The nervous wait to exchange....

[grudas]

Yes, but...proof of funds come from the sale of my house 4 years ago, of which, these same solicitors dealt with!

Money hasnt been moved. It has sat in same account all those years. They were the ones doing the conveyancing. They were the ones who transferred the money to me.

How can they say they need more proof when it came from them?

What info have you supplied ?

I’ve been saving for years and dumping a lot of money into my Monzo account pot, that pot had a good 30k that I moved after a few years to my hsbc savings account. So if you look at my statements it looks like I dropped 30k+ in a few days. Out of nowhere. But if you look at the last few years of Monzo statements you can see that money trickled in slowly.

another chunk came from me selling my car privately, that money again will raise a question as it got moved straight to my savings as I have no need for a new car so it’s better spent on house purchase now.

my papers just went to solicitors so I’m expecting them to ask me where it came from and all I can do is proof using my statements and explain why it got moved to hsbc in a big chunk.

car sale was private so other than transaction, what’s left of v5 and dvla email saying I don’t own it anymore I have nothing. Guess the signed receipt between me and buyer is also valid.

basically, like you, I expect a lot of hassle because of this. Even if all the savings are legitimate.

hence my question, what proof have they asked for and what have you supplied and realistically.. what’s the outcome if that is all you have.

 

[koolpc]

What info have you supplied ?

I’ve been saving for years and dumping a lot of money into my Monzo account pot, that pot had a good 30k that I moved after a few years to my hsbc savings account. So if you look at my statements it looks like I dropped 30k+ in a few days. Out of nowhere. But if you look at the last few years of Monzo statements you can see that money trickled in slowly.

another chunk came from me selling my car privately, that money again will raise a question as it got moved straight to my savings as I have no need for a new car so it’s better spent on house purchase now.

my papers just went to solicitors so I’m expecting them to ask me where it came from and all I can do is proof using my statements and explain why it got moved to hsbc in a big chunk.

car sale was private so other than transaction, what’s left of v5 and dvla email saying I don’t own it anymore I have nothing. Guess the signed receipt between me and buyer is also valid.

basically, like you, I expect a lot of hassle because of this. Even if all the savings are legitimate.

hence my question, what proof have they asked for and what have you supplied and realistically.. what’s the outcome if that is all you have.

They have a statement showing them, transferring the money from my last house sale into my account. No money added since! These are the same solicitors!

They are asking for proof of funds when, it was them that supplied me with the funds from my house sale 4 years ago!

 

[grudas]

They have a statement showing them, transferring the money from my last house sale into my account. No money added since! These are the same solicitors!

Okay that is insane then. They’re being silly then. Surely if you can prove exactly where it came from with an official bank statement and transaction from them then they can’t question it?! I really wonder what happens if they don’t accept that. Surely the sale would fall through. Insane. I know why they need to make sure the money is legitimate but if the transaction came from them then surely they have records proving that.

what else can you supply other than that? Have they given you a receipt/billed you for handling the transaction? Find that paperwork and send it over.

 

[koolpc]

Okay that is insane then. They’re being silly then. Surely if you can prove exactly where it came from with an official bank statement and transaction from them then they can’t question it?! I really wonder what happens if they don’t accept that. Surely the sale would fall through. Insane. I know why they need to make sure the money is legitimate but if the transaction came from them then surely they have records proving that.

what else can you supply other than that? Have they given you a receipt/billed you for handling the transaction? Find that paperwork and send it over.

It is indeed strange. I told my solicitor all this 5 weeks ago! Its the same firm, different solicitor. I told her i am annoyed with it all. I gave her all the info 5 weeks ago. Statement and explained her company did the conveyancing.

Will wait to see if i get a reply tomorrow.

 

[HangTime]

Anyone dealt with connells? We’ve viewed the property we discussed above and made an offer. It really is the right house for us. But it seems like connells do not want to put our offer through until they prove our financial position. From the emails the branch manager has been sending my other half, they want a 30 minute meeting to discuss our income, deposit amount and outgoings. Now that would be fine but they’re estate agents not MAs so that info will not be given by me.

