The nervous wait to exchange....

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Still not heard from the buyer with the deadline of the 16th September they set. Our solicitor is now preparing contracts for exchange and it sending them over this week with a proposed date of the 28th September. Fingers crossed all parties agree and we can finally get moved. Our buyer is a cash buyer with no chain, house we are buying has no chain but does have probate with a split between 5 x siblings. Getting boxes and a large trolley ordered tonight, ideally I'd like something more official before I can hire a Luton van.
 
We are still waiting on mortgage valuations the one on the house we are buying worries me as due to the nature of it it is difficult to value it is pretty much unique!
 
Our estate agent has emailed this evening to book a surveyor visit on behalf of our buyer, after two months of nothing and our solicitor now pushing for exchange. Fully expecting them to take the pee and try the next trick, gazundering. Call me cynical but this house moving process has really opened my eyes (last moved 14 years ago).
 
Our estate agent has emailed this evening to book a surveyor visit on behalf of our buyer, after two months of nothing and our solicitor now pushing for exchange. Fully expecting them to take the pee and try the next trick, gazundering. Call me cynical but this house moving process has really opened my eyes (last moved 14 years ago).
The primary reason for having a survey these days seems to be to re-negotiate the price it almost feels like people are disappointed when post survey they can’t save more than the cost of the survey!

Round here every survey comes back saying the house will need re-roofing in the future (Victorian terraces over 100 years old) which is true those that haven’t been done will need to be at some point but how is that a surprise to a buyer and not already factored into the offer?
 
The primary reason for having a survey these days seems to be to re-negotiate the price it almost feels like people are disappointed when post survey they can’t save more than the cost of the survey!

Round here every survey comes back saying the house will need re-roofing in the future (Victorian terraces over 100 years old) which is true those that haven’t been done will need to be at some point but how is that a surprise to a buyer and not already factored into the offer?

Our house is a lower end ex-council 2 bedroom house (so good brickwork, decent roof - a solid house). Agreed for sale at £105000, house was listed for £109950. Waiting until the last minute for a survey, when they are a housing association cash buyer is really tingling my spidey sense. With the current inflated market, I'm tempted to not negotiate at all if they do try knocking us down and instructing the estate agent to put it back on the market. Doing a quick search on rightmove and zoopla there is a distinct lack of lower end good condition houses for sale in our area at the price.
 
There isn't a list of critical issues there are three things two of which are only potential issues that come up on virtually every survey (Electrics and Wall Ties) because the surveyor lacks the expertise or access to do anything more than flag them as potential issues. If someone asked me for money off because the surveyor said the electrics might be dodgy I would expect the buyer to get an actual electrician to confirm this and the same with the wall ties asking a vendor for money of because something may be an issue isn't ever going to fly.

The bay window is the only real concern and that again I'd want to have a real good look at myself or with someone that knows about these things. Our survey said every window in the house needed replacing as they didn't open and were rotten, in reality they were wooden sashes someone had painted shut all of which were made to open with a stanley knife and one or two of which needed replacement sills they had lasted 100 years and would probably have done 100 more if we hadn't wanted to swap the sashes for double glazed ones (The original sash boxes are still going strong).

It is entirely dependant on the house but always take a survey report with a pinch of salt particularly things where it says needs further inspection as that as I said simply means they either couldn't check it or don't have the skills.

The roof would need redoing within 10 years, all of the downstairs walls had high damp readings, the surveyor did say the electrical wiring from the consumer unit was old also said the fuses were wired fuses.
We weren't up for a project or the uncertainty.
 
The primary reason for having a survey these days seems to be to re-negotiate the price it almost feels like people are disappointed when post survey they can’t save more than the cost of the survey!

Round here every survey comes back saying the house will need re-roofing in the future (Victorian terraces over 100 years old) which is true those that haven’t been done will need to be at some point but how is that a surprise to a buyer and not already factored into the offer?
Saw some nonsense on reddit earlier of a landlord complaining he couldn't keep the deposit as his tenants had been so good :cry: So yes I don't doubt a lot of folk are gutted when the survey comes back clean.
 
Our house is a lower end ex-council 2 bedroom house (so good brickwork, decent roof - a solid house). Agreed for sale at £105000, house was listed for £109950. Waiting until the last minute for a survey, when they are a housing association cash buyer is really tingling my spidey sense. With the current inflated market, I'm tempted to not negotiate at all if they do try knocking us down and instructing the estate agent to put it back on the market. Doing a quick search on rightmove and zoopla there is a distinct lack of lower end good condition houses for sale in our area at the price.
The last minute thing is a classic tactic, apparently it is becoming increasingly common for people to reduce offers on the day or exchange on the basis that people won’t want a sale to fall through at the last minute for a 5k hit. I’m not sure how you reform our property market but something needs to change.
 
