That's a classic Edwardian style house (1900-1918). Most were constructed pre-WW1 though.
Buying a home and don't know how anything works
- Thread starter miss direct
- Start date
That's a classic Edwardian style house (1900-1918). Most were constructed pre-WW1 though.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Oh bloody hell. So whilst we are awaiting the results of the structural survey on the house a complete wildcard was thrown. The house we really liked, but our offer wasn't accepted. Well it's back. They couldn't get the mortgage.
Really torn. My head says (provided the survey is ok) this makes more sense. It's a bit cheaper, a bit bigger, has a garage and the commute would be nicer. It's well finished inside, but nothing special. However the other one was in the peak district and is totally gorgeous inside, despite being a bit smaller and having no garage.
Really torn. My head says (provided the survey is ok) this makes more sense. It's a bit cheaper, a bit bigger, has a garage and the commute would be nicer. It's well finished inside, but nothing special. However the other one was in the peak district and is totally gorgeous inside, despite being a bit smaller and having no garage.
Insides can be improved with a bit of thought and decorative nous if that's all that really catches you. A place with a worse commute, that's smaller and has no garage often can't be rectified, especially in an AONB etc. I'd bank on what you're already going with.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
It really is beautiful, but I take your point. The conservatory (that doesn't really do it justice) is something else. It's outside the national park, but it's already been extended, so there would no space even if we wanted to. I wish it had come back on next week, would have been a lot easier.
prunus
Tick tock.
As an experiment - imagine yourself living in each one, in turn, and see if you can imagine yourself thinking “this is great but I’d really like to be able to move to <something like the other one> one day” in either. That might tell you something.
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
It's what I keep doing. I think part of the problem is uncertainty about the future. I don't want to go back to the office next week and if I didn't have to it would make it a lot stronger case. I'd like to work mostly remote all the time, but I'm probably a few years of being able to make the demand of employers.
danski
"vibey"
Crackling noises are either a loose connection of the cable in the back of the socket or loose connection to the inserted plug.
If it’s the cable then ideally you want to turn that circuit off at the fuse board as despite not using that particular socket, current for other equipment is still flowing through that loose connection to other sockets and could potentially be a fire risk.
If you can be certain it’s the socket’s connection to the inserted plug then just don’t use it.
Definitely get an electrician at your earliest convenience.
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
dunno really - is it better to have a shorter commute every day and travel a bit for leisure etc? (and if it's in the peak district, is the commute going to be more painful in the winter?)
with no garage - is there parking? (with some garages you can hardly get a modern car in anyway) and is there any risk of parking restrictions coming in or being tightened?
and if it's in the peak district, is it inside an area designated as national park / conservation area or anything like that?
depends of course if the 'couldn't get a mortgage' means 'the surveyor found something dubious'
5t3IIa
Registered User
Got a message from our vendor saying that they lost one house so are viewing another two. Is the purpose of that message to reassure us… that they’re worried that we want to get things moving quickly? Because we are not particularly bothered about what they are doing, or at what pace, as we are drooling morons who still have no idea or appreciation of what we have got ourselves into.
We have applied for the mortgage and insurances and have a solicitor emailing us a contract this week. We know we need a survey and the sol to take a look at the deeds…? We are renters with an understanding landlord and we haven’t decluttered or sourced any cardboard boxes.
I…don’t know what I’m doing
We have applied for the mortgage and insurances and have a solicitor emailing us a contract this week. We know we need a survey and the sol to take a look at the deeds…? We are renters with an understanding landlord and we haven’t decluttered or sourced any cardboard boxes.
I…don’t know what I’m doing
Thora
Differently Ethical
IME there's a little flurry of activity now when you find a solicitor, apply for a mortgage and get a survey done and then nothing will happen for 2-3 months while you wait for the solicitor to do searches and enquiries. Then there will be another little flurry of activity when the estate agent and your solicitor blame various people on what's taking so long and you spend all day calling & emailing people asking them to do their job and agree exchange and completion dates. Then ideally you exchange but IME the day before exchange someone changes their mind and you're back to the startGot a message from our vendor saying that they lost one house so are viewing another two. Is the purpose of that message to reassure us… that they’re worried that we want to get things moving quickly? Because we are not particularly bothered about what they are doing, or at what pace, as we are drooling morons who still have no idea or appreciation of what we have got ourselves into.
We have applied for the mortgage and insurances and have a solicitor emailing us a contract this week. We know we need a survey and the sol to take a look at the deeds…? We are renters with an understanding landlord and we haven’t decluttered or sourced any cardboard boxes.
