First time buyers: Offer accepted!

[rwm24]

Finally getting my foot into the property ladder.

I'm currently self-employed and my girl friend has just started a paid PhD, but banks/mortgage brokers were still very sceptical that we'd be able to make the re-payments. However thanks to a motorbike accident 6 years ago I was able to put in 60k upfront, and my dad gave me the other 60k to avoid having to try and secure a mortgage with silly interest rates. I will of course be repaying him and I still have plenty of money to fall back on if necessary.

We put in an offer for 115k for a 120k house, as there was another couple interested (they had booked a 2nd viewing), so we wanted to try and secure it fast, as we loved the place.

The estate agent has confirmed the offer has been accepted. I've passed the estate agents details on to my solicitor. I used the solicitor before when I had my motorbike accident, so we trust them and know they are good. However I have a few questions:

1) Where do we go from here? What are the normal next steps?

2) How long can we expect to wait before we can move in? There is a chain, but I believe the people we are buying from have already found a place to move. We are currently renting and only have to give 30 days notice. We are paying cash with the full amount available within a few days.

3) Is it normal to view the property again to measure curtains, space for beds etc at this stage, or is it far too early for that?

4) At what point what we get a surveyor? I think a hom****** report would be ideal, but what type of survey would you recommend? How do we go about finding the best surveyor in the area?

I'd also appreciate any other tips people have.



Estate agent photos for people that are interested:

Spoiler

Huge double fridge in the middle of the kitchen, which we will remove.

The conservatory is connected to the lounge. Makes the lounge feel more bigger, a really nice feature.

Left side of the photo there is a raised paved area with a table, 4-5 chairs, bbq, chiminea and swinging bench thing.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the bedrooms, bathroom, the hall or the outside storage areas/coal house.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Get a full survey done asap, that way you know if anything needs further work which could effect your offer.

Searches etc could take a week to a month depends who is doing it.

Make sure you read through the contract properly and check for covenants, query anything your not sure on to the sellers solicitors (via yours).

 

[nucastle]

As a cash buyer you don't need to get a survey, as there is no lender involved and the whole process could run through in a couple of weeks if everyone has their act together.

A full structural is going to cost a fair whack, and looking at what you are buying it doesnt look like you necessarily need it. You might want to start at a hom******s report first up and go from there if they flag anything up. Your vendors estate agents will be able to recommend one (they will no doubt get a kick back) or you can approach surveyors directly although i expect they will be much of a muchness given they have to adhere to RICS standards.

If the agent has done their job correctly, you should have a floor plan available, or you could ask them to get the vendor to measure up for you to 'help speed up the process' which will get them moving.

 

[Slade2]

I would get the money that you are being lent from your parents written up somewhere in some form or another with your solicitor. I am not saying that you are not going to repay them or anything but it could mean some issues for your parents in the future if they have been seen to have devoided or transfered there assests when they might need to pay for stuff like palpative care. Its never easy to talk about but I would make sure you have talked to your solicitor about it and you have the agreement on paper.

 

[Richie]

FHuge double fridge in the middle of the kitchen, which we will remove.

Left side of the photo there is a raised paved area with a table, 4-5 chairs, bbq, chiminea and swinging bench thing.

Are the previous owners leaving all this or are you just assuming that whats in the house will be coming with the house?

 

[rwm24]

As a cash buyer you don't need to get a survey, as there is no lender involved and the whole process could run through in a couple of weeks if everyone has their act together.

A full structural is going to cost a fair whack, and looking at what you are buying it doesnt look like you necessarily need it. You might want to start at a hom******s report first up and go from there if they flag anything up. Your vendors estate agents will be able to recommend one (they will no doubt get a kick back) or you can approach surveyors directly although i expect they will be much of a muchness given they have to adhere to RICS standards.

If the agent has done their job correctly, you should have a floor plan available, or you could ask them to get the vendor to measure up for you to 'help speed up the process' which will get them moving.

Unfortunately I don't think there is a floor plan available. There isn't one on the rightmove listing and I would have thought they would include it if they had it. However there are measurements, but they don't really help working out where the sofa would go etc.

I would get the money that you are being lent from your parents written up somewhere in some form or another with your solicitor. I am not saying that you are not going to repay them or anything but it could mean some issues for your parents in the future if they have been seen to have devoided or transfered there assests when they might need to pay for stuff like palpative care. Its never easy to talk about but I would make sure you have talked to your solicitor about it and you have the agreement on paper.

Yep we are already sorting that out. I forgot to mention that in the original post.

Are the previous owners leaving all this or are you just assuming that whats in the house will be coming with the house?

I'm not assuming they are leaving us anything, as I don't think they will be. I was just trying to explain what was in the photo as it wasn't clear.

 

[Indie]

makes me think I should have had an accident before we purchased ours!

I'm not sure of the process for cash buyers im afraid, but I will say, looks a lovely house, and that garden, my Huskies would jump through hoops for

 

[nucastle]

I suppose you can ask for measurements, or to come in and do measurements at any time, although personally since nothing is even certain till you exchange, I'd hold off till then. Looking at it from the vendors POV it's probably a very hectic time at their end and having people around to measure up while the place is in disarray might be a pain in their butt. I'd submit a bunch of requirements to their estate agent first.

