Err, how do you buy a house?

[BrandyButterPie]

I saw a lovely house today, looked round it, all great. ILs have very very kindly offered to lend us a deposit. We are pretty certain we can get a mortgage to cover the rest.

What do we do now? Do I need to make an apoointment with a mortgage broker, or put in an offer on the house or what? Do we offer less than the asking price - is that how it works? Do we just ring them up and say "£50,000!" or is there a form or something?

I hear talk of surveys and lawyers- whats the deal there?

How long does it all take? We have to give notice on our current tenancy of a month, is it longer then that?

etc...

is it through an estate agent?

if it is, and you've been to look round today expect a call from them in about 3 minutes :o

It is an estate agent, although the man showing me round said he isn't an estate agent - who was he then?

Personally, I would advise you to make an appointment with a mortgage broker asap and make an offer when you have secured a mortgage. It puts you in a much stronger position when making an offer.

What sort of offer you make will depend on the market where you live. Where I live, houses have been on the market for ages and aren't shifting. In the town next door, some houses aren't even making it onto the market because sellers are able to secure buyers who are willing and able to pay the price they want. Houses don't seem to linger long on the market there!

The solicitor will handle the legal parts of the sale. When I last bought a house I used the person I'd always used. As he was based 150 miles away that turned out to be a PITA, but ask around for recommendations.

It can take as long as it takes depending on the size of the chain.

Good luck! It is very exciting buying your first house but it can also be very stressful, so be prepared!

You'll need a Solicitor / Conveyancer to do the legal work for you. Your estate agent can probably recommend someone, but shop around, it's not always the case that online companies are cheapest, and from experience, I would say a lawyer you can meet face to face is 100 times better than a "team" on the end of the phone.

Very often, agents are tied in to law companies to recommend them, but it is still worth shopping around.

After your offer is accepted and the legal wheels start turning, you can expect the procedure to be something like this

Good luck, I hope they take your offer!

He could be an assistant from the Estate Agents, or he might have been the house owner??

Presumably you haven't got a mortgage offer yet - tbh I would do that first, an offer in principle, so you know for certain how much you can afford.

To make an offer, you ring the estate agents and tell them what you would like to offer. Normally offers are a little lower than asking, but they don't have to be. Expect the first offer to be rejected, especially if it is somewhat low, but you can go back and offer more after that if you wish.

Then you need to organise a survey. The mortgage company will do a very basic valuation survey, but that is for their purposes to make sure it's worth what they will lend you. You should have a separate survey done, to ensure the house is solid/not falling down/needs no major expensive works etc. This is often done through a surveyor recommended by the estate agent/your solicitor.

Your solicitor will do the actual legal side of buying, do the searches (e.g making sure the owners actually own it, checking no-one is about to build a motorway next door, etc).

It usually takes 6-12 weeks. Can be quicker, but that really relies on everyone pulling their fingers out and if you haven't even got a mortgage offer yet then it's very unlikely.

first find a mortgage either via a broker or via one of the online sites such as money supermarket or similar. then you know roughly how much money you've got to spend.

then ring the agents and make an offer, based on what you can afford, what similar houses are selling for, how much you are going to need to spend on it after you've bought it. Remember the agent is acting for the seller not you!

Then find a solicitor, word of mouth is best, but otherwise ring round for quotes, make sure you speak to the person who will actually be doing the work. Explain you are a first time buyer and will want to be guided throgh the transaction. Don't neessarily go for the cheapest. Yo get what you pay for. give your soliciotrs details to the estate agent.

To get a mortgage you'll need a valuation by a surveyor who is approved by the mortgage provider. if the house is more than 10 years old or in a bad state than you may want a more thorough survey, the more detailed it is the more expensive but so is the cost of sorting out repairs.

Can usually get to exchange in 4 to 6 weeks(depending on the length of the chain - if your seller is buying somewhere else and so on) but can be longer. This is where your solicitor should help, keeping things moving and dealing with your mortgage company.

It is very stressful and there is loads more to say but thats the basics.

No chain - it had no electricity, so I'm thinking repossession? Either that or old person, given the decor.

It has been on the market nearly a year, and has been reduced quite a bit already (although I can't find where I saw that info now, so not sure how accurate my memory is) It is a lot cheaper than other houses - they tend to be around the £90,000 mark, this one is on the market at £65,000.

It was lovely though :) Needs a lick of paint and a bit of minor DIY, and the garden needs sorting out, but we can do that easily. Could do with a new kitchen, but it has something we can use for now, and my dad is a builder anyway.

It doesn't have a road out front! There is grass instead of road! just a ginnel at the back for cars. :D

Oh, it's on a big ex council estate, if that helps. Loads of houses of the same design still standing. Double glazing and central heating, so it must have had some work done on it fairly recently. Although, it is that cold round here that they probably had those things up here in about 1902 :D

oh and be careful about how you go about borrowing a deposit, we're in the process of doing similar with PIL and you have to be careful how it is leant. If they shoudl unfortunatly unexpectedly die you can become subject to 50% inheritance tax (think it's within 7 years)

the mortgage broker we have spoken to said find house first (which you have done) then the mortgage as an agreement in principle will only last for a certain amout of time and if you have multiple searches on your credit file (from having had to repeatedly get a mortgage agreed in principle) this can have a negative impact

A lot of mortgage lenders won't agree to a loaned deposit as if you were to default on your payments it complicates matters as to who is owed what. When we were looking into it a few years ago we were asked how the deposit had been funded.

