Wait for searches?

[CraneBeak]

Hello everyone, I'm after some impartial advice because I'm not getting anywhere IRL.

In essence, DH and I have had an offer accepted on a house, and we've applied for a mortgage (we have a decision in principle with the same bank). We want to wait until we receive an offer to apply for the searches on the property. The seller's agent is getting very antsy about this. He's insisting that we do the searches now, saying that seller isn't happy to wait and that sellers will be very alarmed to hear this. The offer might take another 4, weeks, after which the searches could take another 6 weeks.

What should we do? I don't want to create bad will. I also don't want to spend £500 on a search of we don't get the mortgage.

YABU - do the searches now, it's just part of the house buying gamble

YANB - wait for the mortgage offer

You had the offer accepted 6 weeks ago and think it’ll take another 4 weeks to get confirmed? As a seller I’d be very concerned with waiting 10 weeks before anything was done and also why it was taking 10 weeks to get a mortgage offer.

Sorry but I’d be thinking you were a very risky buyer and I’d be putting the house back on the market.

Sorry you put an offer in 6 weeks ago and since then nothing has happened ? If I was the seller I would be asking the EA to put my property back on the market as I wouldn't think you were serious about buying.

If I was your vendor & you'd not ordered searches in six weeks, I'd be telling the agent to put it back on the market. As others have said, the whole point of the decision in principle is to derisk the mortgage decision.

Also what about the survey?? That should also have been done by now (both for your mortgage company and any additional one you want for your own piece of mind!)

Ok, I'm very glad that I asked! It seems that we really do need to do the searches. You have all convinced me.

OP, the surveys Q is relevant too as this is where you find out things about the property that might make you want to renegotiate. You should really have ordered this right when your offer was accepted. Have you had a survey?