I feel like they’re trying to push us to use their MA services which is hilarious as just recently I’ve read : https://thenegotiator.co.uk/connells-launches-internal-probe-over-conditional-selling-allegations/

article about them.

I’m happy to provide them with MIP agreement from HSBC but that’s my limit I think. All I want them to do is pass my over offer. Our MA will deal with the financial side of it.

being a first time buyer.. am I on the right track here? Surely, EA should not need my income, outgoings etc discussed before passing an offer.

The emails sent to my other half with “have the numbers ready” are just hilarious. I know they’re bad but the house is being marketed by them.

It's just a ploy to direct you to an affiliated MA, they probably get a kickback or something. We had the same as FTB but it was over 15 years ago now so can't be sure it was Connells but I know they were one of the EA we were speaking with.

To be fair to them, I imagine EAs do get a bunch of time-wasters and a bunch of people who are looking at houses right at the very extreme end of their budget, so a few details being amiss could make the difference between a house being affordable or not. They almost seemed surprised when I explained we had a fairly broad range and were looking to spend less than the max we could borrow.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Well theres been a slight change of plans, this newbuild site were waiting on doesn't seem to be moving very fast at all and were a bit concerned that the end of the year rough date we were given will be well into next year.

Their other site is a 25min drive from here back over to where both myself and the wife grew up, we were there taking another look at the show home and they mentioned that a buyer had fell through, waiting on a call from them now

 

[dlockers]

Dilemma for this afternoon, if anyone fancies deciding my life plan:

1. £800k, '4' bed mid-terrace. All modern ugly 3 bed houses. Maybe offer £775k considering the untouched bits of the house?

• It has a patch of gravel at the front that could be for parking a small car; however no dropped kerb.
• Whilst it has 4 beds, none are big. I mean double bed and wardrobes at a push in the master. The loft room is long and thin. My daughters rooms is adequate and then there is a box.
• Kitchen/diner extension which is nice but battered from a dog, so all cupboard doors will need replacing; however - quite enticed by the lifestyle choice of a snug/kitchen diner environment - sofa/coffee table to hang out; kitchen to prepare food; dining table for... dining.
• Clearly money spent on loft/kitchen diner and no-where else.
• Garden overlooked by an abandoned rail line that is now a walkway (presumably moped central on a Friday night).
• Roughly close enough to best school in town
• Small garden

2. £850k, '3' bed mid-terrace. Semi-period property. The grossest house on the street (the others are million+ victorian mansions). Maybe offer £750k on the basis it is more of a 2 bed than a 3 bed?

• Proper parking for 2 cars (length ways annoyingly but whatevs).
• 2 really good size rooms.
• 1 box
• Not much bigger than what I have now - basic proportions plus a 1m wide hallway and the better proportions upstairs
• Best school in town
• Small garden, somewhat two-levels

3. £760k, 4 bed semi. Period property. Probably offer £775,500 given its the best of what is actually the best bunch that has popped up in a while? A non-loft converted, almost identical, went for £760k last week.

• 1 enormous master; 2 smaller but very usable double bedrooms. Fully converted loft (but quite old - 1980s?).
• Neighbors have access across the garden for bins; however it looks like they have an agreement to store their bins in the side alley to avoid it being used too much.
• On street dodgy parking (back to back parallel parking) - about as bad as I have now, except parking is only on one side really
• Large scope to have a snug in the dining room (lifestyle with kids), smallish but decent size front room
• Scope to extend kitchen/fill side return as semi-detached it shouldn't offend
• Likely to end in a bidding war as properties this size aren't frequent
• Decent school
• Garden is north west facing but on two distinct levels - unsure whether it gets much sun at all tbh.

 

[grudas]

It's just a ploy to direct you to an affiliated MA, they probably get a kickback or something. We had the same as FTB but it was over 15 years ago now so can't be sure it was Connells but I know they were one of the EA we were speaking with.

To be fair to them, I imagine EAs do get a bunch of time-wasters and a bunch of people who are looking at houses right at the very extreme end of their budget, so a few details being amiss could make the difference between a house being affordable or not. They almost seemed surprised when I explained we had a fairly broad range and were looking to spend less than the max we could borrow.

that’s what it was. The call was funny to say the least. My other half who booked the initial viewing started speaking and a pushy salesman aka mortgage advisor was on the other end. I stopped him quoting his figures and asked him exactly what he’s running us through here and he said “I’m a mortgage advisor so we’ll run you through that” I stopped him and said no thank you, we appreciate your help here but we’ve got a mortgage advisor lined up and we’re good to go. Was happy to send them our MIP to prove that banks are happy to lend etc and he was done.