Good advice about the solicitor and the source of the funds. Lenders are careful about how you prove how and where the money to fund your purchase came to you, but given the experience of a friend of mine who bought a house with a huge deposit contribution from his rich parents, got married and split up a few months later - I'd be very careful. More specifically his wife was then asking for half the proceeds of the house which in his mind was not fair. A load of pricey solicitors and 18 months of heartache that one took to work out. Perhaps not the same situation as you, but highlights how gifted/loaned money can suddenly become a big issue if your situation changes.

 

[rwm24]

I suppose you can ask for measurements, or to come in and do measurements at any time, although personally since nothing is even certain till you exchange, I'd hold off till then. Looking at it from the vendors POV it's probably a very hectic time at their end and having people around to measure up while the place is in disarray might be a pain in their butt. I'd submit a bunch of requirements to their estate agent first.

Yeah I think we'll hold off for a bit with popping around to measure everything.

Good advice about the solicitor and the source of the funds. Lenders are careful about how you prove how and where the money to fund your purchase came to you, but given the experience of a friend of mine who bought a house with a huge deposit contribution from his rich parents, got married and split up a few months later - I'd be very careful. More specifically his wife was then asking for half the proceeds of the house which in his mind was not fair. A load of pricey solicitors and 18 months of heartache that one took to work out. Perhaps not the same situation as you, but highlights how gifted/loaned money can suddenly become a big issue if your situation changes.

Thanks for the heads up. My solicitor is basically ignoring my girlfriend, she's not included as part of the house purchase. This may sound harsh but she is paying nothing so she shouldn't be entitled to anything if we do break up. This would also apply if we get married. It's essentially solely in my name.


I've just spoke to the estate agent and the people we are purchasing the house from have placed an offer on another house. The people currently in that house will be moving to rented so there is no huge chain. According to the estate agent this means it could be the standard 6-8 weeks if their offer is accepted, or much longer if they have to find another house.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

120K buys you a lot of house it seems wherever you live.

just dont trust anyone to do with estates. Their promise list is huge but largely any of it comes true, the motto you get what you pay for especially rings true with solicitors - if you paid cheap for one expect a lot of stress and headaches as you will have to do most of the work yourself to get things done and signed.

 

[valve90210]

My advice would be to chase everyone as nothing gets done unless you push, and don't believe a word the estate agents say, they are terrible people and will say absolutely anything whether it has any baring on the truth or not!!!

 

[pitchfork]

120K buys you a lot of house it seems wherever you live.

It really does not, try living in a city, you'd be lucky to get a 1 bed room in a HMO.

£120k round here only buys a 2 bed terraced needing work in a questionable area, and that's Swindon.

Up north though I hear houses are much cheaper, don't know how true that is.

 

[randal]

£120k gets you a slap in the gooch round our way. The house in the OP is probably knocking on the door of £240k in the current market.

Damn, we need to move.

 

[HangTime]

In my town based on rightmove prices, £120k buys you nothing as the cheapest property (1 bed apartment) is more than that.

However, given that he is based in Oxford which isn't massively cheap I suspect iamtheoneneo may have meant a £120k deposit i.e. the assumption is that most people could add a mortgage loan onto that if they needed to.

 

[Indie]

We got ours for £125k (just outside of Birmingham)

Terraced (although larger than most semis in the area) 3 bed, 2 bathrooms, huge kitchen, living room, driveway big enough for two cars, brick built double garage at rear.

Saying that, we think we got a steal, as the read we live on is soo quiet. relatively nice area too. Have friends who live outside Southampton who have just paid £190k (IIRC) for something similar. Its crazy really how house prices can fluctuate so much.

You can step into London and not find anything less than £200k for a 1 bed

 

[danielanthony]

Thanks for the heads up. My solicitor is basically ignoring my girlfriend, she's not included as part of the house purchase. This may sound harsh but she is paying nothing so she shouldn't be entitled to anything if we do break up. This would also apply if we get married. It's essentially solely in my name.

Wrong. Even if you aren't married and she contributes to the bills (food/utilities) she can claim she has an interest in your property. Once you are married, then she has even more rights over the property despite it being in your name. If you have kids, then just sign it over to her!

 

[rhysduck]

Regarding where the money come's from for buying the house / deposit, I'll add my experience over the last year just incase it helps

The first property we wanted to buy we went through the Monmouthshire Building Society. They were a complete and utter waste of time and money!! They wanted about 80 signatures and signed documents for both me, the girlfriend and my mum who had transferred a relatively small amount of cash into my bank account to cover the "proof of deposit" whilst I waited for money to clear. Anyway that eventually fell through (after nearly 2.5months of starting the process).
Move onto the next house and Nationwide as the lender... Not one issue and no need to sign anything other than the necessary docs. Completed in 6weeks!

Good luck with the process, and post some pics when you move in

 

[rwm24]

Wrong. Even if you aren't married and she contributes to the bills (food/utilities) she can claim she has an interest in your property. Once you are married, then she has even more rights over the property despite it being in your name. If you have kids, then just sign it over to her!

I am also sorting out a living together agreement which should take care of this.

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

I am also sorting out a living together agreement which should take care of this.

Don't count on it

 

[LeeUK]

I'd hate to be your girlfriend if you are thinking of ways to shaft her.

Why doesn't she get a joint mortgage/loan and put money into it?