I would definitely speak to a mortgage broker first to make sure you won't have any issues. Would be devastating to have an offer accepted then not be able to get a mortgage. A lot of estate agent won't even deal with buyers who haven't got an agreement in principle.

OK, unless you are a builder/property developer/know about such things, are you certain all it needs is a bit of DIY and a paint job?

What about:
the roof
the electrics (no electricity?!)
the plumbing
does it have damp
dry rot
how old is the boiler

All these things can cost thousands to sort out, and might not be obvious to the untrained eye. Apologies if I'm going over old ground/things you've already considered.

But basically, your order of play is:

secure a mortgage offer
consider total finances (ie deposit/stamp duty/legal fees/moving costs etc)
tot up the total you can afford on a property
make an offer
when it's accepted, arrange a survey
adjust offer if appropriate
instruct solicitor

Who is the not estate agent person, showing you around?

I have always had a mortgage offer before house hunting, personally. Doesn't seem to have had a negative impact on my credit rating.

You need to sort out your mortgage first, then you know the amount you are able to borrow.

Then you put in an offer.

If it's accepted you will need to have a survey done to satisfy both yourselves and your mortgage lender.

You will also need to instruct a solicitor at this stage, to do the conveyancing.

If there is no road, how is your access to the property?
Do you have right of way somewhere?

Quintessensial - there is a footpath, just no street for cars. There is a little ginnel at the back where people park that could be used for loading, and a patio bit in the back garden that must have been used as a car hardstanding.

The front is the same distance from the other houses as on a normal cul de sac, and the pavements are there, just instead of a road, there is a wide strip of municipal grass.

We moved two weeks ago and here is how it goes.

1.) GET YOUR MORTGAGE OFFER IN PLACE FIRST. I cannot stress this highly enough. We had one mortgage deal pulled out from under us at the last minute, we hadn't got to a full offer so they were quite within their rights to do this. Go through a broker, that way you'll get someone else to do all the shopping around leg work for you and they'll find the deal that is best for you and your circumstances.

2.) Make an offer through the agent. Have a look around and see what houses in the area have sold for to give you an idea of the real market conditions, not what the vendor would like. Try Zoopla for this. Be prepared to haggle.

3.) Get your survey sorted, there are different types and the type you will need will depend on the type/age/obvious condition of the property. Your broker may be able to advise you. Ours did.

4.) Get a conveyancer. Again the broker may be able to help here or the estate agent. Alternatively ask your friends or family for a recommendation. My friend did ours and she's brilliant. Her other office acted for the vendor because we wanted a quick completion.

5.) Then sit back and wait. House sales can go quickly, ours was done within a month, but they can go slowly too. Be prepared to push to keep everyone on track and hurrying up.

Lastly, best of luck and I hope it's a sress free as possible for you.

Talk to a mortgage broker and / or your bank or a recommended lender about an 'in principle' mortgage.
Make offer - to Estate Agent
They will put it to the vendors who will agree or decline (after some horse trading).
Once vendors accept the offer, ask the EA to take the property off the market.
Tell mortgage co who will ask for a valuation / survey. They will demand a valuation survey at least, you will be best upgrading to 'Homebuyers Report' or some such, which will give a detailed and usually terrifying report on the state of the property.
Meanwhile you appoint a solicitor - pref one recommended by friends - you can talk to a couple, ask for an estimate on fees. Some do an 'all in price'.
Mortgage co will make a formal offer of a mortgage for that property.
Solicitor will be sending for 'searches' and gathering all the necessary paperwork, and by this stage guiding you through.
Before exchange of contracts you will need to have put the deposit in solicitors bank acct, got a buildings insurance policy lined up ready to come into effect on day of completion, have formal mortgage offer on that property, and mortgage co ready with money for exchange.
Once a completion date is being discussed, start getting quotes for vans / removal co. You can't actually move in on the day of completion until the money has changed hands (usually lunchtie-ish) and you collect keys from EA.

Once you have exchanged contracts yu absolutley cannot back out or change any details like moving date without incurring serious penalty - potentially loss of whole deposit.

Just a small piece of advice, get quotes from a broker but also shop around directly, as the main lenders don't tend to offer their best deals through brokers. We got told rate and fees for our mortgage, went direct to bank (which happened to be who I held my account with anyway) and got fee reduced from £999 to £299! Just make sure that anyone who gives u quotes, u are adament that u don't want to be credit scored without them telling u upfront! With solicitors etc, I just e-mailed various different firms, told them I was first time buyer and roughly how much the property was on the Market for, and they got back to me with quotes, which varied between £600 and £2000 so definately worth shopping about for! Good luck with it xx

One thing I will say is please please please get a good survey done if you get an option by the mortgage company. Some companies will only do the basics, others will offer you a better survey for slightly more money. I would go for the latter, especially as you mention no electrics and the fact the property has been on the market for so long. IF you don't get the better survey done you may find yourself in a situation where you are spending thousands after finding a fault that would have put you off buying the property in the first place.

By the way you are entitled to instruct your own survey. Countrywide are good at what they do, and don't charge the earth.