful

Don't be a bitch.

You can get an AIP very quickly - either yourself online, or through your broker. You don't have to then proceed with that mortgage provider. Ie you can get an AIP online purely to show the estate agent that you can afford the house, then your broker can advise you on the best rate and proceed with them further down the line.

Re solicitors, get say 3 quotes from conveyancing solicitors near you. Search online - most of them have a function on the website for getting in contact, and ask for a quote that way. Don't get a quote until your offer is accepted.

They will get back to you either with an email or phone call. To instruct them just respond to the email (quote will come in writing) and they'll get cracking.

Alternatively the estate agent can probably recommend a solicitor. But I'd advise getting a few quotes because costs can vary. When I bought my first property the estate agent's solicitor wanted to charge me around £1000; I shopped around and got a fee closer to £500 (this was 7 years ago - it's going to be more expensive now!)

Good luck!

Do not ask the EA to recommend a solicitor! That’s a horrible idea as EAs often push people to use terrible solicitors who give them a referral fee.

Find your own - ask a few local ones for quotes.

You instruct them by telling them you’ve had an offer accepted and would like to go ahead.

OP you can get an AIP in minutes online. Panic not.