I…don’t know what I’m doing
5t3IIa
Registered User
I don't know anything about the, uhm, upward chain...how do I find out? The downward one stops with us, right? Thanks for your input <clutchesyourhand>
5t3IIa
Registered User
Thank you very muchIME there's a little flurry of activity now when you find a solicitor, apply for a mortgage and get a survey done and then nothing will happen for 2-3 months while you wait for the solicitor to do searches and enquiries. Then there will be another little flurry of activity when the estate agent and your solicitor blame various people on what's taking so long and you spend all day calling & emailing people asking them to do their job and agree exchange and completion dates. Then ideally you exchange but IME the day before exchange someone changes their mind and you're back to the start
I'll save this message >.< Hope you have some movement...again >.<
Thora
Differently Ethical
You can ask the estate agent or your vendor (once the vendor finds a property) but it's 50/50 on whether you'll be told the truthI don't know anything about the, uhm, upward chain...how do I find out? The downward one stops with us, right? Thanks for your input <clutchesyourhand>
5t3IIa
Registered User
I guess if it doesn't strictly matter to us (no hurry) then there's no harm in waiting until they get their shit together and it all starts moving their end...?You can ask the estate agent or your vendor (once the vendor finds a property) but it's 50/50 on whether you'll be told the truth
prunus
Tick tock.
Got a message from our vendor saying that they lost one house so are viewing another two. Is the purpose of that message to reassure us… that they’re worried that we want to get things moving quickly? Because we are not particularly bothered about what they are doing, or at what pace, as we are drooling morons who still have no idea or appreciation of what we have got ourselves into.
We have applied for the mortgage and insurances and have a solicitor emailing us a contract this week. We know we need a survey and the sol to take a look at the deeds…? We are renters with an understanding landlord and we haven’t decluttered or sourced any cardboard boxes.
I…don’t know what I’m doing
There will be plenty of time for cardboard boxes, never fear
Yes, solicitor, survey, these are needed, but also the patience of a saint, the understanding of a Buddhist monk, and the drinks cabinet of someone going through a house purchase process in the uk. From how you describe the position it would be a phenomenon if you’re even exchanged in less than say 6 weeks from now. One thing it sounds like you might have is a direct and cordial line of communication with your potential sellers? If so, cultivate this. An enormous amount of the fluff that clogs up the final weeks and months before exchange (niggling little queries going back and forth between your solicitors) can be cut out be taking out the Chinese whispers middlemen of solicitors and estate agents.
Thora
Differently Ethical
You can't really do anything until they have found a property anyway. And if you end up in a huge chain I would be cautious, the more sales invloved the more chance for things to go wrong. Personally with our second attempt at buying, I didn't pay for anything expensive like a survey until the chain above us was complete - otherwise you could end up paying £5/600 for a survey and then if your vendor doesn't find anywhere suitable they could decide not to move.
prunus
Tick tock.
You might as well get on with signing up with your solicitor if you’ve chosen one - there’s some admin and bits and pieces there that might as well be got out of the way. You won’t get charged unless any actual work is done.
I assume you’re going to be on a standard fixed-fee (plus costs (which they like to call disbursements to keep us confused)) conveyancing deal? If so then usually they’ll be happy to transfer that to a new property should this one not be available (assuming work not actually started yet). So nothing to lose signing up and being ready on that front (check with your actual solicitor that they won’t charge you until work done! They shouldn’t, but you never know).
5t3IIa
Registered User
Thank you! I'm trying to absorb all this doubtless excellent advice but I think we might be shit buyers....in the sense that while we are motivated we are not pushing as we don't know what to pushThere will be plenty of time for cardboard boxes, never fear
One thing it sounds like you might have is a direct and cordial line of communication with your potential sellers? If so, cultivate this. An enormous amount of the fluff that clogs up the final weeks and months before exchange (niggling little queries going back and forth between your solicitors) can be cut out be taking out the Chinese whispers middlemen of solicitors and estate agents.
5t3IIa
Registered User
Thanks again. The solicitor says we get charged per action....
Cheers. I've made a note to not go forward with survey until they have had an offer accepted...that's what you're saying?
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
Step one is getting your mortgage offer in principle i.e. the building society tells you how much they are prepared to lend you.
Step two is getting the survey done. The sellers won't think you are serious until you have committed a bit of cash to the process; also you won't know whether it is falling down or not. The survey needs to be done via your building society as they too use it to see whether the property is falling down. You may then do a bit of haggling on the offer you put in initially.
Aftet that it is just a matter of making yourself a complete pain in the arse with your solicitor to keep things moving.
So your solicitor says 'I am waiting for X', you call the estate agent and they call the selllers solicitor, who says they sent it three days ago and are waiting for 'Y'.
Step two is getting the survey done. The sellers won't think you are serious until you have committed a bit of cash to the process; also you won't know whether it is falling down or not. The survey needs to be done via your building society as they too use it to see whether the property is falling down. You may then do a bit of haggling on the offer you put in initially.
Aftet that it is just a matter of making yourself a complete pain in the arse with your solicitor to keep things moving.
So your solicitor says 'I am waiting for X', you call the estate agent and they call the selllers solicitor, who says they sent it three days ago and are waiting for 'Y'.
Saffy
Under the duvet..
5t3IIa hopefully they'll put an offer on an empty house and the chain will be really short. We bought our house during lockdown and it was painfully slow. The solicitors we used had an online portal which we could check and see how we were progressing which we found reassuring.
