Buying a house advice

[mspvxr]

Hi guys. We are looking at getting a house and are a bit confused as to which order you have to do things and how much its going to cost to do each bit. Weve got advice about getting a mortgage and have been approved provisionally for 200k. What happens next? Do we go ahead and get the mortgage or the amount for a house we have seen? What do you need to do after? At what point do you approach solicitors etc and who does the surveying etc?

I know its pretty straightforward for most but we havent got a clue in which order to do it all.

Cheers

[Derek Mc]

Depends if you are in England r Scotland as the systems are totally different, however the mortgage is awarded on the property and depends on the value the surveyor places on the property.
It is worth getting a full structual survey done for your protection, a mortgage valuation is all you physically need (or a home buyers report in Scotand) but to be sure there is no subsidence flood risk or construction issues, it makes sense to get it looked at.

Once you have the property put in a note of interest via your solicitor, then negotiate the purchase.

[azacbr6]

I've been looking at this for my daughter good info for new buyers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007...irsttimebuyers

[m8internet]

Here in Scotland, this is what I do
View houses (based on earnings x 2)
Advise Solicitor to place a note of interest, if the house is of interest
Arrange Survey
If Survey acceptable, make first offer (subject to Mortgage) to owner via Solicitor
This is usually declined, so make second and final offer to owner via Solicitor
If accepted, make full application for Mortgage including Survey
The final part takes about four weeks and the Solicitor will normally advise the seller of this
Once the Mortgage is approved, entry dates can then be agreed

[renodci]

If you've been provisionally accepted for a mortgage of £200k, you will know how much you can afford to spend on a house after allowing for Stamp Duty and Solicitors Fees. Stamp Duty rates you'll be able to find on-line; a Solicitor is just a case of phoning around some local ones for quotes. You then need to make sure you have a 'contingency fund' for other costs, including carpets/curtains/furniture you'll need when you move in.

Next thing you need to do is find a house (I'm assuming you're not buying in Scotland). Once you've found one, you're in a strong position to negotiate a price reduction because you have the offer in principal, which virtually guarantees you for the mortgage - and your purchase isn't dependant on you selling something. Believe me, that puts you in a very strong position to negotiate on the price! I've always dealt directly with the Estate Agent to negotiate on the price. Once your offer has been accepted, you then need to instruct your Solicitor. From there on in, the Estate Agent and your Solicitor will tell you exactly what you need to do and when, including setting the mortgage up. My only advice is that you need to keep a record of conversations, and dates when the Agent or Solicitor says things will be done by because from my experience, things move very slowly unless you chase them along; so keeping a written record makes it easier to know when to chase people.

Very best of luck to you - hope you find the home of your dreams!

[macdad]

In England you don't appoint a solicitor until a [price for the house has been agreed in principle with the vendor,you have been approved by your bank/lender which when you see a house you like will go a long way in saying that your a serious purchaser.
Make an offer to the estate agent that is selling the house for the vendor first,and he will relay that offer to them and it is up to them obviously to accept or not,if they do accept now is the time to approach the lender and and get the ball rolling,its called conveyancing...google it for more info.

[mspvxr]

Thanks alot guys. We currently rent so can move in whenever (within 2 months). So we dont get a solicitor involved until weve been definitely approved for a mortgage and then we approach them to make an offer on the property? Obviously need a survey before but do the lenders do it or is it advisable to get another independent one. If the place is ok then we approach the sokicitor to make an offer and if its accepted then we go the lender and confirm the mortgage details. Is that right?

[renodci]

If you've got an 'offer in principal' from the lender, that's all you need at the moment. The actual mortgage will be arranged in the time between agreeing to buy somewhere and actually moving in. The Lender will do their own survey which amounts really to no more than making sure the house you are buying is worth what you're paying for it (or more specifically; what they're lending you on it!). There are different levels of Survey you can then choose to have done on the property - it's entirely your choice what (if any) you go for. Part of that decision will be based on how old the house is. If you have a survey, and it comes up with any problems, you can then decide whether to pull out of the purchase or still go ahead, but negotiate a price reduction to cover the cost of repairs.

Your Solicitor will do their own investigations to make sure there's nothing that might detrimentally affect the value of the house (eg: if planning permission has been granted for a Pig Farm next door (apologies to any Pig Farmers reading this)!

[dannyjpuk]

Mortgage adviser advises you what you can afford after looking at your incomings and out goings which does a soft foot print on your credit rating then say everything is ok they will say it's ££ amount right mr smith you have xx for a mortgage based off them looking at your debts ect

Then they will show you what product you can have based off what deposit you have then once your happy they will do a hard foot print which they will look at your profile in more detail then hopefully will pass then the ball is moving you get a mortgage in principle then your good to go

[dannyjpuk]

So you changed your mind in changing the car then