Advice Required: First Time Buyer

mysticsniper

mysticsniper

mysticsniper

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1 May 2003
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I am trying to get a small foot hold in the housing market. Tonight I will be looking at my first house, and from the pictures it looks really nice & I can see myself living there, but I don't want to get to carried away.

So what I am after is some advice on what I will need to look out for when viewing the property, as I don't want to buy a property then start shelling out on any pitfalls.

TIA :)
 
Things to check for are
Cracks
Damp
Condition of walls.
Dont be afraid to lift carpets to check floorboards etc.
Is it Double glazed?
Reroofed?
Rewired?
Replumbed - how old is the heating- when was it last serviced?
What is the area like? Go back at different times during the day to see what its like.
 
look at the state of the decor, can you live with it or does it need redecorating. Have a good look at the state of the facia and windows outside, have they been painted in the last 5 years? Is there somewhere to park your car, is the area full of scumbag chavs who nick everything that isn't bolted down.... Also try to imagine it empty as this is how you will be buying it.

Will the vendor be leaving the carpets, door furniture, lights, curtains, etc. if not you'll need to dig into your finds for this sort of stuff.

GET A PROPPER SURVEY assuming it's a freehold property this is the most important bit. Don't go for the homebuyers report as the surveyors don't even get out of the car for this one.

and most of all don't rush into it, make sure that you can afford the repayments or your mortgage + bills + council tax + solicitors fees + stamp duty + house insurance + life insurance.

From my experience I would try and get your own morgage sorted out with an IFA not linked to the vendor's estate agent. That way the agent doesn't knwo how much you can afford when you put in that offer :D

have fun and look forward to paying your own morgage off instead of paying someone elses morgage + a wig wedge of cash :D

HT
 
It's not really down to you to check for damp etc but a little common sense goes a long way.
Once you've had a look around the house and surrounding area, you will probably get the feeling or not that you wouldn't mind living there; if most things seem positive, get a survey done to find out about all the things mentioned above (wiring/pumbing etc) then decide how much you are willing to pay.
Decorating is not a problem and won't cost a fortune but a new boiler or roof will make life a real pain.

You are not in a chain either so should be in a strong position to bargain/barter a little.

Good luck ....... and as someone else said, don't rush, there's always another house somewhere.
 
I wish you the best of luck :)

Myself and my (soon to be) wife are still on the lookout for our first property, so I know how you feel about any potential first time buys
 
Have a look up and down the road and note if any other places are for sale, so that you can compare prices.Also try to find out how long it's been on the market for,a long time gives you some bargaining power or makes you wonder if there is anything wrong.
 
If blood bubbles out of the toilet bowl, don't bother checking the plumbing - Look for ancient indian burial grounds instead.
 
You shouldn't have to worry too much about things like damp as the mortgage lender will insist you have the property surveyed. The age of the property will determine which of the three levels of survey you should have done - ranging from basic (couple of hundred) right up to a detailed survey (around £1k).

One of the posters above mentioned the neighbours - something you really should pay attention to, especially if you don't have exclusive parking!

Get a reputable solicitor - ask around, even ask the bank.

Good luck.
 
happytechie said:
look at the state of the decor, can you live with it or does it need redecorating.
Click to expand...




Please don't miss out on the deam home because of wall paper!! nasty paper cuts the price and is very east to change.

Also come back to see the area at school closing time and early evening (kids hanging around) litter also gives hints to locals as does building work being done (why extend if you hate the area?) check the fridge in the local shop, cans of super strength being sold in 1's dosn't hold well with nice locals ;)
 
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Check out the area after dark as well as during the day. Some streets around here trun into car parks/traffic jams as people use the streets for city centre parking.

Get a proper report on the house as how would you feel when you move in and find out the damn thing is sinking into a mine shaft?

Finally, please remember that it is not just the cost of paying the mortgage. Don't forget buildings and conents insurance, life insurance, all the household bills, repairs and upgrades to the house. After all if you are at the limit and your boiler breaksdown the £300 to repair it or go forbid £2000 to replace isn't going to make your life fun.

Interest rates can and do go up. Could you pay the mortgage if they went up to say 7%?

In our household we have around £300-£600 disposable income and quite frankly any less would scare me as during our three years at the house we have had to lay out a lot of money. On the bread line that would have not been possible.

Just my 2p
 
Wow, thanks for all the great advice, i will be making a note of all the points to take with me. I am visiting the property at 19:30 tonight so I will have a good sense of the atmosphere when I turn up to that area.

I have already seend a morgage advisor, who has infomred that I have no probs with getting the money, as I have 10% cash to put down to help lower the repayments.

:)

I have found a picture of the living room. What do you reckon, looks ok from that angle :)

13975-2.jpg
 
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Reading through the thread it looks as though most things have been covered!

I would say the main thing is to ensure it's structually sound, the roofs intact and woodwork is not rotting! I have a habit of pushing my key into woodwork when the estate agent isn't looking to see whether it crumbles :p When looking at the roof too - have a gander at the next door neighbours... it gives you a good indication what condition yours might be in (i.e. if the neighbours have a newly laid one then that would be a possible indication that yours will require replacing sometime soon!)

Oh and ignore estate agent jargin! I used to be one and I would frequently hear little porkies about "other interested buyers" and such... they just like to put the pressure on!

Last but not least.... buy our place!! :D We've put it on sale today and it's aimed at first time buyers/investors! :D Teeheehee!

Goodluck, let us know how you get on!
 
it looks ok but don't fall in love until the survey comes back, last nights repeat of Location,Location,Location had a good saying about a well presented place ''fur coat and no knickers'' as the roof needed a bit of work :)
 
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