 

[koolpc]

I feel this is more of you problem than a them problem.

Solicitor just emailed to say they accept all ok as per my bank statement. They missed the fact that they were the ones who transferred the funds 4 years ago!

 

[toshj]

Dilemma for this afternoon, if anyone fancies deciding my life plan:

1. £800k, '4' bed mid-terrace. All modern ugly 3 bed houses. Maybe offer £775k considering the untouched bits of the house?

• It has a patch of gravel at the front that could be for parking a small car; however no dropped kerb.
• Whilst it has 4 beds, none are big. I mean double bed and wardrobes at a push in the master. The loft room is long and thin. My daughters rooms is adequate and then there is a box.
• Kitchen/diner extension which is nice but battered from a dog, so all cupboard doors will need replacing; however - quite enticed by the lifestyle choice of a snug/kitchen diner environment - sofa/coffee table to hang out; kitchen to prepare food; dining table for... dining.
• Clearly money spent on loft/kitchen diner and no-where else.
• Garden overlooked by an abandoned rail line that is now a walkway (presumably moped central on a Friday night).
• Roughly close enough to best school in town
• Small garden

2. £850k, '3' bed mid-terrace. Semi-period property. The grossest house on the street (the others are million+ victorian mansions). Maybe offer £750k on the basis it is more of a 2 bed than a 3 bed?

• Proper parking for 2 cars (length ways annoyingly but whatevs).
• 2 really good size rooms.
• 1 box
• Not much bigger than what I have now - basic proportions plus a 1m wide hallway and the better proportions upstairs
• Best school in town
• Small garden, somewhat two-levels

3. £760k, 4 bed semi. Period property. Probably offer £775,500 given its the best of what is actually the best bunch that has popped up in a while? A non-loft converted, almost identical, went for £760k last week.

• 1 enormous master; 2 smaller but very usable double bedrooms. Fully converted loft (but quite old - 1980s?).
• Neighbors have access across the garden for bins; however it looks like they have an agreement to store their bins in the side alley to avoid it being used too much.
• On street dodgy parking (back to back parallel parking) - about as bad as I have now, except parking is only on one side really
• Large scope to have a snug in the dining room (lifestyle with kids), smallish but decent size front room
• Scope to extend kitchen/fill side return as semi-detached it shouldn't offend
• Likely to end in a bidding war as properties this size aren't frequent
• Decent school
• Garden is north west facing but on two distinct levels - unsure whether it gets much sun at all tbh.

Sounds like going for option 3 but putting in place an upper limit on any offers might be a good place to start.

Does option 2 have potential to expand at all?

 

[dlockers]

Sounds like going for option 3 but putting in place an upper limit on any offers might be a good place to start.

Does option 2 have potential to expand at all?

Thanks. I forgot to mention that Option 3 doesn't have a bath at the minute, and the bathroom is size constrained as it is the room above the stairway. I hope this puts off the "normal crowd" that would be tempted by this house

No parking means the house will only ever be a short-term(ish) plan...My worry is that as electrification kicks off big time, we'll be priced out of houses with driveways (like hens teeth here).

Option 2 - we asked about loft conversion and the homeowner said probably not possible due to roof shape and size. It is otherwise entirely plot bound I would say.

To note; I expect Option 1 is priced 'high' and will gradually increase. I expect Option 2, if we can get the bargain with the cheeky offer, is priced about right - but will grow big time (parking being the mega benefit). I expect Option 3 will flat line and not grow much at all, even with full modernisation.

 

[grudas]

Dilemma for this afternoon, if anyone fancies deciding my life plan:

snip

3 sounds the best.

but out of interest, where are you buying with prices like that an still on-street parking?

 

[Mr Jack]

Dilemma for this afternoon, if anyone fancies deciding my life plan:

Do you have a strong need to move right now? If not, I'd be waiting for something that seems less compromised. It doesn't really seem like any of these overly suit you.

