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Buying a home and don't know how anything works

little_legs said:
I am currently staying at a friend's house, she is working outside the UK, so we have a personal arrangement, as in there is no contract. I give her cash each month as if I were renting from her and pay for energy when she sends me copies of the bills, and she takes care of everything else. I don't own anything than laptop, books, and clothes.
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so there's no way you can have buildings insurance for where you are now, then. i think they may have dropped a bollock

they may try and sell you buildings (and possibly contents) insurance as part of the mortgage deal - not sure what the legalities are if they insist you take out their insurance as part of the deal, but think it's standard for mortgage lenders to insist on you having and proving that you have buildings insurance for the place they are lending on.

they will also probably try and sell you income protection (unemployment / illness) insurance as well - it's certainly not a legal requirement to have it, but don't know if they can insist it's part of the deal they do.
 
Puddy_Tat said:
so there's no way you can have buildings insurance for where you are now, then. i think they may have dropped a bollock

they may try and sell you buildings (and possibly contents) insurance as part of the mortgage deal - not sure what the legalities are if they insist you take out their insurance as part of the deal, but think it's standard for mortgage lenders to insist on you having and proving that you have buildings insurance for the place they are lending on.

they will also probably try and sell you income protection (unemployment / illness) insurance as well - it's certainly not a legal requirement to have it, but don't know if they can insist it's part of the deal they do.
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I'll happily buy buildings insurance when it becomes more apparent that I'll own those bricks.

Thanks very much for the tips, they asked for a couple of things that I certainly don't have:
  • Most Recent Payslip - ok, fine
  • Protecting your home: If you already have Life or Critical Illness Cover, please fill out the form at the bottom of this email. Or, you can also scan or photograph your documents. - I don't have either
  • Home insurance: You may already know that you need buildings insurance to have a Nationwide mortgage, so please send over your existing provider and renewal date. - I don't have it
  • Please also send over:
    • The year the property was built. - need to ask EA
    • Whether the property is freehold/leasehold, if leasehold how long is left on the lease? - freehold
    • Solicitors Name, Address and Telephone Number - ok
    • Cost for any Ground Rent/Service Charges for the property - need to ask EA
    • Your preferred monthly budget for your mortgage payment and any other insurances that may be important to you. If you’re not sure, take a look at our Budget Calculator to get an estimate of how much money you should have left over each month. - ok, will look at the calculator
 
little_legs said:
Thanks very much for the tips, they asked for a couple of things that I certainly don't have:
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the first is 'if you already have... then...' so wouldn't worry about it

as for the buildings insurance, does seem an odd question for someone who doesn't own a place now. think you will just need to say that you don't own a place now so don't have buildings insurance but will sort it out for the new place. (it's all a bit chicken and egg, but they must deal with first time buyers often enough. the two times i've bought a place, i've been renting previously - although where i am now, it's a flat so buildings insurance comes as part of the service charges not something i can arrange separately)

estate agent / owner may or may not know when place was built - depends if there's original deeds or anything. i don't know exactly when my place was built (it was council, so the only deeds i've seen date from when it got right to buy done.) - i gave an approximate date and nobody's ever been that bothered.

there's unlikely to be service charges or ground rent if new place is freehold - they usually only apply to leasehold, although there can be weird circumstances where freeholders are liable for something.
 
little_legs said:
I'll happily buy buildings insurance when it becomes more apparent that I'll own those bricks.

Thanks very much for the tips, they asked for a couple of things that I certainly don't have:
  • Most Recent Payslip - ok, fine
  • Protecting your home: If you already have Life or Critical Illness Cover, please fill out the form at the bottom of this email. Or, you can also scan or photograph your documents. - I don't have either
  • Home insurance: You may already know that you need buildings insurance to have a Nationwide mortgage, so please send over your existing provider and renewal date. - I don't have it
  • Please also send over:
    • The year the property was built. - need to ask EA
    • Whether the property is freehold/leasehold, if leasehold how long is left on the lease? - freehold
    • Solicitors Name, Address and Telephone Number - ok
    • Cost for any Ground Rent/Service Charges for the property - need to ask EA
    • Your preferred monthly budget for your mortgage payment and any other insurances that may be important to you. If you’re not sure, take a look at our Budget Calculator to get an estimate of how much money you should have left over each month. - ok, will look at the calculator
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If it's freehold, it's unlikely that there is ground rent or service charges - that is usually a leasehold thing.

EDIT: Sorry, Puddy_Tat already said that above, I'm just reading through and catching up with the thread!
 
Congratulations and good luck!

If you've read the whole thread, you will see that it's the solicitors that seem to cause people the most frustration, so choose carefully. Having one in cahoots with the estate agent does mean that at least one channel of communication is open, but it's worth asking for recommendations on local FB groups. They have a nasty habit of putting things in the post which just delays the process. My solicitors office is 5 minutes from my house so I asked them to email anything that didn't need to be signed and to ask me to come in and sign stuff when necessary.

It took 5 weeks for the survey to be done on my sale and 3 days for the one on my purchase. (And I actually used the same surveyor, " now you've cost me serious money on my current house, can you come and do the same on my new one?"). But it's the next step after appointing a solicitor as you need to know if the house has any serious issues.

