Buying a home and don't know how anything works

[ddraig]

It can take a looooong time, months sadly

 

[moonsi til]

I would go ahead & book the surveyor, when I booked mine a few months which was the day after offer was accepted it was a 3 week wait. The vendor will also be waiting to know the outcome of your survey to know you are still going ahead or if you want to reduce price based on findings.

Moving date will have various factors such as have the vendors found a place yet if they are buying somewhere new? If so they need their offer accepted and will they be in a chain? A chain means they are buying a place that someone is selling & the people selling might be buying so you get the idea of chain.

My house was no chain as I completed on mine & moved into temp accommodation & the vendors new house was not dependent on the sale but it still took 14 weeks partly - prob could have completed in 8-10 weeks if covid wasn’t a factor.

 

[miss direct]

There's no chain. From what I understood, they're moving to care for a parent so presumably living in family home.

 

[kebabking]

It would have a chat with your solicitor to see if there's a surveyor they would recommend - or not.

Even if everything goes perfectly you're realistically looking at 10 weeks, 3 months would be a much better bet.

 

[miss direct]

So potentially early June to move. I can live with that.

 

[bimble]

Happy for you miss direct . Now it’s the long boring bit, waiting for other people to do their jobs.
Yes get on with trying to book a survey, they’re busy.

 

[moonsi til]

No chain is good & def get booking the surveyor , confirm your solicitors and pay your deposit & that’s the process started.

 

[cybershot]

Don't mean to sound thick but is the conveyancing solicitor the person who does the survey?

Will a survey check things like the boiler?

only answering as no one else has. Your solicitor will ask the buyer to supply boiler servicing records, will check the gas safety/installation certs, but other than that not a lot else. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it other than get a gas man to survey it and unless they say condemn it you won’t have much grounds to renegotiate on it. If it is to be condemned. Ask for £2k off the purchase price to sort it out yourself once you’re in. If you ask them to sort it they will do it on the cheap.

Gas/electric survey would be separate from home buyers survey, the home buyers will likely come back grading the gas and electric at a 3 - needs attention. This is simply because the surveyor is not a qualified electrician or gas man so will recommend getting a proper gas/electric survey.

For the most part it’s a waste of money. All gas installations have to be registered so your solicitor will check those records, electrics should be fine unless it’s obvious there’s been one renovation. Which the electrician again would provide certificates for.

The house hasn’t blown up so the gas is fine, if you’re worried about the electrics go round and turn everything on and turn on a few hairdryers for good measure. Not got a shock? It’s likely fine! I assumed you checked the consumer board on your viewing, if not ensure you take a look at it when you revisit to ensure it looks modern.

Unless it’s obvious the electrics looks shit I wouldn’t worry about it. Others may disagree so go with your gut or what advice you prefer. You can spend loads on surveys and they will all have some sort of scary stuff in them.

but at this point you can’t really expect the seller to sort it out unless you can prove it’s literally on last legs or shot
I’ve gone for a brand nee boiler installed 4 years ago to one that’s 17 years old

it works, but I can tell it’s got some kinks but I’ll probably have to drop £2k on it sooner than I’d like to replace it.

so that’s the other thing, make sure you’ve got some cash left over to sort random crap like that out. Use the next 3 ish months that it will take to continue saving.

now, stop worrying about stuff like this and enjoy the moment. Plenty of time to worry about boilers and other joys of being a homeowner.

Like a used car it’s not going to perfect from day one!

 

[two sheds]

I think how long it takes is largely down to the solicitors and estate agents now, you'll need to keep on top of them if they're at all slow.

Probably best would be to ask them what the next step is and when it should be completed. If they don't make it then chase them p and ask why the delay by e-mail so you've got a record. They're earning money from you now, so they should deliver a good service. They won't necessarily.

 

[hash tag]

Not having a chain will certainly help things along. It's really just for you to keep on top of your solicitor.