 

[dlockers]

3 sounds the best.

but out of interest, where are you buying with prices like that an still on-street parking?

South East; less than a mile from the town centre. Less than a mile from the fast train into London. Parking here is an insane privilege, and mostly unobtanium. A few houses have garage 'en bloc' but most of those are getting sold/knocked down/developed.

The street that 'Option 2' resides on is mostly Victorian houses as mentioned, offering 1800+ square feet with converted lofts. One sold in September 2021 for £1.2m - no parking at all. Another, slightly smaller at 1600 square feet sold for £940k in September 2020.

Do you have a strong need to move right now? If not, I'd be waiting for something that seems less compromised. It doesn't really seem like any of these overly suit you.

I'm in 600sqft at the moment with 2 adults WFH and an under 2 year old. So things are getting a bit... cosy.

I have 2 years left to run on this mortgage, so my plan would be to get a 2 year fix on the 'delta' and then that at least leaves me with a 2 year plan to modernise and add value. And if the market crashes, hopefully any prospective homes also crash in a similar percentage.

Ideally though you're right, we'd stay a bit longer. We are lucky in that our buyer is a midwife who is willing to move in with parents - so I get the sense that the longer we take, the more funds/security she'll have in buying this place. We'll see how long she is willing to wait though!

 

[jonneymendoza]

South East; less than a mile from the town centre. Less than a mile from the fast train into London. Parking here is an insane privilege, and mostly unobtanium. A few houses have garage 'en bloc' but most of those are getting sold/knocked down/developed.

The street that 'Option 2' resides on is mostly Victorian houses as mentioned, offering 1800+ square feet with converted lofts. One sold in September 2021 for £1.2m - no parking at all. Another, slightly smaller at 1600 square feet sold for £940k in September 2020.


I'm in 600sqft at the moment with 2 adults WFH and an under 2 year old. So things are getting a bit... cosy.

I have 2 years left to run on this mortgage, so my plan would be to get a 2 year fix on the 'delta' and then that at least leaves me with a 2 year plan to modernise and add value. And if the market crashes, hopefully any prospective homes also crash in a similar percentage.

Ideally though you're right, we'd stay a bit longer. We are lucky in that our buyer is a midwife who is willing to move in with parents - so I get the sense that the longer we take, the more funds/security she'll have in buying this place. We'll see how long she is willing to wait though!

You might as well look inside london at those prices!

 

[dlockers]

You might as well look inside london at those prices!

Yeah but that has the distinct downside of being in London

Tbf I did look around Belsize Park. Some nice 3 bed conversions but not for us.

 

[Peerzy]

I'm interested to know where outside of London (even the SE) places are going for that much.

I live in a town with a 22 minute train ride to the centre of London and a nice 3 bed semi within cycling distance of the station and town centre with parking for two cars would be about £500k-£600k. Your budget would definitely get you a large detached 4 bed, with parking, garden and everything else you've mentioned.

Out of the 3 options I'd side with none as they are all seem rubbish in one way or another.

 

[grudas]

South East; less than a mile from the town centre. Less than a mile from the fast train into London. Parking here is an insane privilege, and mostly unobtanium. A few houses have garage 'en bloc' but most of those are getting sold/knocked down/developed.

The street that 'Option 2' resides on is mostly Victorian houses as mentioned, offering 1800+ square feet with converted lofts. One sold in September 2021 for £1.2m - no parking at all. Another, slightly smaller at 1600 square feet sold for £940k in September 2020.

interesting! Horley, Crawley(surrounding areas), Horsham, Reigate all decent areas and you could get a massive house with a drive and double garage for that money. One train to London too.

 

[Itchytrigg]

Just had an offer accepted…now for the hard part I guess!

We’d offered £11k over and put us right at the top of our budget. With how other houses we missed out in had gone I didn’t think it’d be enough as the house was well presented with little/no work needed.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Just had an offer accepted…now for the hard part I guess!

We’d offered £11k over and put us right at the top of our budget. With how other houses we missed out in had gone I didn’t think it’d be enough as the house was well presented with little/no work needed.

nice one.