The nervous wait to exchange....

SpeedFreak · 10 Jul 2023 at 22:32

Hoping to complete this month. All in all relatively happy. Got within 20k of asking on ours and secured our new place. It had a crazy asking price initially, but we have secured at a little below what it was on the market for pre COVID. When we saw it a few years back the price to trade up was about 250k, now it is about 160k.

The process has been slowwwww. 4 months into it, it's been painful! I'll share some plans once we complete as it is a bit of a project !

Buffman · 10 Jul 2023 at 22:33

Martynt74 said:
So now just waiting for the phone to ping! They seem to be cash buyers which bodes well as not impacted by interest rates. However they've got a house to sell as it'd just fallen through, but it seems like it's a good home they're selling and should move quick.

Honestly do NOT accept an offer if they haven't sold their house. You could say "I will provisionally accept that offer/an offer of £X however you're not proceed able position so the house will remain on the market.."

Had a terrible time of people buying my house that hadn't sold theirs with an offer based on a market price they couldn't achieve

ChrisD. · 10 Jul 2023 at 22:34

Buffman said:
Honestly do NOT accept an offer if they haven't sold their house. You could say "I will provisionally accept that offer/an offer of £X however you're not proceed able position so the house will remain on the market.."

Had a terrible time of people buying my house that hadn't sold theirs with an offer based on a market price they couldn't achieve

Exactly this, the agent should be filtering this out.

Buffman · 10 Jul 2023 at 22:45

ChrisD. said:
Exactly this, the agent should be filtering this out.

Yep had the same issue with purplebricks,

NO arent would normally fully accept this position

koolpc · 10 Jul 2023 at 23:44

Never accept from potential buyers who have not even sold their property.

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2023 at 08:29

Buffman said:
Honestly do NOT accept an offer if they haven't sold their house. You could say "I will provisionally accept that offer/an offer of £X however you're not proceed able position so the house will remain on the market.."

Had a terrible time of people buying my house that hadn't sold theirs with an offer based on a market price they couldn't achieve

Yeah, it seems they did have a sale agreed on the property but it fell through last week. I didn't know whether it was reasonable to give a certain timescale, such as we'll accept the offer and hold it for 4 weeks, if you've not agreed a sale by then then we'll relist.

Other option would be to consider renting the house to them where the sale can then go through once the sale of theirs is complete, on the basis that it probably will sell at some point. This'd work fine for us as we're renting in Spain so unlikely to need the funds immediately.
I know that "Rent to Buy" contract is moderately common in Spain, but unsure how it'd work over here.

Buffman · 11 Jul 2023 at 08:50

Martynt74 said:
Yeah, it seems they did have a sale agreed on the property but it fell through last week. I didn't know whether it was reasonable to give a certain timescale, such as we'll accept the offer and hold it for 4 weeks, if you've not agreed a sale by then then we'll relist.

Other option would be to consider renting the house to them where the sale can then go through once the sale of theirs is complete, on the basis that it probably will sell at some point. This'd work fine for us as we're renting in Spain so unlikely to need the funds immediately.
I know that "Rent to Buy" contract is moderately common in Spain, but unsure how it'd work over here.

I meant to say above no formal agent would accept this position. Just say that "you can accept this offer when they're in a proceed able position" ie their property is sold or they have full cash offer.

Until then keep it on the market.

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2023 at 09:42

Buffman said:
I meant to say above no formal agent would accept this position. Just say that "you can accept this offer when they're in a proceed able position" ie their property is sold or they have full cash offer.

Until then keep it on the market.

Sounds like that's part of the thing with Strike. You get an instant notification of the offer, but then they follow up with the buyer to do various checks.

It's kind of a shame their house is at the £200k mark. Had it been more around the £150k mark i'd have considered accepting it as a part ex to rent out or as a UK base, but think at £200k, it's a bit high risk.

Joe Jones · 11 Jul 2023 at 09:51

In the process of selling and had an offer from someone who had not sold yet, but they were trying to get an idea of what we would accept so that they could negotiate back on theirs.