Saw some nonsense on reddit earlier of a landlord complaining he couldn't keep the deposit as his tenants had been so good :cry: So yes I don't doubt a lot of folk are gutted when the survey comes back clean.
Bet pre deposit protection scheme he would have had the lot, the minority of scummy landlords tarnish them all! (Similar for tenants mind)
 
We're trying to decide whether to sell our flat, and having a really difficult time with the decision.

We kept the property when we moved house a couple of years ago. We really didn't want to hold on to it, but there was very little appetite in the market in our area at that point and we were desperate to buy our now house. We stretched ourselves quite thin in order to get it done, but we held on to the flat whilst drawing out some equity.

The problem we have is that the mortgage products offered to us now that our BTL 2 year fix has ended are rubbish - interest only, and a slight increase on the previous mortgage. Plus the mortgage debt is quite high, therefore meaning there's not a a huge amount of relative value in cashing in at this point.

This means we're not paying off any of the mortgage debt, so it's much less of an asset than it would be on a capital repayment mortgage. The other complication is that we receive our second home stamp duty rebate if we sell the flat by next April. And it's not an insignificant amount of money. Finally we're renting it out to some friends at the moment, and we'd need to kick them out if we sell. That's less of a concern, but still a tricky subject to be broached.
 
We're trying to decide whether to sell our flat, and having a really difficult time with the decision.

We kept the property when we moved house a couple of years ago. We really didn't want to hold on to it, but there was very little appetite in the market in our area at that point and we were desperate to buy our now house. We stretched ourselves quite thin in order to get it done, but we held on to the flat whilst drawing out some equity.

The problem we have is that the mortgage products offered to us now that our BTL 2 year fix has ended are rubbish - interest only, and a slight increase on the previous mortgage. Plus the mortgage debt is quite high, therefore meaning there's not a a huge amount of relative value in cashing in at this point.

This means we're not paying off any of the mortgage debt, so it's much less of an asset than it would be on a capital repayment mortgage. The other complication is that we receive our second home stamp duty rebate if we sell the flat by next April. And it's not an insignificant amount of money. Finally we're renting it out to some friends at the moment, and we'd need to kick them out if we sell. That's less of a concern, but still a tricky subject to be broached.

Frankly, for me I'd treat such a thing as a liability rather than asset and get it sold as quick as.

Presumably you also have to pay tax on the income also?

I recall seeing your house (you should update the build log thread!) and could wager a bet that the 3% recovery on stamp duty will be better than any net gains on rental income, and presumably free up some hassle /cash.

Just give your current tennants/ friends as much notice as possible
 
There isn't a list of critical issues there are three things two of which are only potential issues that come up on virtually every survey (Electrics and Wall Ties) because the surveyor lacks the expertise or access to do anything more than flag them as potential issues. If someone asked me for money off because the surveyor said the electrics might be dodgy I would expect the buyer to get an actual electrician to confirm this and the same with the wall ties asking a vendor for money of because something may be an issue isn't ever going to fly.

The bay window is the only real concern and that again I'd want to have a real good look at myself or with someone that knows about these things. Our survey said every window in the house needed replacing as they didn't open and were rotten, in reality they were wooden sashes someone had painted shut all of which were made to open with a stanley knife and one or two of which needed replacement sills they had lasted 100 years and would probably have done 100 more if we hadn't wanted to swap the sashes for double glazed ones (The original sash boxes are still going strong).

It is entirely dependant on the house but always take a survey report with a pinch of salt particularly things where it says needs further inspection as that as I said simply means they either couldn't check it or don't have the skills.

Cavity wall tie failure is often very easy to diagnose without having to look in the cavity - although that is of course the most conclusive method with a boroscope.

Im not entirely sure where you got the idea that potential cavity wall tie failure comes up on 'virtually every survey' - thats categorically false. Im a surveyor and have only diagnosed it on one of the properties i have seen over the years. Its not that common although is perhaps more so on older properties where the ties werent galvanised etc.

Electrics yes - although frankly why the RICS insist surveyors comment on elecs is beyond me. We cant tell you they are or arent safe -we arent qualified to do so - hence every survey states that they 'may' not be - which is actually correct whatever the butt hurt owner may think.
 
Cavity wall tie failure is often very easy to diagnose without having to look in the cavity - although that is of course the most conclusive method with a boroscope.

Im not entirely sure where you got the idea that potential cavity wall tie failure comes up on 'virtually every survey' - thats categorically false. Im a surveyor and have only diagnosed it on one of the properties i have seen over the years. Its not that common although is perhaps more so on older properties where the ties werent galvanised etc.

Electrics yes - although frankly why the RICS insist surveyors comment on elecs is beyond me. We cant tell you they are or arent safe -we arent qualified to do so - hence every survey states that they 'may' not be - which is actually correct whatever the butt hurt owner may think.

I’m just saying what I’ve seen and while I’ve never seen a report that said the wall ties had failed I’ve seen lots that said basically ‘the cavity wall ties may or may not be failing you should get this checked by a specialist to be sure’ the same pointless nonsense you get for electrics gas and anything else the surveyor isn’t sure on.

