Buying Preparations

[validUsernameHere]

Hi, bit of a n00b question. We're actively viewing houses now and have made several offers in the past few weeks. Nothing materialised yet, but we're quite certain we'll find one soon (how naive are we huh)

I have read here and in other forums, that once offer is accepted, we should move quickly to avoid getting gazumped or drive the seller away. What are some things that we can prepare beforehand? I can only think of AIP.

And speaking about offer, what sort of information can we disclose to the EA to show we're in a good position to buy, but without sounding desperate or making them think our pocket is deeper than the ocean?

Thanks in advance!

Get your solicitor and mortgage broker sorted.

Organise a solicitor, ask for recommendations from friends or family who have been happy with their solicitor. Look for surveyor, read up about options for surveys.
Have confirmation of your deposit. Don’t share your AIP with the EA, so in they can’t try to get you to up your offer to your maximum.
These will make you look well organised rather than desperate.

@Daisymay2 Some EA make you send in your AIP, ID
and bank statements as proof of deposit so it might not be something the OP might be able to not share.
@validUsernameHere But for sure don’t volunteer it if you aren’t asked.

Definitely have a solicitor in hand you will like to use, research on surveyors but hold out before choosing one.
Some lenders have surveyors they work with so it can work out cheaper upgrading your service with the lenders surveyor.

I know hsbc work with SDL Surveying who offer subsidised rates if you get your survey done with them.

With your solicitor as well check that they are in your lenders panel otherwise it would be an additional cost to you.

I will ask the seller and EA outright if there are any issues with the property that could hinder you getting a mortgage and also the construction type.
Some banks are funny about particular things like steel frame properties or even properties with balconies so I will be checking with the lender if it’s fine.

If it’s leasehold as well I will check with my lender what % deposit I can put down. Some lenders will only lend on a leasehold property with a 15% minimum deposit.

It’s better to find out all these things before engaging a solicitor. Most solicitors have a non refundable deposit policy if you decide to pull out at any stage.

What to tell the EA-
your position especially if you are not in chain
so you can say something like: I am a FTB, I have my AIP sorted and have a solicitor ready to use.

What sort of offers have you been missing out on, things normally materialise if you are offering enough?
You're a FTB without a chain and an AIP - almost as good as cash really. Are you being realistic in your property viewing?

Work out which solicitor you want to use (ask for recommendations from friends, family and colleagues), get a quotes from solicitor to check it's what you're expecting to pay (they won't be able to quote exactly without a purchase price). You can ask the solicitor to go ahead with completing ID checks on you as you're then ready to get going.

Look for recommendations for surveyor and work out what level of survey you want. Again, once you have an offer accepted you can then get straight on with organising the survey.

Have scans of your ID, evidence of deposit and AIP ready, then you have them easily available if the EA asks for them - avoids a last minute scrabble for information when offer is accepted.

Make offer conditional on house being taken off market.

So have the offers you’ve been making been rejected outright? Or have there been counter offers that were too much for you? Or have you had the misfortune always to bid on some of the vanishingly rare properties that are subject to multiple offers at the same time?

I ask because the idea of an accepted offer ‘materialising’ is a bit odd. I’d worry about getting an offer accepted first. Are you actually making formal offers, backed up with proof of funds? I ask because we’ve had a surprising number of people making verbal offers but then not following up with the EA, when contacted, with the details that they need. Apologies but you did say that you were a noob.

Or are you actually making unrealistically low offers? Gazumping is not so common in this market that I’d be too worried about it, unless you are expecting sellers to accept a painfully low offer.

We’ve never appointed a solicitor until after we’ve had an offer accepted so I don’t think that’s necessary really. Though you do need to move fast to appoint one once you do have an offer accepted to show you’re serious.

Just make sure you have your finances organised and have an agreement in principle plus evidence of any deposit in the bank.

I’m another one surprised you’ve had several offers rejected in this market. There may be something wrong with your approach ( maybe offering too low?) but hard to say from the information given.

Are you offering a long way under the price, it does seem strange that you have had several offers rejected at the moment.

Perhaps you need to be more realistic with your offers???

Agree with others here, a lot of properties are waiting on the market a long time to sell, so gazumping or "driving the seller away" are concerns that combined with offers not "materialising" make me wonder what kind of offers you are making here. Yes, you need proof of funds and that means the AIP if you are FTB. If you haven't got that and shared with the estate agents, that could be why you aren't getting offers accepted. Just proving you have the funds should be enough for estate agents to take you seriously, and there's not much you can do other than just tell them if you don't want to stretch to your limit.

I find this strange, I'm a FTB and was never once asked to show proof of anything at any EA to view or make offers.

One kept trying to force me to take a mortgage with their mortgage company despite us saying time and time again we where cash buyers and where really unprofessional. Didn't ask for any proof when we offered on a house though but where quite dismissive in general.

One never asked anything about funds except our maximum budget so they could sent us suggestions but where super helpful at booking viewing (saw several houses through them, unfortunately none where suitable or I would have bought from them because they where very professional).

The one we are buying from I offered to show them the bank statement when I made the offer and they very clearly said 'no'. They only want to see proof of funds along with 2 forms of ID AFTER the offer is accepted but before sending the 'memorandum of sale' to the solicitor.

