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Original poster

Feeling concerned about our buyers

60 replies

parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 10:32

Morning all

We agreed a sale on our property two weeks ago. Offer was £12k over asking price and from buyers that have sold to a FTB (3 total in chain with us included). Same EA being used for our sale & our buyers sale so all in house. We are buying a property to refurb separately from our sale and had explicitly told the EA that we would not be completing on our house until the other one is ready for us to move into (estimated end of July/Aug).

Within 4 days of agreeing the offer the buyers had instructed a surveyor for a HB survey which took place yesterday. I was surprised they had done that so soon in the process. I then had a call from another surveying firm yesterday to say their mortgage lender required an in person survey on the property as well!

The lender desk top/drive by valuations obviously aren't coming back high enough so a surveyor visit is required. It also means that they instructed & paid for their own survey before even having applied for/received a mortgage offer which to me is very strange. You wouldn't normally spend money without knowing you are actually able to proceed on the property surely?

I spoke to the EA earlier to try to find out what the buyers situation is and was told they have 10% in savings, 20% equity in their house, so would need a 70% LTV mortgage. That sounds low enough but the monetary value is well over £250k. Now I obviously don't know anything about their finances or what they do for a living etc but they are buying upwards so that to me would be a big commitment. Especially when you add in all the rises in living costs that kicked in this month.

My gut feeling is that they have offered more than they should have and they are going to try to renegotiate the price. The EA also said on their file notes it says they submitted their best & final offer saying they want to complete asap which specifically contradicts our stance.

Am I being over cynical?

OP posts:
Thursday37 · 05/04/2022 10:35

I don’t see anything wrong with any of this. I’d say overthinking.

I’m about to negotiate on price 4 months in, so that can happen at any point.

carefullycourageous · 05/04/2022 10:38

I think you need to do some meditation and have a Brew

They could pull out at any point.
Their finances could change.
Their lender could say they do not think it is worth the price they offered.

You have no control. 70% LTV is good, but anything could happen between now and the finish line.

Good luck! It took us 10 months btw.

carefullycourageous · 05/04/2022 10:41

And the move date has to be agreed - so if you can't complete until x date, you don't complete until x date.

mahrezzy · 05/04/2022 10:43

I’m buying a house at the moment. I have a mortgage in principle, have instructed a surveyor for a HB report and fully expect the mortgage company to do their own survey as part of the mortgage approval process.

What’s your process if not this and what do you think your buyers should be doing differently?

mahrezzy · 05/04/2022 10:44

Also, if you don’t know this, lots of mortgage companies are valuing properties at their true price and not the inflated prices at the moment so their lenders may say they’ll only lend at their own valuation.

carefullycourageous · 05/04/2022 10:46

I would also say that for an end date of July/August they are right to get on with it.

It takes forever now, and August is only four months away!

Palavah · 05/04/2022 10:50

Was their offer not presented to you as £xk wanting to complete as soon as possible? There's clearly a mismatch of expectations of timings which i would ask the EA to address.

Original poster
parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 10:50

@mahrezzy

I’m buying a house at the moment. I have a mortgage in principle, have instructed a surveyor for a HB report and fully expect the mortgage company to do their own survey as part of the mortgage approval process.

What’s your process if not this and what do you think your buyers should be doing differently?

My process would be apply for the mortgage, wait until I know that I can proceed and then instruct my own survey. I wouldn't want to pay out money before knowing whether the mortgage company will lend me what I needed to buy the property. The MIP/AIP isn't a guarantee.
OP posts:
Original poster
parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 10:53

@Palavah

Was their offer not presented to you as £xk wanting to complete as soon as possible? There's clearly a mismatch of expectations of timings which i would ask the EA to address.
No, the fact that they want to complete asap was only revealed to me today. Our position was always that we would not complete until our other house was ready for us to move into. Every single member of staff we spoke with at the EA was told this.
OP posts:
carefullycourageous · 05/04/2022 10:57

I do not see much of a mismatch between 'July/August' and 'soon'.

July/August is soon in housebuying terms!

Samanabanana · 05/04/2022 10:58

You're over thinking this I think, and I'm a massive overthinker!

carefullycourageous · 05/04/2022 10:58

12 weeks would take you to July - and twelve weeks is the widely-cited minimum timeframe for buying.

Is it possible you are underestimating how long it takes?

Original poster
parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 11:03

@carefullycourageous

I do not see much of a mismatch between 'July/August' and 'soon'.

July/August is soon in housebuying terms!

July/Aug is only an estimated timeframe on our part. Until we have the keys (hopefully next week) and know exactly what needs to be done and get trades booked etc it could end up being longer.

I'm trying to clarify with the EA that they made the buyers fully aware of our onward situation because I don't want that to cause any problems.

