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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Trying to buy a house

50 replies

Tryingtobuy · 10/11/2020 22:08

Less AIBU, more is the estate agent BU.

I'm a first time buyer so my knowledge is limited to what's the norm and what isn't, please help me out!

DP and I have been looking to buy. We found a lovely house which we were keen to view. When we contact the estate agents to arrange a viewing they said it has had a lot of interest and someone has put in a verbal offer, but we should go ahead and view anyway. So we did just that and loved the house. Same day we spoke to the estate agent again as they said to get in touch if looking for a mortgage advisor and they'd recommend. During that phonecall they asked if we'd like to put in a verbal offer and we said yes. All good so far.

Next morning we get a phonecall from the estate agents saying the seller has accepted our verbal offer and isn't taking anymore applicants into consideration. So we were just waiting on mortage advisor to help us out with a mortgage (which is currently a slow process with being remote). Around two weeks later they set us up with a lender who were happy to give us a mortgage, but on the condition of the possibility of asbestos that had flagged up on the home report.

Mortgage advisor told us to contact estate agents and let them know of this, and hopefully get an asbestos test done. They told us they'd contact the seller and let us know. After a working week we contacted them and they said the seller is taking the weekend to make her decision on her next steps. Last night I noticed they've reduced the price. We hadn't heard a word so contacted again to be told it's up to us to find a suitable mortgage and our offer is still being acknowledged but they have put the asking price down. Very matter of fact on the phone, bordering on rude.

Sorry if it's been a bit of a ramble so to round it off...

YABU - Everything the estate agent has done is normal and standard.

YANBU - They should of let us know that they aren't willing to touch the possible asbestos so were putting the selling price down.

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 11/11/2020 09:54

So all you have done is put in a verbal offer then weeks later the seller has reduced the price? Why haven’t you put in an offer through your solicitors subject to the asbestos report?

From their point of view, you don’t sound like a serious buyer.

yawnyawn4 · 11/11/2020 10:02

I believe in Scotland one of the main differences is the seller gets a homebuyers report which should of been shown to you (this doesn't happen in England). Did you see this?
I also believe it's your solicitor who offers on the property not you as per in England. So if you're a serious buyer get yourself a dip and a solicitor first.

ForTheLoveOfCatFood · 11/11/2020 10:13

I would never use the mortgage advisor or solicitors advised by an estate agent
Find your own through recommendations Smile
I’m not in Scotland but that all sounds really weird, you normally have your agreement in principle which allows you to put an offer in and generally at least where I am estate agents won’t accept any kind of offer until they see that

Whammyyammy · 11/11/2020 10:56

Seems odd that they accepted an offer without a DIP, I certainly wouldn't.

user1487194234 · 11/11/2020 11:42

Yes it changes things if you are in Scotland
A verbal Offer is normally followed pretty much immediately with an Offer from your solicitor

If you haven't got a solicitor you should find one immediately.

Ask about for personal recommendations and don't use the one recommended by the estate agent

MiniCooperLover · 11/11/2020 12:07

How did the mortgage company know about the asbestos if you haven't done any surveys? It sounds like the seller thinks you've taken too long and they're re-marketing it

Funnyface1 · 11/11/2020 12:11

Walk away from this.

user1487194234 · 11/11/2020 12:37

How did the mortgage company know about the asbestos if you haven't done any surveys? It sounds like the seller thinks you've taken too long and they're re-marketing it
It was disclosed in the Home report
Under the Scottish system the Seller obtains a Home report which includes a survey

unfortunateevents · 11/11/2020 12:53

As it turns out you are in Scotland, a lot of what people have said is probably not relevant now but what would be helpful to you wherever you are based is for you to do some reading around the subject and speak to people who have been through the process before - parents, friends - so you are better prepared next time for what should be happening, timescales etc.

78percentLindt · 11/11/2020 12:58

I don't know much about purchasing inScotland, but the one piece of advice I woud give is do not touch a solicitor or mortgage advisor recommended by the Estate Agent. You need an independant one in both cases.

titchy · 11/11/2020 13:41

You really really need to read up in the process in Scotland - once you make a verbal offer you are legally bound to it.

Nicknacky · 11/11/2020 13:45

titchy You are not legally bound with a verbal offer, or even with the written offer. You are only legally bound once the missives have been concluded.

titchy · 11/11/2020 14:05

@Nicknacky

titchy You are not legally bound with a verbal offer, or even with the written offer. You are only legally bound once the missives have been concluded.
Ok fair enough! But OP really should be finding this stuff out - most advice here will assume England which operates under a completely different legal framework.
Original poster
Tryingtobuy · 11/11/2020 15:53

I believe in Scotland one of the main differences is the seller gets a homebuyers report which should of been shown to you (this doesn't happen in England). Did you see this?
I also believe it's your solicitor who offers on the property not you as per in England.

Yes this is correct, and it flagged up possibly of asbestos. Mortgage providers are wanting to know more about the asbestos before they seal the deal as such. When we asked the estate agent about it they palmed us off for over a week until finally saying it's up to us to find a suitable mortgage and put the price down. We were waiting to find out about the asbestos so we could then get a solicitor involved to put in an offer for us with the mortgage we had been approved for.

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 11/11/2020 16:16

Had you actually asked the sellers to provide a report about the asbestos?

The estate agent isn’t going to do that for you, either you or the seller need to look into that.