Don’t get me wrong I see the value in a good survey and have just paid for one on the property we are looking to buy but you have to read bettween the lines and accept that plenty of it is opinion. One mans rotten windows that need totally replacing is another mans small DIY project! And yes it will say the electrics need checking but it won’t mention cavity wall ties unless the surveyor is really dodgy the house has Victorian solid brick walls but I have seen wall ties mentioned on a Victorian terrace that anyone could tell didn’t have them!
 
We're trying to decide whether to sell our flat, and having a really difficult time with the decision.

We kept the property when we moved house a couple of years ago. We really didn't want to hold on to it, but there was very little appetite in the market in our area at that point and we were desperate to buy our now house. We stretched ourselves quite thin in order to get it done, but we held on to the flat whilst drawing out some equity.

The problem we have is that the mortgage products offered to us now that our BTL 2 year fix has ended are rubbish - interest only, and a slight increase on the previous mortgage. Plus the mortgage debt is quite high, therefore meaning there's not a a huge amount of relative value in cashing in at this point.

This means we're not paying off any of the mortgage debt, so it's much less of an asset than it would be on a capital repayment mortgage. The other complication is that we receive our second home stamp duty rebate if we sell the flat by next April. And it's not an insignificant amount of money. Finally we're renting it out to some friends at the moment, and we'd need to kick them out if we sell. That's less of a concern, but still a tricky subject to be broached.
Does the income from the rent out weigh the potential regain from stamp duty? If it is paying a significant part of the mortgage on your main property I would say yes if it is just covering it’s own mortgage then I would say no! We are looking to rent out our current house when we buy our new one (it got us to the front of the line as chain free buyers) and the rent will in theory cover the buy2let mortgage and well over 50% of the new mortgage, then in 25 years when I’m looking to retire it will provide a significant extra income stream! (The second home stamp duty hurts right now but in the long term the income will be worth more!)
 
Frankly, for me I'd treat such a thing as a liability rather than asset and get it sold as quick as.

Presumably you also have to pay tax on the income also?

I recall seeing your house (you should update the build log thread!) and could wager a bet that the 3% recovery on stamp duty will be better than any net gains on rental income, and presumably free up some hassle /cash.

Just give your current tennants/ friends as much notice as possible

We have to pay tax on the income, you're correct. But then again we'd also have to pay capital gains tax if we sold it now. You're also correct on the 3% recovery being immediately more attractive. The question for us has always been - sell up to release the equity + stamp rebate vs keeping it for 30 years as the mortgage gets paid off + using it for our kid(s) to stay in when older + potential retirement income if still rented out.

But if we're continually on interest only mortgages, nothing is getting paid off. The net rental income is worth re-investing through overpaying the mortgage, but it ain't a great deal.

Will put a final update on the building log - just waiting for the last 1% to be completed, which is taking ages. External decoration plus the boxing in of the electrics and gas that no one wants to quote for. But we're starting planning for the loft this month... so might have to start the thread all over again :D

Does the income from the rent out weigh the potential regain from stamp duty? If it is paying a significant part of the mortgage on your main property I would say yes if it is just covering it’s own mortgage then I would say no! We are looking to rent out our current house when we buy our new one (it got us to the front of the line as chain free buyers) and the rent will in theory cover the buy2let mortgage and well over 50% of the new mortgage, then in 25 years when I’m looking to retire it will provide a significant extra income stream! (The second home stamp duty hurts right now but in the long term the income will be worth more!)

Unfortunately this isn't the case - mortgage (costs) quite high due to low equity, plus rental yields in the area have been declining and expensive service charge contantly creeping up... Sounds like a great position you've got yourself in with the other house! How long have you been in it for?
 
Keep meaning to post in here, got accepted on our first house about a month ago, got a letter from mortgage company today to say the mortgage application has been accepted. Couple of days ago sent money to the solicitor for them to do the searches, as far as I'm aware that's pretty much it, once the searches are completed we exchange contracts, pay deposit and get a date if I'm right?

It's been a learning curve but so far things have gone a lot easier than I had expected. Fingers crossed it stays that way. It's a fairly new build so I'm hoping the searches should be fairly straightforward.
 
Unfortunately this isn't the case - mortgage (costs) quite high due to low equity, plus rental yields in the area have been declining and expensive service charge contantly creeping up... Sounds like a great position you've got yourself in with the other house! How long have you been in it for?
16 years the mortgage would be paid off next year and the value of the house has more than doubled in that time (combination of work done and crazy local market)
 
But then again we'd also have to pay capital gains tax if we sold it now.


You only pay capital gains tax on it for the period in which you didn't live in it, not since you bought it - could be a significant difference if the market has been a bit stagnant ?
 
Would you guys ask for a price reduction if the surveyor said roof had no felt under the slates and it needed it?

To think, the slates have been doing a good job for over 100 years! They look ok (welsh slate).
 
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