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Original poster

Property purchase - seller wont accept offer as 'not clean'?

54 replies

52andblue · 08/12/2020 11:37

A friend is trying to buy a property.
Arranged a mortgage in principle.
Put in a verbal offer, was told would be acceptable.
Put in a written offer via a lawyer.
Sellers have just advised will not accept it as it is 'not clean, ie subject to a mortgage offer'. Eh?
It is a modest wee flat so how the heck do they think they will sell it?
If it is cash buyers only, why not say so?
Am i missing something here?
How to arrange the mortgage formally without an accepted offer?
How do they accept the offer without a mortgage all tied up?

OP posts:
WhereverIGoddamnLike · 08/12/2020 13:05

This is all wrong. The home report should have been made available already. And having the mortgage in principle is all your friend needs. That's how it works.

Your friend needs to walk away. They're trying to hide something.

2bazookas · 08/12/2020 13:17

@Possums4evr

No these days you see the home report up front, we had them available for viewers to take away if they hadn't requested it on line.
I have a nasty feeling that the buyer might be taking advice from a lawyer outside Scotland who is clueless about the Scottish system.

In Scotland, the lawyer acting for a buyer, should not begin searches or incur any search expenses at this stage of proceedings.

Original poster
52andblue · 08/12/2020 13:22

I will double check about the HR as poss friend has misunderstood that bit.
Is using a small town but well established Scottish lawyer for process.

OP posts:
AllThatJazzle · 08/12/2020 13:28

Is it a typo or is the flat actually £40k?? Can't think of where this could possibly be but if it really is only £40k then I could see why the sellers were hoping for a cash buyer.

The Home Report thing is definitely dodgy. It's the home report that contains the valuation figure. This must exist.

unmarkedbythat · 08/12/2020 13:32

Plenty of flats for sale for c£45k on the scheme my dad's from, the price doesn't seem unbelievable to me.

Original poster
52andblue · 08/12/2020 13:36

@AllThatJazzle

Yes. It's in Galashiels area of the Borders. Cheap but not unusually so.

OP posts:
Puddington · 08/12/2020 13:37

I've seen flats for sale around that price in the general area we were looking, usually they would need a lot of modernisation or sort of "ripped out and started again" to justify their low price, but in that case the home report is all the more important.

OOAOML · 08/12/2020 13:37

Is it above a shop? Some lenders won't lend in that situation so they may be worried about that. Although the home report stuff sounds strange.

Rainbowshine · 08/12/2020 14:15

I would suspect there’s something about the attic that means mortgage companies won’t lend and/or they want a cash buyer.

Original poster
52andblue · 08/12/2020 14:23

Not above / near a shop either.
I have the address now, and there is a link to the HR on the site.
But it's broken.

OP posts:
AllThatJazzle · 08/12/2020 14:31

Very strange. It's as if the seller doesn't actually want to sell! Wonder if there is a back story. I think your friend should definitely not progress things further just now, certainly not if it means paying any ££ out at his risk.

ladylunchalot · 08/12/2020 16:01

Is it being marketed via an estate agent? If so I would contact them, they're normally more forthcoming than solicitors. They should be able to email the home report.
Has the flat been sold before? You can normally check on Zoopla.

ladylunchalot · 08/12/2020 16:11

Op, stupid question but does the kitchen have a sink? If memory serves me correct, you couldn't get a mortgage if the property didn't have a kitchen sink!! I vaguely remember that from looking at some repossessions a few years ago. Although it should state on the particulars that it's cash buyers only if that is the case.

Friendshighschool · 08/12/2020 19:18

Cladding. Has the building been clad/insulated?

Lots of lenders minimum is £50k for lending purposes.

A home report is a legal requirement and is to be made fully accessible to anyone who should request it.

Friendshighschool · 08/12/2020 19:24

I’ll PM you OP. I’ve got the home report. I’ll tell you how to get it.

C0NNIE · 08/12/2020 20:41

This is all very odd. There’s a home report available for this property - it took me 30 secs on Google to find it. It’s here, you just need the password.

www.packdetails.com/

Sellers solicitors here

bannermanburke.co.uk/bannerman-burke-law/

Also seeing the home report is the first thing your friends solicitor should do - long before incurring any costs. It’s very odd that he’s not . Are you sure the solicitor is in Scotland ?

The property is probably a repossession , it’s certainly nearly derelict. I can’t find any building warrant application so my guess is that there’s none for the attic conversion. So it might be legal if it’s done years ago buy it might not be safe.

Without seeing the mortgage valuation report ( part of the home report ) then it’s hard to be sure, but it’s unlikely that he will be able to borrow much against it.

Unless he’s an experienced developer / investor / trades person ( which he’s clearly not ) he should walk away now.

Friendshighschool · 08/12/2020 20:53

@C0NNIE

This is all very odd. There’s a home report available for this property - it took me 30 secs on Google to find it. It’s here, you just need the password.

www.packdetails.com/

Sellers solicitors here

bannermanburke.co.uk/bannerman-burke-law/

Also seeing the home report is the first thing your friends solicitor should do - long before incurring any costs. It’s very odd that he’s not . Are you sure the solicitor is in Scotland ?

The property is probably a repossession , it’s certainly nearly derelict. I can’t find any building warrant application so my guess is that there’s none for the attic conversion. So it might be legal if it’s done years ago buy it might not be safe.

Without seeing the mortgage valuation report ( part of the home report ) then it’s hard to be sure, but it’s unlikely that he will be able to borrow much against it.

Unless he’s an experienced developer / investor / trades person ( which he’s clearly not ) he should walk away now.

It is suitable for lending purposes however has a number of category 3s contained including subsidence and a partial roof collapse.
C0NNIE · 08/12/2020 21:07

Ah that’s helpful @Friendshighschool. Whats the mortgage valuation figure ?

Friendshighschool · 08/12/2020 21:13

£40k

C0NNIE · 08/12/2020 21:19

I’m surprised at that, though I suppose that’s where the got the HRV of 40k.

Anyway I still think this is a project for someone with cash and experience.

MadameBlobby · 08/12/2020 23:22

It’s been years since I did conveyancing but if I was acting for a seller I would seek to remove “subject to mortgage” clauses from the offer. You don’t want to risk the sale not going through due to mortgage and the buyer being able to walk away. That said if I was acting for a buyer and chanced my arm with including that clause I’d expect the seller to seek to remove it too. An agreement in principle is usually fine though...I’d be wondering too if the sellers are concerned the property might be unmortgageable

Elieza · 08/12/2020 23:39

Surely you’ll never get a mortgage for subsidence and partial roof collapse.

Your friend needs to stop thinking it’s a bargain if that’s what’s attracting her to this property as both the above issues will cost more to rectify than the £40k she offered!

Walk away. Quickly.

StatisticallyChallenged · 08/12/2020 23:41

You don’t want to risk the sale not going through due to mortgage and the buyer being able to walk away

My solicitors wouldn't conclude missives on our recent purchase until our mortgage offer was in place. Until then we could have walked away - this seems to be normal now.

Friendshighschool · 09/12/2020 06:54

It’s standard for the selling solicitor to delete the mortgage clause. Then the buying solicitor won’t issue a further qualified acceptance to move forward with the missives until loan papers are received.

emmathedilemma · 09/12/2020 09:28

I'm all in favour of renovating properties but I'd run a mile from that one. When you look at what else is on the market nearby you'd have to spend more than it would be worth once done up to make it habitable. I suspect it's got a lot more going on than is apparent on the surface too! You'd have to take it back to bare walls and the floors look like they could be rotten too.