 

[Cid]

I also had a mining survey because the area round here is criss-crossed by old tin and copper mines. You probably won't need one but would be worth finding out whether there were coal mines in the area being Sheffield?

There's not really any mining in Sheffield proper... A few off to the east near Rotherham, but Sheffield was mainly steel processing, alongside major stuff that we'd think of as craft today; lot of cutlery and toolmaking.

 

[Elpenor]

It already says sold on rightmove

Always a great feeling when you see this.

My surveyor commented that the boiler was of advanced age, usually the report limits itself to "multiple quotes should be obtained from competent contractors". They will cough up more information on the phone.

I feel like I need a thread on renting as I'm looking to do this shortly and it seems confusing that despite having a huge amount of cash in the bank after selling my house I need a guarantor if I haven't got 6 months service at a job. I mean, even if I have a job I can lose it instantly if less than 2 years service, but the cash isn't going anywhere!

 

[Boudicca]

Get the survey done asap. There are things the solicitor can be getting on with (searches etc) but it isn't really full steam ahead until you know it isn't falling down.

 

[Elpenor]

Also, getting survey booked in is a good sign to seller / their estate agent you're serious.

 

[two sheds]

There's not really any mining in Sheffield proper... A few off to the east near Rotherham, but Sheffield was mainly steel processing, alongside major stuff that we'd think of as craft today; lot of cutlery and toolmaking.

Goodoh - ignore what I said then, usually safest

 

[miss direct]

I'm guessing it's quite normal to just not hear anything for periods of time. When am I supposed to pay the solicitor?

I've not really looked at the survey thing yet, should have some time tomorrow.

 

[Hellsbells]

I'm guessing it's quite normal to just not hear anything for periods of time. When am I supposed to pay the solicitor?

I've not really looked at the survey thing yet, should have some time tomorrow.

In my experience, I've paid a deposit but not the full amount until completion date. You also need to chase solicitors LOADS as they tend to ignore you alot

 

[Leafster]

I'm guessing it's quite normal to just not hear anything for periods of time. When am I supposed to pay the solicitor?

I've not really looked at the survey thing yet, should have some time tomorrow.

When I moved the solicitor asked for a small balance from me (something like £250) towards the search fees etc., then I didn't pay the deposit until exchange. They asked for £250 as soon as I instructed them.

As far as the survey goes, the arsehole Estate Agents sent me an email the moment my offer was accepted with a timeframe of when I "should" do everything and what my solicitor could and couldn't ask. They "insisted" the survey should be done within 10 days! I was fuming that they thought they could dictate what I could do so I threatened to report them to their ombudsman. I got a grovelling email from them saying they only wanted to speed up the process and that what they'd originally sent me was only meant to be taken as a request not an instruction.

Regardless of that, it would be sensible to get the survey arranged as soon as you can just in case there's anything in it that needs following up.

 

[miss direct]

Thanks. I wouldn't mind if my estate agent told me a bit more about what I'm meant to do. I mean how is a first time buyer on their own supposed to know these things? I only know thanks to urban 75 and the internet in general.

 

[cybershot]

Will depend on the solicitor. Some will want a deposit, some you will pay once everything is complete.

You'll need to pay for your searches at the time the solicitor wants to submit them. About £350ish.

They should contact you for an initial chat, and you should have had to provide proof of ID, funds and such things within the first few days. Do they use the e-way online portal? I found that really good for uploading/downloading of documents and knowing when there were actions I needed to do.

 

[Brainaddict]

Yeah, just to re-iterate, you'd think because you're paying your solicitors loads of money for doing very little that they would do it all in a timely way without being asked. You'd be wrong, very wrong. Anytime that nothing happens for a few days it's worth chasing them to make sure they are actually actively pursuing all the threads they need to.

Our solicitor also failed to explain the processes, including exchange and how we would need to be standing by on the day itself to give the go ahead, but I assume some solicitors are better at that.

