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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to get a mortgage and buy 'our' house?

49 replies

debs40 · 17/04/2009 19:11

We've just come back from a week away to find we've been given notice to quit on our home.

We have lived here for 6 years and had both of our children here.

We have been renting for so long because property prices here are mental.We have a deposit saved but it will only work out as about 15% against current prices.

The landlords say they are being posted abroad (they're in the forces)but want to keep their base in the UK for weekend visits and for their au pair! Bless. Their children are in a local boarding school.

They have offered to sell privately at a fairly reasonable price but I'm not sure we can raise a mortgage in this climate. This has all come out of the blue and the letting agents mentioned nothing about them wanting to sell. I'm just not sure I trust them.

DH got made redundant about 18 months ago but has been running his own IT business since and although it's always a case of short term contracts, they seem fairly consistently available and well-paid.

One added problem is that the fields at the back of the estate we live on are about to become a housing estate which has caused a glut of local houses to come on the market.

Our house is a bit dated and needs a bit of work but we are so used to it and it is near the local school etc. DS 2 will start there next year.

What would you do? Try and buy the house or chance renting until the market stabilises?

OP posts:
fizzpops · 17/04/2009 19:18

Not sure what I would do in your place but it is worth checking out the mortgage situation so you know what your options are.

As you have lived there for 6 months you must know all about the house which is an advantage few buyers have, plus you won't have to go through the upheaval of a move and uprooting the kids.

You say you don't trust the vendors - if this is to do with them not telling the letting agents maybe they are being super careful about not making them a party to the sale???? I don't know. I don't see it as any more risky than a normal sale provided you take the same precautions - solicitors/ survey etc. And there would be less chance of being outbid - can you ask for first refusal?

LIZS · 17/04/2009 19:25

They may not have told the agent because there will be a clause giving them commission if it is sold to a party they have referred. Check the current market price and allow for the fact they will save in agency fees, Hip and so on by not having to market it. Do you want to live there , even when the development goes ahead (could be a protracted timescale given current economy) and you may not be able to resell as easily. Check how much mortgage you woudl be permitted with a small deposit (don't forget to allow fior solicitor's costs and Stamp Duty if over £175k from those savings)

fizzpops · 17/04/2009 19:26

Meant to say 6 years

Original poster
debs40 · 17/04/2009 19:30

Thanks. That makes sense guys. I wondered why they didn't want to tell the agent.

The house is offered for 280 so I can't see us getting them below the 250 mark for stamp duty.

Can I get a valuation done by other estate agents even if it isn't my house?

Do you think it's worth trying to negotiate?

OP posts:
Tinker · 17/04/2009 19:35

Offered to you at 280? What are they hoping to market it at - sorry if you don't know? can you check nethouseprices to see what houses have sold for for a comparison/guide?

Sorrento · 17/04/2009 19:38

Find another rental and keep saving it's not like prices are going up any time soon.

MollieO · 17/04/2009 19:40

Check www.houseprices.co.uk for local house prices and see what houses were selling at 2 years ago as that will give you a good indication of what it may be worth.

If your husband has filed a set of accounts then he might be okay getting a mortgage without having to self certify (apparently no one is doing those mortgages atm). Having a 15% deposit is good as again lenders are reluctant to go above 90% mortgage offers. All this according to Ray Boulger (mortgage expert) I heard on the radio today!

Blondeshavemorefun · 17/04/2009 19:41

i would get someone round to value the house so least you would know if 280 was a fair guide

VinoEsmeralda · 17/04/2009 19:46

agree with blondeshavemorefun, have it valued by 3 different estate agents (hoping its not the same the vendors have used) and take it from there but I'd say they probably started off with a higher price then they anticipated getting IYSWIM.

Original poster
debs40 · 17/04/2009 19:48

Thanks. I suppose if we could move and rent and guarantee doing that for a fair while, I'd be tempted. But we seem very lucky in having had this place for six years! I'd hate to move us and end up moving again in 12 months etc. I know there are no guarantees either way though.

The house is worth less than some others on the market here because of its need for general updating. Other similar houses (although not as well situated - we have views over open fields at the moment anyway!) are on for 10-15k more.

Will do some checking on mortgages etc.

Tinker - They're suggesting they will keep it as a weekend base if we don't buy it.

LIZS wouldn't the letting people know eventually if we don't move out on the notice to quit that there is something going on!

OP posts:
Original poster
debs40 · 17/04/2009 19:50

On valuations - this may seem a stupid question but can I just ring and ask estate agents to supply me with a valuation visit even if it's not my house to sell??