DH was worried about showing the statement as it shows we have £25k more than the offer amount and he thought we would get pushed to spend more but they haven't cared. If anything it shows we have money for all the fees and the work that needs doing (house has mild penetrative damp and EA have been very clear its our job to pay for it to be sorted) so we are serious buyers I think.

Regarding offers, DS has been viewing properties in the last few weeks and most have had multiple viewing over a weekend followed by multiple offers. He wasn't successful with his bid on one he particularly liked. When he reminded the EA that he was a FTB with an AIP and ready to go the EA replied that so we're all the other 6 making an offer!
So much for a quiet market in his part of the world at his price point.

So was it just a matter of being unable to better other people's offers, did they check?
Were is the hot market, out of interest only. :)

Hey everyone, thanks for the responses and suggestions!
@sbplanet@NewFriendlyLadybird@FiveShelties sorry I should have been clearer in my original post. by not materializing, I mean we got rejected. We put 2 offers so far.

• The first one, we offered 15k above asking price. There were 4 offers I believe, and the agent asked us to add another 10k. We could afford that, but thought the EA was bluffing, so we said no. Apparently someone outbid us in the end. To be honest, 25k above asking price would still make a fair price I think, lesson learnt I suppose.
• The second one, we initially put an offer below asking price, mainly because the asking price wasn't realistic in my opinion. We ended up bumping it up a bit, still below asking price but slightly more than what I think the house is worth. I'm somewhat certain we're the only one who put an offer for this. It's been few weeks now and the house is still on the market.

We'll have more viewings this upcoming weekend, and there is one particular property that I have a strong feeling will check the most boxes for us. I believe the asking price is a little bit above the fair price (comparing the historical selling price in the neighbourhood), so we're discussing between us now what we will do (offer slightly below, or directly go with asking price).

@Twiglets1@fussychica I thought so too before entering the market, but I think it's highly dependent on the area and the house itself. We're focusing only on 2 neighbouring areas. There were viewings that were fully booked and went STC few days after, and there were some that have been sitting on the market for months with the asking price being reduced significantly.

@housethatbuiltme @Tupster if the EA says no to bank statement, but want to see proof of fund, how do you do that? I always thought proof of fund is screenshot of balance in bank accounts. And to clarify, we could view the properties and put an offer just fine, no one has asked us to prove anything. But we were asked about our buying position when we put the offer, so I just told the EA we're chain free, have AIP, and have our own mortgage broker. We're not FTB by definition though, as we have a property abroad.

Generally, I like to be organised and prepared, so thought of asking what are the things that I can prepare ahead of time, in case an offer is accepted.

Yes I just showed my online banking but the wouldn't accept that until AFTER the offer was accepted.

Hi @validUsernameHere I get where you're coming from now. It's a tricky business buying a home, rather than buying property. I think it's a fine line of distinction but most people you will be looking to buy from are selling their home. So often what you think they are worth after looking at (perhaps) comparable sales and for sale don't always add up. If you've read lots of threads on here and maybe somewhere like MSE forums then you'll know that not everyone is as rational about the process as maybe seems reasonable. We've all seen property sit on the market 'over-priced' and only sell when the market has caught up with the price quite some month later, or lots more. By the same token what are your costs while not living in your own property.

Anyway, I'm assuming you'll be living in the property for a good few years before you move on so in the grand scheme of things what's a few thousand pounds! Lol, sounds easy saying it like that. That's balanced against no-one likes to think they're not savvy and so wants to pay the 'right' price or get a good deal. But as I'm sure you know in the end 'something is worth what someone else will pay'.

So it doesn't sound like you've missed out on a place you really loved but it's something to bare in mind when putting in offers. It's likely someone else's home and if it's nice you're probably not the only one who thinks that. So maybe getting in first with a good offer, in the market you're looking at that sounds like asking price, and showing respect to the seller, will get you some kudos - well it would with me. So if it came to a decision to go back to ask for higher offers you might get first dibs.
All just my opinion obvs :)
Good luck.

For one of my DS, I suggested he engaged with the EA mortgage advisor, as competition was very hot. They couldn’t match the offer he got through L&C , which we anticipated, but he was very keen on the house and there were lots of offers. The other DS didn’t have a lot of competition and he said no.

@sbplanet yeah, I agree with all your points there. I think at the core of it, it's an act of balancing between finding a house very soon vs how much we are willing to spend, which like you said, on the grand scheme of things might not matter as much. and good point about property price catching up, I haven't thought of that. I always assume sellers will just reduce if there's no interest, but I can see some can and will play the long game and wait.

@Daisymay2 oh interesting. do you think engaging with the EA mortgage advisor will give your DS an advantage? I spoke to one before, but I wasn't convinced that they could provide any more helps than what my broker has already. and speaking of L&C, are they good? I heard mix reviews about them, that they are very good and reliable, but some lenders would dismiss AIPs that are processed by them as they are very lenient when checking eligibility.

It ought not make a difference but I suspect it might as the estate Agent's in house mortgage advisors obviously bring a commission income into the business.
Both DS's got their houses, but like you DS2 saw many properties and was outbid- cash buyers offering 20K over asking was a bid of an eye opener for him on his first offer. Both of mine used L&C and were happy with their deals and they were certainly better than the in house offer from the chain of estate agent's in house broker.
We used L&C several times as we remortgaged several times during the life of our mortgage as did both of the boys, and we were happy with them.