Owning your own home

Who is Norman and why have you got his shed?

I'm not sure - his name isn't on any of the deeds, but it's one of the sheds which came with the house. One day I'll rename it.

haha yes i must admit it did look bleak from the photos. and kids live there as well... get used to seeing shit holes like that with kids living in squalid conditions. i've certainly seen my fair share of them. that road is real busy, i wouldn't want to live on it, but i don't know your situation. some people have no choice because that's all they can afford.

so do you have the link to the other place you mentioned and put the offer in on? would be interested to see this.

Leeds/Bratfud? Whereabouts?

Shit, the place I'm looking to buy has been valued at £4oK under what I had my offer accepted at.
Obviously this affects how much the bank is going to lend us, and I don't want to be paying a large chunk over what it's worth.

Advice on how to approach this with agents (& vendor) and get this down?
Asking is £X50K
Initial offer was £X25K
Second offer accepted at £X40K.
Valued by Halifax at £XK

bah fucksticks

It's an issue that they will likely have with everybody now, be open about it?

Well if either valuation is correct, you have a problem - think rationally and decide whether the Halifax one could be realistic. If it isn't, I don't see why you couldn't have a go at challenging it. You probably don't want to be paying £40k over the odds, whatever you think might happen to London property prices.

so do you have the link to the other place you mentioned and put the offer in on? would be interested to see this.

I'm going to be a cagy cunt and not post it until I've heard back ;) Hopefully that will be soon.
Also, I think they're asking a bit much for it, considering the lease situation and the size of it.
It is nice though - would happily call it home.

We had one down valuation through Halifax of 90k, our second property was valued exactly the same.

Halifax will not review as far as they are concerned the valuation is final, attempt to negotiate with agent/vendor but be prepared to walk away if they won't budge, the valuer is protecting you and the lender.

The issue will be down to estate agents unable to show comparable properties at a similar square footage in the area that have completed at a similar price.

Also, we thought about stretching ourselves to make up the shortfall, but ultimately why would you pay well over the actual value. Puts you at serious risk of negative equity should the market change.

We walked away from what we felt at the time was our 'dream property' and found something far better for 35k less.

Thanks y'all.

I've seen the Estate Agents comparable properties that they send through and they're IMO really difficult to compare. Apples and oranges.

Good to know about Halifax valuers.

issue that they will likely have with everybody now

yeah good point. no matter who offered what, the valuation would come back the same.

40k under? wtf have you gone and offered? either a) you've gone mad and paying way over asking, or b) it's got subsidence and the roof is about the collapse but you are ignoring this....

either way be very careful

Did the valuation even involve entering the house? Often they don't bother, but someone will stand outside the property to prove that it exists.

It will be comparables, for example the property we offered on initially was in Deptford, the comparables offered by the agent were in Surrey Quays. The areas are not comparable but this is what the agent was trying to do.

You are reliant on the agent being realistic with their pricing, some agents are but particularly KFH and Foxtons seem to be cross fingers at valuation time rather than price realistically.

Valuations are based on square footage and location. It does not matter what the condition inside is like, that is what your survey is for.

Virtually all mortgage property valuations are done through landmark quest (unless they used an automated valuation through right move etc) so every person getting a valuation is likely to get the same. Absolutely definitely use it for leverage to get a massive cut in price

It's in the best interest of the agents to find comparable properties to back up their idea of what they believe the property to be worth. If they can't, then the vender could lose faith in the agent and won't believe a thing they're saying. @jeez was the best man for this kind of business, but he decided to sever ties with the forum...

Valuations are based on square footage and location. It does not matter what the condition inside is like, that is what your survey is for.

Not true. Valuations are done by surveyors. They will not value a house in need of total renovation the same as one in minty-fresh condition.

As far as I know there are no lenders that do drive-by valuations any more. Even when they did they at least looked at the agent's photos to get an idea of condition.

every person getting a valuation is likely to get the same

Likely to, but not definitely. Some surveyors are more aggressive than others, some can be convinced to change their mind if you or the agent can show them they've made a mistake.

Your options are :

1. Walk away
   
2. Try to renegotiate based on the down-valuation
   
3. Try, with the help of the agent, to convince the valuer they are wrong
   
4. Apply for a mortgage with Not-Halifax and hope you get a different valuer
   
   

If 2 (and 2 is probably best) you'll need to know what figure you can actually make it work at, so talk to your mortgage advisor. They may say you can still buy it at a figure over the valuer's valuation by putting a bigger deposit down.

Your main argument is that anyone else will *probably* get the same down valuation so the owner's only hope is a cash buyer and do they really want to risk it or would they rather have a bit less from you now.

Good luck fam.

Another mortgage question, purely hypothetical at this stage, I will of course speak to a broker when the time comes...

We are looking to move in the next 18 months, we currently have a very comfortable mortgage with a LTV of around 75%, and when the loan was taken out it was about 2x our combined salaries.

However, from January I have moved from being on salaried PAYE to being on a much smaller salary (about half of previous level) and taking the rest as dividends (I own 25% of the business now), it looks like dividends for the calender year will mean that I will earn significantly more this year than previously. I am slightly worried that this will make it difficult to get a new mortgage, we won't be looking to extend the value, just move geographically. I have worked at the company for just over two years, and it has been going for five years, it had a pretty shocking year last year, with profits close to zero, so worrying that this will also negatively impact my ability to get a mortgage.

My question: Am I unduly worrying? And is there anything I should be doing to make it easier to get a mortgage in 18 months time?

Thanks!

Good luck fam.

thanks and thanks to others for comments also. Learning lots here about buying a home in the UK!
As far as I am aware, they did go into property and value it - appointment was made for access.
On the same day, I've had a full independent survey done and so whilst that was not a valuation, I'll ask him what his professional opinion is. Arm myself with some facts.

Like the option break-down.
1 viable
3 would take some hella negotiation (40k!), and from what mustardbeak said about Halifax - difficult. I spoke to Foxtons and they were angling for this.
4 I think I am stuck with Halifax. And even if I got a different figure on the place, it would be a small movement.

2 - yep that's probably best.

They are agreeing a value based on price agreed and saying whether it represents value for the lender. The condition of a property will of course reflect value but not by a huge amount. It doesn't matter how nice a property is or what fixtures and fittings are in it. Valuation is based on can the bank recoup their money on that property at auction if you default on it. The swing will not be 40k

Full valuation done before getting the mortgage one back? much keen very spendy

Valuation is based on can the bank recoup their money on that property at auction if you default on it.

It really isn't.

It's an open market valuation.

An auction sale valuation on a 'normal' owner-occupier property is usually very different to open market, often 20% lower. Lenders wouldn't do much business if they only lent on auction figures.

Got a call from the estate agent... We didn't get it as some arsewipe went in over asking price.
For a shared garden with an uncertain lease.
The agent sounded a bit bemused, I think we were next in line and will be if it falls through.

Over 300k for a 1 bed in sodding walthamstow... FML.

Leeds/Bratfud? Whereabouts?

Farsley. It's a bit pricier than I intended but its still a bit 'villagey' and is close to canal (recently resurfaced towpath), train station and will be on the new Leeds/Bradford cycle route.

I know we keep saying it on this thread, and then it simply goes and gets a bit worse, but: it's mad, isn't it?