First Time Buyers support group

[schrutefarmbeets]

I don't know if there's already one floating around but is anyone else out there about to buy their first home?!

I saw a flat on Monday and fell in love with it and now the ball is rolling so quickly and I'm freaking myself out about it. The offer got immediately accepted and they're talking about moving in in 5 weeks time....!

I keep flicking between being crazy excited and hugely freaking myself out. Anyone else?

Made an offer today... and it was accepted!!! (the earlier bids weren't)
Unfortunately we seemed to just miss our mortgage advisor so we have a long wait until Monday to make sure we've got the monies!!!

Argh!
Offer accepted on Saturday.
Mortgage in Principle agreed and mortgage application submitted yesterday.
Called estate agents to politely remind them that they hadn't actually sent the confirmation via email and to get the Sold STC sign up on their site this morning. This was done by lunchtime.
Solicitors details sent over and sales particulars sent to them.
Just checked and it's still showing on a second estate agents page.

Who do I call to insist it gets taken down off the second agent's site? The agent that we have purchased through or the one that's still showing it?

How annoying notamammy but congrats on your offer being accepted. I don't know the right approach really but I'd probably be harassing both agents about it. First house we had an offer accepted it took the agent a week to list it as sstc online despite me calling them daily. IT glitch apparently

We're still waiting for our survey so I'm just about tearing my hair out. Also have just found ourselves at the bottom of an ever increasing chain with the person (currently) at the top not yet having found somewhere.

So I'm onto my 3rd week of waiting for a DIP with nationwide. I'm loosing the will to live

Ghost, it may be worth going through a financial advisor? Mine cost £299 but I don't have to pay until completion, and she did absolutely everything for me. I got a DIP in one day and it's all been really easy and painless. Plus Halifax gave me £500 for the mortgage so it didn't cost me any real money.

It is through an advisor. I'm on the phone to him twice a day and it's always the same "it's with the underwriters" answer. I can't believe they are taking so long. I'm tempted to ring them myself, but is it bad etiquette to go behind broker or something? The other DIP I had took a matter of hours. (Couldn't end up going with that company with the nature of the property)

FTB here. OH and I hope to have a MIP soon and are just starting to look at homes.

Any advice on how to critically look at a potential home? We agree on the basics (neighborhoods, price range, BRs, garden) but I am terrified that we will overlook something important that an experienced home buyer would see right away.

Do you have a particular era of house that you're looking at actino? Most eras (eg Victorian, 70's, etc) will have common faults, so that's could be good place to start doing a bit of research on.
How will you be travelling? DH drives and I get public transport so it was important to us that we had adequate parking space and were in good walking distance to the station. We ended up walking away from a beautiful house because the parking would have been a problem.
If and when you do go to buy, don't scrimp on a survey.
Do you know how much of a project you are both willing to take on? We started off thinking we'd want a full on project, that's been brought down and down and now we've got an offer in for one we just have decorate! We'll eventually have to replaster as the previous owner just put lining paper up, but that's not a major issue for us as I'm hoping to get my brother to come on a working holiday!

Although we're far from experts but DH is a building surveyor, so that gives us a good place to start.

I may have gotten him a book on Victorian properties last year as part of his Christmas present because I knew where I wanted to be!

FTB in what should be advanced stages but unfortunately it looks like it's all c*cking up! Sellers had agreed to speedy process and completion date was supposed to be next week but due to sellers' solicitors being uncontactable (by our solicitors and by the sellers themselves), exchange STILL hasn't happened. Really worried as we were planning pre-Christmas move (we have our rented flat until early Jan) but at this rate it'll be 2050 before anything happens. Both our solicitors and the sellers are chasing, been trying to exchange since last Wednesday, but if they won't reply to emails or pick up calls, what else can we do??

That sucks MumofCats! Is there any way you or the seller can rock up at their office in person?

NotAMammy – mumofcats here, changed my username though as not keen on what I signed up with ages ago anymore haha.

Nope, unfortunately not. We chose our solicitor based on location (so we can go to the office to pester if necessary) and reputation (word of mouth from friends/relatives). However, our sellers either picked at random based on price or because they had to/were suggested by their mortgage people... Their solicitors are in bloody Stockport! We're in London, by the way. Totally stressing both us and the sellers out, us as I naively have stuff coming pre-Christmas to new place (I'm an idiot, I know), and sellers are moving into another place that's already basically sorted, just waiting on this sale. So annoying because we and them are both ready to go, just don't know why the solicitors are not!

I've read that most of the time exchange to completion takes between 7 to 14 days. I wonder if there is any reason it can't take fewer days, considering I've heard of exchange & completion on same day? Albeit it would be extremely stressful...

Hello, joining the convo. DP and I are FTBs. Found the house we want and viewing on Saturday. All being well we are going to make an offer. My question is how much to offer? House is on for £235,000 which is the same as others in the area. Think it's worth a bit less as on a busy road and very little parking. How do you know what to offer and what's too low?
Any advice would be gratefully received! We are clueless

I'm a conveyancing assistant catswithbowties. Solicitors like 10 working days between exchange and completion so that it gives them enough time to draw down mortgage funds from the lender and do all the necessary paperwork in preparation for completion. If there isn't a lender involved (i.e. no mortgage) then it is possible to exchange and complete on the same day, but can be nervewracking because you have to pack up the house and organise removals without confirmation of exchange. Until exchange is confirmed, someone can pull out. So basically, the day is spent waiting for that phone call confirming exchange (which could be late morning) and then a stressful few hours waiting for the funds to come in and go up the chain and not breach contract time of around 2pm. If funds at the top of the chain are not received before close of banking, then the seller at the top won't hand over the keys and the buyer can't move in, resulting in penalty charges and an overnight stay in a hotel and furniture in storage.

Also, it might be worth bearing in mind that if the solicitor is uncontactable, it is a sure sign that the necessary preparations for exchange are not complete. They are probably not taking calls because there is no new news and they need to concentrate on getting it all ready rather than be harrassed by their client - know that's easy for me to say, but sometimes we get held up on calls lasting nearly an hour by clients arguing and throwing their toys out of the pram when they are not told what they want to hear. It is unfortunate but ultimately is a waste of our time and theirs.

Until exchange, you should not redirect post or organise your broadband. Another reason why a gap between exchange and completion is recommended.

Hope that helps! Good luck and hope you have some good news soon.

Thank you for the detailed reply, Spickle, really helps when someone explains why things do or don't happen rather than being ignored by the people holding things up!

Luckily we did manage to exchange, and have completed on schedule. MASSIVE relief. Funny thing was, after our solicitors chased sellers' solicitors to exchange for almost a week, they turned around later to act like it was our side holding things up... Ah well. At least it's finally ours now, just waiting for some decorating to be done and can move in.

Congrats catswithbowties :)

We complete tomorrow, start moving in on Saturday. Exciting!

Dh had a chat with the EA today and all parties have agreed on exchange on 27th Jan!!! Whoop! Whoop!

Now that Christmas is over, its time for some serious packing!

We paid our deposit and fees on Friday gulp so just waiting for the deeds, keys and we can move in! Woo hoo!

We've only just bloody gone and competed!!! Whoop whoop! A week tomorrow it'll be our new home sobs I am beyond excited and just can't wait to get in and get making it ours.