We moved from the south to the north into rented and then Covid hit. We put an offer in and was accepted and the survey was booked for the first day of lockdown, so we had to wait. During lockdown I went through all our belongings and decluttered because our move from the south was quite disordered.
I found a Blockbuster video fine for Barbie Swan lake. It made the next move a dream!
We moved from the south to the north into rented and then Covid hit. We put an offer in and was accepted and the survey was booked for the first day of lockdown, so we had to wait. During lockdown I went through all our belongings and decluttered because our move from the south was quite disordered.
I found a Blockbuster video fine for Barbie Swan lake.
It made the next move a dream!
Boudicca
Seaside Queen
Well yes, but I would explicitly tell the estate agent that this is why you are holding off. And keep looking at other properties while you are waiting.Great, thanks! We have an offer in principle
Riklet
procrastinación
If you want to seem like a serious buyer you have to spend a bit of cash. £600 on your survey, small amount of money getting the solicitor ball rolling... etc.
If I was selling and someone didnt crack on with things within a few weeks in today's market I would think they were flakey/useless and start having doubts.
Your survey is money well spent anyway. If you pull out based on what it says, legally the estate agent MUST say why you pulled out to future buyers if they remarket the property. This is a really good tool to use for negotiation, especially if the issues are the roof/electrics etc where everyone is going to be concerned. You can also make your survey shareable for free to future buyers which shows them exactly why you pulled out at no cost. It's easy to 'remind' the agent of all of this and throw your weight a bit without directly threatening to pull out. Just if you were to...
If I was selling and someone didnt crack on with things within a few weeks in today's market I would think they were flakey/useless and start having doubts.
Your survey is money well spent anyway. If you pull out based on what it says, legally the estate agent MUST say why you pulled out to future buyers if they remarket the property. This is a really good tool to use for negotiation, especially if the issues are the roof/electrics etc where everyone is going to be concerned. You can also make your survey shareable for free to future buyers which shows them exactly why you pulled out at no cost. It's easy to 'remind' the agent of all of this and throw your weight a bit without directly threatening to pull out. Just if you were to...
moonsi til
worked it out now!
Regarding surveys -there is one your lender will complete that basically covers ‘yes this house is worth the £200,000 being borrowed’. This is not your survey. The survey you arrange which tend to have 2 levels home buyers or the more in-depth structural survey which cost around £400-£600 and this will be in-depth & will help you determine the condition the property is in such as walls, windows, roof, boiler, damp etc. If it does uncover something it could mean walking away or offering lower asking price or vendor fixing it. Your survey can be arranged independently or via your lender -you might get a discount via lender.
So if you don’t get done soon you won’t know if there are problems but as Thora has shared if you pay for one & the vendor pulls out it is money lost but generally they are done ASAP after offer accepted so vendor knows you are serious.
The solicitor will require an upfront payment to get on with searches in my experience. My last purchase in January 2021 I paid £250 up front then remainder when I completed.
And as advised by another poster if you are able to speak with vendor without estate agent in the middle keep that line of communication open. They will be as anxious about losing the sale as you are about buying.
So if you don’t get done soon you won’t know if there are problems but as Thora has shared if you pay for one & the vendor pulls out it is money lost but generally they are done ASAP after offer accepted so vendor knows you are serious.
The solicitor will require an upfront payment to get on with searches in my experience. My last purchase in January 2021 I paid £250 up front then remainder when I completed.
And as advised by another poster if you are able to speak with vendor without estate agent in the middle keep that line of communication open. They will be as anxious about losing the sale as you are about buying.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Always worth asking, if they haven't sent it to you already, for the list of services with prices (or range of prices). More likely to get ranges as it can be impossible to predict exactly how long something will take. Buying a new build off plan will be much more straightforward than a house on land where there has been previous activity such as brownfield land.
Thora
Differently Ethical
The house we're supposed to be buying at the moment (supposed to exchange soon) the vendor is buying a new build with a flexible completion date eg we exchange now and don't complete until whenever her new build is ready. They are predicting end of June but could be delays of course.
We've decided we're not happy to do this, and although we will wait til June, we want a fixed date in the contract. If her new build isn't ready by end of June the vendor will just have to arrange somewhere to stay.
Our solicitor just can't get her head round this at all and just says there's no point even asking for a fixed date as the developers won't agree.
But I'm not asking the developers to agree! Just our vendor!
Arrrrggghhhhhhh
I'm viewing two more houses today anyway and am just so fed up of all this.
We've decided we're not happy to do this, and although we will wait til June, we want a fixed date in the contract. If her new build isn't ready by end of June the vendor will just have to arrange somewhere to stay.
Our solicitor just can't get her head round this at all and just says there's no point even asking for a fixed date as the developers won't agree.
But I'm not asking the developers to agree! Just our vendor!
Arrrrggghhhhhhh
I'm viewing two more houses today anyway and am just so fed up of all this.
moonsi til
worked it out now!
Thora
Differently Ethical
Exactly. I don't care where the vendor goes but if her new build overruns I want it to be her problem not mine basically