Nicknacky · 11/11/2020 16:16

Tryingtobuy

sakuramiyagi · 11/11/2020 16:42

@Tryingtobuy Had you instructed a specialist survey regarding the asbestos? Your mortgage lenders would be expecting something along those lines to give them surety for lending. This wouldn't be something the seller would be liable to pay for.

As a Scottish buyer myself, I would keep the following in mind.

  1. Secure an AIP from a lender and get them to detail your maximum lending amount (never disclose this to any Estate Agent. Never use the Estate Agent based Financial Advisors). Personally I would use a mortgage broker to find the best deal, but that's really up to you.
  2. Select a suitable conveyancing solicitor (never use one linked to an Estate Agent). Don't just go for the first google search, call them and find one that you have the best rapport with. You get what you pay for with solicitors, don't go for the cheapest. You need feel comfortable that they will go to bat for you if anything goes wrong.
  3. Review all home reports before viewing a property and anything with red flags (elevated damp readings, wet rot, dry rot, asbestos, subsidence, etc - be prepared to pay for additional surveys at your own cost).
  4. If you wish to offer, never submit an offer yourself, have your solicitor arrange this.
  5. Dependent on where in Scotland you are, houses are largely going to closing dates and you will need to factor in potentially offering over home report to secure the property. Any amount over home report will not be mortgageable, you will have to make this up yourself.

We have bought a number of times over the last 10 years in Glasgow, most recently last month. It's been an experience and a half this time, so if you need Scottish based advise, I'm happy to give it.

2bazookas · 11/11/2020 17:02

Sorry, I misread a response from NI and thought it was from the the OP

Right, you're in Scotland , where the seller pays for a Home Report by a professional surveyor . HRs have to follow a set format and are made available free to all interested parties. The HR includes, a valuation.

  Mortgage lenders in Scotland will normally  accept the HR  report  and valuation, unless the report identifies  some potentially expensive defect.  The sellers in this case have probably  reduced the price  because  several potential buyers are having a problem getting a mortgage due to the asbestos issue.

Scotland has its own legal system, separate from England's, with some significant differences . One of which is property conveyance.

In the Scottish system,  the buyer  uses  their own lawyer to negotiate  everything, including the first offer. Most sellers will only consider formal written offers from  a lawyer.   No wonder your "verbal offer"  went  nowhere.

So in order to buy in Scotland, FIRST you need to find and engage a lawyer to act on your behalf. They will explain to you their own fees and other expenses you will need to pay; (I always opt for a fixed fee contract) and make sure you understand how conveyance works in Scotland. When you want to make an offer on a property, your lawyer will do that formally in writing, DO NOT make verbal offers yourself, (for reasons your lawyer will explain to you.)

joneswhyte.co.uk/a-simple-guide-to-conveyancing-in-scotland/

2bazookas · 11/11/2020 17:12

@Tryingtobuy

I've read everyone's comments and I appreciate all your help. Definitely a niave and confused first time buyer so I'll be walking away from this one and taking everyone's advice on board. We did jump the gun, we had actually been planning on trying to buy after Christmas but we saw this property and thought we'd have a look and see what we could do and just followed to estate agents advice. Also we're in Scotland I'm not sure if that changes anything.
Always remember that the Estate Agent is working for and paid by the Seller. Not you.

You need to get your own advice from a lawyer paid by you.

Original poster
Tryingtobuy · 11/11/2020 19:01

Had you actually asked the sellers to provide a report about the asbestos?
Yes this was what caused me confusion in the first place. We asked the estate agent for it as we haven't been in any direct contact with the seller. They said they'd contact them and be in touch, they didn't after over a week and so we called them and were told it was up to us to find a suitable mortgage. So we had been in limbo waiting for an asbestos remote to see if we could go ahead with the mortage and get a solicitor to put in an offer.

OP posts:
yawnyawn4 · 11/11/2020 19:17

If you still want the house I'd suggest instructing a solicitor ASAP who can communicate with the estate agent/vendor about the asbestos. If you do decide to offer you need to factor in the cost of the asbestos removal as this is likely to be a condition of your mortgage.

Nicknacky · 11/11/2020 20:54

Tryingtobuy You can ask and they might do a report but the onus is generally on you to instruct the reports.

The cost of a report is minimal in comparison to that of buying a house.

Why haven’t you researched how to buy a house?

FamBae · 02/12/2020 13:24

I agree with you the estate agents are shoddy, a similar thing happened to my daughter the vendors had removed a supporting wall and the estate agent said Oh you'll be fine they are happy to reduce the price ... WTF! Sounds to me they are burying their heads in the sand re the asbestos.

liveitwell · 02/12/2020 13:51

Yes it doesnt sound right.

Before you look at houses, usually you would appoint an independent mortgage adviser who will check your affordability and will obtain a mortgage in principle for you. This is because there's no point offering on houses to then find out you can't get a mortgage for that amount.

Then you find a house and offer.

Then your mortgage broker will either get another mortgage in place for you if the previous has run out, or you can just progress to surveys etc.

It seems your situation has been the wrong way round. Then the asbestos all sounds very bizarre.

And surely if it has asbestos they'd want you to still have the house and would negotiate a lower price with you. Seems very strange they've put it back on the market at a lower price.

Walk away. Get all your ducks in a row and find something else. Good luck!

CarnivalCactus3 · 02/12/2020 17:24

Pay to have a full building survey before you buy

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