First Time Buyer - Any Tips?

[H1ghw4y61Revisited]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster, *waves. I've just got a Sale Agreed on my first property, any tips out there from seasoned home owners. My mortgage provider is going to do the standard valuation survey...should I also get a full blown independent survey, or am I throwing my money away? The house needs a lot of obvious things done, but what should I be worried about that wouldn't be obvious?

Thanks in advance for your help

You can do quite a lot of surveying yourself - taps, toilets , gutters when raining, sun to property, visit at different times of day, see what is nearby. But if it is a fixer upper, think of a more thorough survey.

Also ask around and read local papers - things with no planning.application dont show on searches but that iminent power line, wind turbine or pub expansion could still be am issue.

Thanks :) it's definitely what you might call a fixer upper 😳 Maybe I'll ask around and see if anyone can recommend a good surveyor

The surveyor doing you mortgage survey should be able to do you a more in depth survey for a bit more £s that is what we did, it was an Independent surveyor doing the mortgage valuation anyway and this way was much quicker.

If I had my time again, I would stay the night in a hotel prior to moving rather than staying in a practically empty house on a bed. Bit out house was packed up the day before it was actually moved. Also, do pay for packing service, mine was only a little more cost.

Also, I wish I had the house we bought professionally cleaned before we moved in.

These are all options that cost money though!

Good luck!

We had a full survey - not that it did us much good as so much needed doing they didn't find.

Surveyors can't lift carpet or peel back wallpaper or go on the roof. Their opinion is definitely worth seeking though and I don't regret getting a full survey.

What I would do though is get a roofing company to come and quote for what needs doing on the roof. They will usually go up there and should quote for free - and that will tell you some stuff a surveyor wouldn't be able to. This was suggested to my by a roofer that we used after discovering after purchase that loads of things needed doing with the roof and chimneys.

If you have builder or architect friend that might do you a favour and come round with you that's also really useful

I'm a FTB too and I would never have considered buying without a proper (homebuyers) survey. As it happens nothing terrible turned up on the house I'm trying to buy - it picked up on quite a lot, mostly things I didn't know about. I had a survey done on another property and I pulled out on the basis of that survey

If you're not very experienced with houses, definitely get a proper survey. They will have a look at gutters, rot, measure dampness in walls ( you need the right equipment for that). They would a look at windows, state of electrics, any potential asbestos etc all the things that most people wouldn't really have a clue about.

The house I'm buying is going to need all new windows, bathroom and kitchen before I even really get going on the other stuff. I didn't think about the roof (which seems obvious now!) or the asbestos thing, which now it's been mentioned I'm pretty sure the garage roof is made of, though I'm not sure how big a problem that is? My brother is an electrician and he said he will come and check the electrics for me, I sent him many photos of sockets and fuse boards etc (estate agent thought I was a bit crazy I think) and he seems confident that it won't cost the earth to fix them up. I guess since I'm a bit clueless I will probably get the survey just to be on the safe side, I see a lot of valuers surveys at work and they usually say seems to consist of a bunch of vague statements about things that might be ok or might kill you lol which doesn't seem so helpful. Thanks for all the suggestions so far 👍

Nothing to add on the pre purchase. Just be prepared for many suprises, some good, many not so much. Everything costs more and takes more time than you will expect. Take your time in planning renovation.

i've just bought and i echo what others have said about overestimating any work that needs to be done. i think when you first view a property you just walk around thinking 'yeah, i'll get the builders in for a bit and it'll be done quickly' but as well as labour there's materials too.

also check everything - i've had some nasty surprises because i didn't - check every single major appliance like cookers, radiators etc, don't check one and assume the others are ok/work, open windows to see what the noise is like outside (if it's near a road for eg), as well as a homebuyer's report get the plumbing and electric checked so you can haggle on price if there's something that needs to be done.

Have attached a few photos so you can get an idea of what I'm looking at. I made an offer a little below their asking price, if I get a survey that flags up a bunch of unforeseen stuff what would people think the etiquette would be on further negotiations?

I'm an EA and I would get a simple mortgage valuation from my lender and if it values up ok then an independent surveyor to do a survey. I wouldn't get a homebuyers report from the lender, they're just never as thorough and there's a lot to be said from having an experienced local surveyor. If the mortgage valuation ties in with the price you're paying then you'll be hard pushed to get a vendor to agree to renegotiation, but if is valued lower then they may do.

ooo, i actually really like the colourful cupboards. would be nice if you had an all white kitchen to go with them.

It does look like one of those places that you expect to gut and start again. In this case, just make sure you've got the money to do the work and the price is well below the value of it done up. Also, don't underestimate how much it costs to do stuff, e.g. it cost me just under 5k for skip hire alone to clear one house + garden. As long as you're realistic about money, I'd def go for it as it's massively rewarding to do a house up just the way you want it and you can add tons of value in the process ;)

I've had a look at the price similar properties have sold for. This one was "priced to allow for modernisation" and I went in 10% lower than their asking price so I'm hoping I've left myself plenty of room for improvements. I'm hoping to pick up second hand kitchen cupboards and I'll do my own try and keep costs down when possible, but definitely haven't factored in 5k for skips...more like a few hundred pounds. I'm hoping your house was massive 😬

I'm afraid the 5k on skips was on an above-average size semi with a manky pergola in the garden but not any other unusual rubbish. Even doing up a flat, I'd budget 2k on skips...