OP posts:
Igmum · 05/04/2022 11:04

But all mortgages are based on both the property and the buyers. They will probably have an AIP based on them (salaries, savings, credit histories etc), the mortgage lender is now checking the property. And yes, I would be amazed if you completed by July. Good luck OP, this doesn't sound worrying yet

Original poster
parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 11:06

@carefullycourageous

12 weeks would take you to July - and twelve weeks is the widely-cited minimum timeframe for buying.

Is it possible you are underestimating how long it takes?

If we complete on our other house next week that will be 6 weeks from offer. Our solicitor had said 14 in the instruction paperwork so it can be quicker.
OP posts:
MojoMoon · 05/04/2022 11:07

August is soon in housebuying terms.

If you want to complete then, then they need to get cracking with surveys and legal work.

Mortgage companies will generally expect a certain percentage of valuations to be done in person - as general spot checks on the surveyors they use. It may be nothing to do with your property itself.

Or it could be that your property is unusual or there has been nothing sold recently that is similar (perhaps only total wrecks have sold for example) and so there simply is not enough data for them to approve a drive by survey.

mindutopia · 05/04/2022 11:13

Agree with others, all sounds fine. They obviously have applied for their mortgage and are waiting on the valuation, but are committed enough to move forward with the survey knowing how there can be delays.

I also think it's quite presumptuous to assume that they have over-offered without knowing much about them. When we were FTB, we bought our house (for over £800K) with a 60% LTV. We saved hard, had a bit of inheritance because our parents died young, and run a successful business/have good careers. We could have offered more, so never any concerns about affordability.

I would sit tight, let them crack on, but also make sure that your EA is actually communicating with them. Is it possible that they haven't communicated that you can't complete before July/August? Because I can imagine an EA wanting to close a sale and get their commission trying to push things along as fast as possible and not entirely being direct about your expectations.

Snoken · 05/04/2022 11:15

@parkrunner1977

I don't think you can leave your buyers in such unknown state either. If you haven't even booked workmen, ordered materials etc yet then it might be very unlikely that you will be ready to move out anytime near end of July. I don't know what it is you need doing, but many trades people, at least around here, are booked up for the next 6-12 months. In a process like this, you can't expect it to all be on your terms and that the rest of the chain should just be on standby. Worse case, you sell, complete and then move into rented for a few months until your house is ready. Alternatively, you take it off the market until you have an idea of when you can move.

Original poster
parkrunner1977 · 05/04/2022 11:24

[quote Snoken]@parkrunner1977

I don't think you can leave your buyers in such unknown state either. If you haven't even booked workmen, ordered materials etc yet then it might be very unlikely that you will be ready to move out anytime near end of July. I don't know what it is you need doing, but many trades people, at least around here, are booked up for the next 6-12 months. In a process like this, you can't expect it to all be on your terms and that the rest of the chain should just be on standby. Worse case, you sell, complete and then move into rented for a few months until your house is ready. Alternatively, you take it off the market until you have an idea of when you can move.[/quote]
We fully explained the situation to the EA when they came to value & they advised putting it on the market now. We assumed that everything had been made clear to the buyers as they had said it had been. My husband works in the business so we have the trades guys lined up but until we have the keys they can't actually come in to start the work.

OP posts:
fourofwands · 05/04/2022 12:28

I would have thought them booking their survey quickly is an excellent sign. It shows they're committed to the sale and they must be feeling confident about getting their mortgage offer.

mahrezzy · 05/04/2022 15:04

Ah see I get the MIP and then do a survey to check I want to buy the house first based on the condition. I wouldn’t waste my broker’s time getting the final mortgage offer on the table only to tell him I’d changed my mind based on the survey!

Whinge · 05/04/2022 15:16

We assumed that everything had been made clear to the buyers as they had said it had been. My husband works in the business so we have the trades guys lined up but until we have the keys they can't actually come in to start the work.

Have you mentioned the end of July / Aug as stated in your OP to any estate agents? If they've told the buyers this then it's going to be a huge shock if you're actually expecting them to wait much longer than this.

TinaTurtle · 05/04/2022 15:21

There is not a single thing in your buyer's actions that I would regard as odd (having a fair amount of experience in this areas).

Beees · 05/04/2022 15:25

Nothing your buyers have done is odd. They sound like very sensible buyers who are proceeding appropriately.

I would be concerned though that you stated a time frame of July /August and yet you actually have no idea of when you will be moving into the new property. If you've shared this time frame with the estate agents and they have passed it along, your buyers might be in for a huge shock when you then change the goalposts.

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 05/04/2022 15:26

Op I must be missing something? I agree with other posters, you are over thinking or perhaps things are going to fast for you?
We are not ftb, but have put in an offer, had a survey and mortgage approved within a week on the current property we are considering buying. I say considering as the survey has come up with unexpected major problems.
If we go ahead July/august is our expected completion time frame.