 

[miss direct]

I've not heard from the solicitor. I phoned for a quote, got a quote that seemed ok (what do I know?), said ok, and gave the EA the solicitor's name.

 

[cybershot]

If they don't use online, its possible stuff is in the post. Drop them an email/phone call (phone if you want an answer there and then) and confirm they received your instruction to proceed and what the first steps are. You'll need to provide a bunch of docs to prove who you are and that you have sufficent source of funds for the transaction.

Then they need to submit searches.

In meantime seller will provide you with fixtures and fittings sheet and other property information. Your solicitor will raise any inquiries based on those, and then you need to sign off you're happy with them.

Once search results come back (takes approc 4 weeks from when they were submitted) you'll need to sign off you're ok with those, again solictor shoud point out anything of any concern so you don't have to spend ages reading it all,

Then it's exchange contracts, agree a move day, get the keys and complete.

As there is no mortgage involved all those steps are ignored, so from you side it's a very simple process, you just need to nudge and prod to keep things moving if you're not getting much back.

The homebuyers survey you'll need to sort yourself.

 

[muscovyduck]

I've not heard from the solicitor. I phoned for a quote, got a quote that seemed ok (what do I know?), said ok, and gave the EA the solicitor's name.

Not sure if it's different for this sort of thing (no idea why it would be) but usually what happens next is you get a 'client care' letter, which sets out what work they're going to do, for how much, and goes into detail about things like how to complain, what happens if you don't pay them and stuff like that. Then you sign that and send it back and they can start work.

 

[miss direct]

Ugh, hope they just email rather than post. I got a private and confidential letter the other day and found it opened, ripped up and in the bin. The joys of sharing.

 

[Boudicca]

Honestly, the next step is to get a survey done. This shows the buyer that you are serious about buying as you have started spending money. If you want to move fast, the solicitor could be getting on with searches and the like, but you will be billed for these regardless of whether you go through with the sale. If you don't do the survey, then the next indication of your moving forward is the list of questions which goes from your solicitor to theirs. Solicitors usually have no sense of urgency and need to be hassled continuously.

Up to you to make this happen miss direct

 

[miss direct]

Yes, I will be looking into surveys, just not today. Have a long list of things to do. I will also call the solicitor, but again, not today.

 

[cybershot]

Ugh, hope they just email rather than post. I got a private and confidential letter the other day and found it opened, ripped up and in the bin. The joys of sharing.

Some stuff requires 'wet ink' so even if they email/web portal the docs expect to print lots of stuff out and sign it and send back by post. Some of it can be printed, filled in and scanned back in.

Point being, make sure you have access to a printer/scanner/photo copier easier enough. If you don't, (working from home can be a problem as for example I'd normally have done all that stuff at work) it might be wise to invest in a decent all in one or find a friend who has one so printing/scanning/copying doesn't slow you down.

Not recommending this model, but something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-DeskJet...eywords=printer+scanner&qid=1614253496&sr=8-3

 

[Puddy_Tat]

In my experience, I've paid a deposit but not the full amount until completion date. You also need to chase solicitors LOADS as they tend to ignore you alot

alternative is that you get fairly frequent letters that translate as "nothing much has happened in the last few days but we're sending you a pointless letter to justify our fees"

 

[hash tag]

Solicitors often give a very good impression of doing very little at their own pace.
Get a survey or valuation done. If the valuation shows up anything you don't like, You don't want to waste to much money on a solicitor.
Make sure you know what you have signed up for with the solicitor. If you have gone for fixed fee conveyancing, you will probably find the cost of searches and funds transfer fees are on top of that, maybe even charges for phone time/calls!

Solicitor will want his terms signing, a small holding deposit and at some point, lots of identification with proof of residence ( anti money laundering stuff ).

There can be pauses of weeks without hearing anything. It's irritating, frustrating and quite normal. It's for you to keep nagging everyone.