We worked up to a fair value and said we'd accept that when they agreed their sale but the house would remain on market till then. Took a few days but they sorted out their sale and now we can proceed.

In the market right now I wouldn't be shooting people down so quick if they haven't a sale. Just work with them and figure out their chain.

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2023 at 10:09

Joe Jones said:
In the market right now I wouldn't be shooting people down so quick if they haven't a sale. Just work with them and figure out their chain.

That's my thinking. Especially as these are both in a fairly good position where they have ~50% cash already and then will have the other 50% in cash once the sale of the house goes through. That means they're not concerned about interest rates which in the current market is pretty rare!

Currently working out numbers around taking their house in part exchange and then mortgaging it in the UK at ~90% and then using that cash, plus our equity from our house to buy a property in Spain. Then rent out the house over here. It's just whether i want that extra hassle really.

Joe Jones · 11 Jul 2023 at 10:16

Pretty risky taking 90% LTV and hoping someone will pay enough in rent to cover it.....

I doubt you could get a 90% buy-to-let mortgage on it at the moment.

Keep it simple, cash-in and enjoy Spain!

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2023 at 10:28

Joe Jones said:
Pretty risky taking 90% LTV and hoping someone will pay enough in rent to cover it.....

I doubt you could get a 90% buy-to-let mortgage on it at the moment.

Keep it simple, cash-in and enjoy Spain!

Oh yeah, the rent wouldn't get close to the mortgage payment, but that's easily subsidised on the basis that around hald way through the interest/repayment flip will happen, and the rent will surpass the interest.

These are my current workings which assume a 6% rate, which is probably pretty optimistic given the current expectations. However i'd expect at some point they'd come closer to 4% over the life of the mortgage.
Also assumes a flat rental income of £600/mth which is probably pessimistic. However also doesn't factor in the slush fund needed for any maintenance
Also assumes pretty much zero growth in house valuation

The 325kEUR is probably sufficient for what we want in Spain and we'd probably be able to borrow another £100k in reality and still fit into affordability criteria. The benefit would be that we're not at the whim of the Spanish mortgage lenders as they can often undervalue property when it's rural which is what we're after.

Joe Jones · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:29

I'd be surprised if you can get a 6% buy-to-let mortgage anytime between now and the end of 2024 to be honest....and even if you could you're still liable to make the shortfall of almost £600 per month. At that you're spending £6000 a year to hold a house in another country that may not appreciate in value much. And that's not even including the intricacies of inflation erosion.

I may be missing something here but it's not a profitable scenario.

koolpc · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:40

Joe Jones said:
I'd be surprised if you can get a 6% buy-to-let mortgage anytime between now and the end of 2024 to be honest....and even if you could you're still liable to make the shortfall of almost £600 per month. At that you're spending £6000 a year to hold a house in another country that may not appreciate in value much. And that's not even including the intricacies of inflation erosion.

I may be missing something here but it's not a profitable scenario.

Its pure maddness

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:42

Joe Jones said:
I'd be surprised if you can get a 6% buy-to-let mortgage anytime between now and the end of 2024 to be honest....and even if you could you're still liable to make the shortfall of almost £600 per month. At that you're spending £6000 a year to hold a house in another country that may not appreciate in value much. And that's not even including the intricacies of inflation erosion.

I may be missing something here but it's not a profitable scenario.

Looking at Barclays it seems possible and fixed for 5yrs at 6.05%. Although max 75% LTV which looks to be standard.

SpeedFreak · 12 Jul 2023 at 13:14

I spoke too soon. Our buyer had asked for a roof survey, wholly unnecessary in my opinion. The company who performed the survey has quoted for remedial work (what a surprise :rolleyes:

).

Job Description
Full roof replacement.

Erect scaffolding around the property.
Supply skip.
Remove existing ridge tiles.
Remove existing roof tiles.
Remove existing loose mortar from verges.
Remove existing timber battens.
Remove existing non breathable felt underlay.
Clear guttering.
Fit new breathable Roofshield felt underlay.
Fit new 2x1 treated timber battens.
Fit new eave support trays.
Re fit existing roof tiles replacement any broken.
Fit new plastic verge caps on all verges.
Fit new dry ridge system.
Re fit existing ridge tiles replacing any broken.
Remove all rubbish.
Remove scaffolding.

