Owning your own home

My wife was 999, me not so much :p

999 is a good thing?

There'll be a for sale sign going up outside my house ASAP.
I don't like surprises and we don't have a dead lot of wriggle room so I am trying to run the numbers on ALL the expenses we'll incur in the process of selling and buying.

Is there anything I have missed from this?

Pay off remainder on existing mortgage
Pay the penalty for breaking the terms of the fixed term mortgage
Estate agent fees (at 3%? Any advice on agent fees?)
Stamp duty on new purchase
Legal fees and searches for new purchase
Moving costs
Lenders survey fee

Anything I've missed?

The most points you can get on the experian score, which our mortgage provider insisted on.

Any advice on agent fees?

DIY instead?

If you're in a hurry (and I think I read that you were) then some agents will accept an incentivised deal; where they get say 2% fees if sold in a month, 1.5% in two months, 1% in three months.

They are still cheap suited wankers though.

That might work.
I also read you could incentivise the same way with the sale value.
2% for everything upto asking.
2.5% for the first £10k over asking.
3% for anything over £asking + £10k.

Anything missing off the list of expenses though?

I'm just on the buying side and these are the categories I have in my spreadsheet.

Solicitor/Conveyancing
Broker
Lenders arrangement fee
Mortgage Account Fee
Land registry
Searches
My Surveyer
Bank valuation fee

(If any, I'll add more once I get them in)

@WjPrince 3% fees to sell the place? mental if you ask me. surely you can negotiate 1.5 - 2%? @princeperch recently sold so he will give you low down on what he paid

You don't pay anything less than £40k for a good estate agent. If you've paid anything less, your house is shit and not worth living in.

http://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/how-much-should-i-pay-the-estate-agent/

3%?!

When the time comes, my flat will be going in the classified section of LFGSS, or eBay.

OK, so I've got a meeting tomorrow with my bank (Natwest) to see what size and type of mortgage, if any, I can get.

Question is, half my salary is made up of commission, payable quarterly which can fluctuate but has always increased year on year. I've been doing the job for 3.5 years - are there any lenders which are best suited for me? Halifax I've been told are ok.

Edit: will have a minimum 10% deposit.

Foxtons are 3%'s, good luck negotiating lower. They marketed our property at 15k higher than the rest though so it paid for their extortionate fees. Sold at full asking in a week so easy fucking dollar. I'd have such a massive coke habit if I were an estate agent in London right now.

Tru fax...

I am currently weighing up the Foxtons 3% who will shaft someone on your behalf and put most of the money in your pocket VS KFH or John Payne (SE local ting) who take 1.5% but might take a couple of weeks longer and a couple of grand less.

Do Foxtons really sell for more, or has the PR machine tricked everyone into thinking that? They were fucking useless when I was looking.

I paid 1pc plus VAT to davey stone and Jodie Ryan there who I dealt with was worth every penny of what I had to pay- she was a pleasure to deal with, and was both proactive and above all - ethical in how she dealt with everyone.

I wouldn't touch foxtons with a barge pole. You should know roughly what your gaff is worth give or take a small margin tbh - foxtons are odious cunts and I wouldn't give them the steam off my piss let alone several grand.

(I used to rent through foxtons)

Currently being shafted by Foxtons. Just got off the phone to them. This sucks.
I loathe the fact that I have to deal with them.

(I've attempted to rent through them, saw their fees and went elsewhere.)

They 'value' the place higher to get you hooked in by greed, but if it doesn't sell their immediate reaction is cut the price rather than actually do any work. So you end up selling for the same as others value, but giving up 3%.

That's what I thought. Luckily I don't plan to be selling for the next few years at least.

i am loath to use them, but so far, the Blackheath office has been the most helpful out of all the estate agents ive dealt with.

^ You buying Iain?

because they can smell the City on you.

Yup...

If i can get over the fear of having a huge mortgage