First time buyers can get overwhelmed by the process and want to leave it to the professionals, but it is your house and your money, you are in the driving seat and you have a right to ask questions and almost certainly will need to get arsey in order to move things along.
 
Did anyone on this 144-long thread mention the conflicted of interest of mortgage brokers?

I can't get my head around it. Whether they charge you a fee or not, they all seem to get some kickback from the lender.

That being the case, how can anyone possibly use them knowing they won't talk about any lender that they won't make money from?

Should I still use one, anyway?

Anyone?
 
dshl said:
Did anyone on this 144-long thread mention the conflicted of interest of mortgage brokers?

I can't get my head around it. Whether they charge you a fee or not, they all seem to get some kickback from the lender.

That being the case, how can anyone possibly use them knowing they won't talk about any lender that they won't make money from?

Should I still use one, anyway?

Anyone?
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If you are of good credit as it were, go and find your own mortgage. If on the other hand you are stretching income multiples, LTV or the like it might be better to use a broker who could possibly use their influence with lenders.
 
hash tag said:
If you are of good credit as it were, go and find your own mortgage. If on the other hand you are stretching income multiples, LTV or the like it might be better to use a broker who could possibly use their influence with lenders.
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Thanks, I am in good credit. Everything pretty solid. My partner and I have standard full-time jobs, no funny commision or anything.

But I just wouldn't know how to go about it.

I've been talking to this mortgage broker that only takes a fee from the lender and has been telling me about different options, etc. She seems nice and everything but it just bothers me that she has this conflict of interest. Maybe I'm overdoing/overthinking it?
 
hash tag said:
If you are of good credit as it were, go and find your own mortgage. If on the other hand you are stretching income multiples, LTV or the like it might be better to use a broker who could possibly use their influence with lenders.
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^^^^^ This really. Although if your financial affairs are the least bit complicated then brokers can be useful.

I deal with a lot of self-employed people or owners of small companies and brokers seem to be able to find decent deals for them when they don't fit the normal criteria.

I bought my first flat from a mortgage broker - we did a deal and split the commission!
 
dshl said:
Did anyone on this 144-long thread mention the conflicted of interest of mortgage brokers?

I can't get my head around it. Whether they charge you a fee or not, they all seem to get some kickback from the lender.

That being the case, how can anyone possibly use them knowing they won't talk about any lender that they won't make money from?

Should I still use one, anyway?

Anyone?
Click to expand...
I found a broker helpful because the surveyor fucked up my flat valuation and became he was the surveyor for several lenders, options were limited thereafter. Had it not been for my broker's knowledge I would have been screwed.
 
I think my broker charged me 300 quid for my first mortgage which seemed very reasonable and took the hassle out of it.
 
dshl said:
Thanks, I am in good credit. Everything pretty solid. My partner and I have standard full-time jobs, no funny commision or anything.

But I just wouldn't know how to go about it.

I've been talking to this mortgage broker that only takes a fee from the lender and has been telling me about different options, etc. She seems nice and everything but it just bothers me that she has this conflict of interest. Maybe I'm overdoing/overthinking it?
Click to expand...
If your financial situation is pretty standard, just have a look on money saving expert for the best mortgage deals, see which ones you might be eligible for & talk to any banks you have accounts with (my first mortgage was a deal only available to existing customers)

Brokers do take the hassle out of it, my new mortgage was through a broker.
 
Massive long thread, so apologies if it's been discussed (a dozen times)

I am looking to buy a 2 bed flat. Ex council mid-1960s. The place looks to be in good condition - but I've noticed traces of black mould along some windows and the sellers have a dehumidifier in the bedroom.

Should I get a survey? What kind of survey, etc?
 
If it wasn't ex LA, or if it was a house rather than a flat, even a semi detached house, or if there were only, like, 4 flats and every householder was really motivated to get rud of it, you could do all the necessary remedial work to get rid of it.

In a block of flats, there will probably always be enough residual black mould somewhere to start it up to flourishing again.

In an ex LA flat you'll always be battling the LA to do the right thing, in the right way, in good time.

Unless the price is extraordinarily good and you really love the flat, keep looking.

In my opinion.
 
Mould aside, you will be at the mercy of the local authority with service charges, some repairs and antisocial behaviour. Depending on the property, lease etc. it might not be mortgageable.
 
Paint from where though? They’re suggesting that that entire beam was painted black and the paint is peeling off? :hmm:

Could be moss, could be black mould, might be something else.
Get up a ladder to take a closer look, or use a good quality camera lense.

Look at photos online of black mould and especially black mould outdoors, so you have an idea of what you’re looking for. Check other ways to determine if it’s black mould. You could pay a surveyor to check, but have a look yourself first. If it’s really obvious, you’ve saved yourself the price of an expert.

If it is black mould and it’s spread from inside to the exterior, then the whole place is saturated with the mould.


You might be able to check local news stories about the property to see if there’s been ongoing issues with black mould for the tenants.
 
It does, but it also looks like there’s something else going on too. Bitumen doesn’t…. smear like that.
 
t0bytoo
You also need think about resale value.
Even if you buy thinking “I’ll never move from here” you need to consider what would happen if you change your mind, or if you want to remortgage or do equity release.

If you’re not sure, the next person along won’t be sure either. (Unless the problem is resolved properly.)
 
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