Cost: £5,358.00.
VAT 20%: £1,071.60.
Total Cost: £6,429.60.

There are no broken tiles, the felt is in great condition and there is no internal moisture (despite the recent rain), the loft is bone dry. There has never been a leak.

I have told them in no uncertain terms that there is no adjustment to the price. If they are not happy then I will simply cancel the sale. Happy to cut off my nose on this one.

I hate this process :rolleyes:

koolpc · 12 Jul 2023 at 13:16

SpeedFreak said:
I spoke too soon. Our buyer had asked for a roof survey, wholly unnecessary in my opinion. The company who performed the survey has quoted for remedial work (what a surprise ).

Job Description
Full roof replacement.

Erect scaffolding around the property.
Supply skip.
Remove existing ridge tiles.
Remove existing roof tiles.
Remove existing loose mortar from verges.
Remove existing timber battens.
Remove existing non breathable felt underlay.
Clear guttering.
Fit new breathable Roofshield felt underlay.
Fit new 2x1 treated timber battens.
Fit new eave support trays.
Re fit existing roof tiles replacement any broken.
Fit new plastic verge caps on all verges.
Fit new dry ridge system.
Re fit existing ridge tiles replacing any broken.
Remove all rubbish.
Remove scaffolding.

Cost: £5,358.00.
VAT 20%: £1,071.60.
Total Cost: £6,429.60.

There are no broken tiles, the felt is in great condition and there is no internal moisture (despite the recent rain), the loft is bone dry. There has never been a leak.

I have told them in no uncertain terms that there is no adjustment to the price. If they are not happy then I will simply cancel the sale. Happy to cut off my nose on this one.

I hate this process

Stand your ground. They taking the pee

Matt-Page · 12 Jul 2023 at 13:16

In the realms of selling/buying. Such a slow process and no one seems to have any urgency. Despite chasing agents/solicitors every few days, we are 15x weeks into the process from when we accepted an offer and when we had our purchase offer accepted.
Constant enquiries between Solicitors and waiting on lenders to respond to things. So frustrating and in constant worry either the sale or purchase could fall through.
Is this timescale the same as what others are seeing?

Matt-Page · 12 Jul 2023 at 13:20

SpeedFreak said:
I spoke too soon. Our buyer had asked for a roof survey, wholly unnecessary in my opinion. The company who performed the survey has quoted for remedial work (what a surprise ).

Job Description
Full roof replacement.

Erect scaffolding around the property.
Supply skip.
Remove existing ridge tiles.
Remove existing roof tiles.
Remove existing loose mortar from verges.
Remove existing timber battens.
Remove existing non breathable felt underlay.
Clear guttering.
Fit new breathable Roofshield felt underlay.
Fit new 2x1 treated timber battens.
Fit new eave support trays.
Re fit existing roof tiles replacement any broken.
Fit new plastic verge caps on all verges.
Fit new dry ridge system.
Re fit existing ridge tiles replacing any broken.
Remove all rubbish.
Remove scaffolding.

Cost: £5,358.00.
VAT 20%: £1,071.60.
Total Cost: £6,429.60.

There are no broken tiles, the felt is in great condition and there is no internal moisture (despite the recent rain), the loft is bone dry. There has never been a leak.

I have told them in no uncertain terms that there is no adjustment to the price. If they are not happy then I will simply cancel the sale. Happy to cut off my nose on this one.

I hate this process

Have you been able to see the Survey to understand what they claim the issues to be? Surely they would only replace all the felt/batten/etc if it was damaged/rotten...

SpeedFreak · 12 Jul 2023 at 13:43

Have asked for a copy. Images of the loft in question:

https://ibb.co/kQWc6k2

PXL-20230712-114351754 hosted at ImgBB

Image PXL-20230712-114351754 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co