OP posts:
Tinker · 17/04/2009 19:51

Sorry, yes you had alredy said that. I'd still check nethouseprices and knock off appropriate price drops of recent months/year. More accurate than asking prices. What a horrible situation to be in.

Blondeshavemorefun · 17/04/2009 20:04

i have had my house valued and the estate agent never asked me if it was mine (even though it is) - so i would def get 3 in

and if they say less, then you could say - oh - one said 280 and see what they say

they may scoff, so least you would know that your landlord is trying it on

lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 20:35

As Blondes said - they won't check whether you own it or not so, if you can brazen it out, try.

£280k seems ambitious because it is too close to the stamp duty threshold and, even if it is a slight discount on other houses, as you say there is a glut of other properties on the market at the moment, the house needs work and they are about to lose the open land behind them.

I agree with Sorrento that prices are unlikely to go up substantially any time soon so I would be very reluctant to pay more than £250k. I would be very tempted to get the agents round and take it from there.

lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 20:39

Should say do you know which agent they are going with as you don't want to invite same agency around for your valuation.

alicet · 17/04/2009 20:42

In the current climate what houses are advertised for is absolutely no indication of what they are worth as most people will have houses on for at least 10% over what it is worth to take accou t of the silly offers that people are putting in on the off chance at the moment.

What you need is a mortgage valuation although unfortunately you usually have to pay for this. These often come up far less than what estate agents have valued the property for (afterall they might over value to get the property to market or because they think this is what the seller wants to hear).

I know a bit what I am talking about as we have just sold and bought - the house we bought was valued at 20K less than we had offered so the builders accepted the lower value but unfortunately in a private sale the vendor might not be prepared to do this then you lose the money you have shelled out for the valuation.

Good luck!

alicet · 17/04/2009 20:44

You could ask the estate agents to value it as a forced sale which is when the vendors are desperate to move (telling them you are desperate to move because dh is being relocated for example) - this will give you a guide that is perhaps closer to what a mortgage company would value it at

Original poster
debs40 · 17/04/2009 20:49

Thanks guys that is all really helpful.

Really good point alicet - I will definitely tell the estate agents we are in a rush and not looking for a long wait for a sale.

The other properties here vary so much in size and location, it is difficult to get a comparison.

The house further up the street has been on at 295 for a few months and has a conservatory and new kitchen. They only bought it 18 months ago for 285 so I think they're desperately looking to get something back

The others have been sitting on for several months without selling

It's just so difficult to know if the landlords really need to get the house back for when they say they do as this gives us very little time to find and buy/rent somewhere else

OP posts:
lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 20:54

If they paid £285k 18 months ago, they probably agreed price at peak of the market spring/summer 2007 so I would assume it had a long way to come down from that.

alicet · 17/04/2009 20:57

I'm with lalalonglegs - take at least 10% if not 20% off that from 18 months ago.

We viewed a house that the owners had bought for 350K a year ago. They want 340 for it now but our house (a brand new, bigger, with a bigger garden version of theirs with identical but larger layout) was only valued at 300. So they are kidding themselves and won't have a hope of selling as even if they find someone to offer more they wouldn't get a mortgage.

lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 21:06

Rereading the OP, the problem is that they don't seem to have a motive to sell unless they can do at a premium. They are happy to keep the house empty so I would just recommend that you don't pay £285k and move out - I don't think you have much leverage unless they are not being honest about their plans for the property.

lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 21:07

So yes, YABU

Original poster
debs40 · 17/04/2009 21:18

Lalalonglegs - they are not selling at 285. That was the house up the road.

Landlords want a private sale at 280.

They say they are being posted to separate deployments (both in forces) and children are based in boarding school here so they want to keep a base.

They were living near another nearby forces town and the army was paying for that house but it won't be if they're deployed abroad and they say they can't afford to keep the base and this house rented out

I'm sure they won't sell unless they think there is something in it for them and I did so I didn't trust them!

I shall keep all options open and see other houses and get valuations.

Thanks all

OP posts:
LIZS · 17/04/2009 21:23

280k sounds a lot . Bear in mind they will save at least 2.5k in EA fees (1% min) and another £500+ in HIP by selling to you , so you are actually being charged the equivalent of 283k+ if it were on the open market. Plus if it is furnished they would have removals/storage to consider. Offer less than £250k to start, if they turn it down it probably isn't worth pursuing.

lalalonglegs · 17/04/2009 21:25

Sorry, don't pay £280k either but rest of advice stands: it sounds very overpriced and, unfortunately, there is no real way of tugging the price down. A 15% deposit should get you a reasonable mortgage deal but, tbh, if asking prices are unrealistic, there will probably be no harm in waiting a while and building up an even bigger deposit.

Good luck.