Owning your own home

livin' the dream, or dram i should say...

For sale sign went up today.
I feel a bit sick.

@well_is_it you have mail

Is this Warner on Zoopla? Can't see any with shit kitchens

Foxtons are chasing me about instructing a solicitor already. We're booked in to see it again tomorrow so the missus can see it but would it be worth instructing one now?
I just don't want to be hit with a bill if she hates it.

A solicitor shouldn't ask you for money straight away, so instruct away

yeh get instructing. just show you are keen and all that. don't have to pay anything for that

This.

A solicitor will give you a quote based in the value and type of property and then ask for a few hundred up front. They won't do anything without that first wedge so similarly there won't be an unexpected bill.

They don't take any more until you are ready to exchange

You'll need to get the money laundering stuff out the way too before they start.

Solicitor instructed. Go time.

How come you're organising a surveyor yourself? Is that for your own peace of mind in addition to what your mortgage company will organise or are you a cash buyer?

I'm a complete bambi to all of this, so yes, the mortgage company will deal with it if that's the norm.

In my case the mortgage company got a surveyor to do a basic valuation and I requested it be upgraded to a survey and paid an additional amount for that.

My understanding was that the lenders will arrange a valuation to ensure they aren't putting down on a shitstack... You can give them some more ££ to look a bit deeper but experience on this thread and elsewhere suggests you give them a load of cash then get a list back that says - "inconclusive, seek professional advice" 26 times.

Anything beyond that is your watch.

Having shelled out for the mortgage companies valuer to do the full survey on a property, on top of the valuation, only for it to be down valued and therefore having wasted money on a useless survey, personally I would advocate getting the valuation back first and arranging for a survey after, it was an expensive lesson to learn having already spent the cash.

I did get a lot of that (electrics, plumbing, etc had "you should get an electrician, plumber, etc to check") but they did point out some stuff that was useful.

Have just put an offer in on a place.....

.....its going to be a long evening!!

I would advocate getting the valuation back first and arranging for a survey after

Agreed.
Theres two things.

1. Mortgage Lender Valuation - they like to say "survey" and technically it is a survey but let's call it a valuation, to distinguish. Smoke and mirrors here in what they did, but I got back a report basically not telling me much apart from what they think the place is worth.
   This protects the bank and their investment.

2. Full building Survey - this is off your own back, you want it, you go get it. It's a proper qualified dude checking stuff out, building-wise.
   I decided to get this done because I'm buying a 3 level house, freehold and I want to know before spunking all my life savings on this.
   I got a very detailed report on everything with pictures and stuff listed and recommendations. Ie. The place had a wall knocked down, get completion certificate for it.

The intermediate one is a Homebuyers Report which is like a full structural building survey but not as full. Google the difference, check moneysavingexpert etc. You may find that it just comes back with a meaningless list of noncommittal bullet points.
Most lenders seem to offer the option as @WjPrince says for you to pay a bit extra (few hundred) and have a Homebuyers Report done alongside the valuation although they may use a different surveyor to do that and one of the lenders we spoke to said they had a backlog so it would take longer if we took that route.

You can find samples of all the types of survey report online which should give you a fair idea of what to expect.

There's nothing to stop you either

a) Not booking anything over and above what the lender requires. If there are serious problems affecting the value of the house that you don't pick up on then I somehow doubt you'd be able to claim on your insurance.
b) Paying the lender to instruct a homebuyers report in addition to/in place of a basic valuation
c) Booking a homebuyers report yourself with a surveyor of your choosing in addition to paying the lender for their valuation survey
d) Booking a full structural survey with a surveyor of your choosing in addition to paying the lender for their valuation survey.

Note that if you book a survey, some surveyors will not do things like lifting carpets, moving furniture etc. Personally, I'd call buillshit and find another surveyor if they say that, but if you use one like that then you should make arrangements for those things to be done before the surveyor arrives so that he can't wiggle out of it.

@well_is_it

When I was at your stage a few months ago, I had no clue what was what but I found this and this really useful for knowing what the solicitor was doing, why it was taking so long, what the searches and surveys were for, and what to expect next. It also meant I was able to be much more specific when I was talking to the estate agents or solicitors about the process.

Also, some progress made on our infinite project. We have half a kitchen now. Can't put the doors on till the plasterer's been again, we don't want the plasterer to come till he can do the area round the new front window as well, but the new front window is a few weeks off, as are the worktops. Even half a kitchen is better than what we had before though, and means we have a kind of living room in our spare bedroom. Which means, after three months, somewhere to work/relax.

And a proper cooker!

2 Attachments

DIY worktops - the sink (salvaged from the previous kitchen, after a brief sojourn in the shed) is sitting on an old wardrobe door (fitted by our joiner), the other bits were fitted by me - the cut-out from the sink, and the tabletop from a £17 B&Q trestle table we have got so much use out of. It actually makes for a really nice temporary worktop/breakfast bar.

@tommmmmmm Looking good!
Also, @Fahrgestell Congrats - now the fun hell begins.

Thanks for all the information guys - this thread has made this process easier than it could have been, so far.
I'll post some pictures tomorrow once we've been again and will also find out if the missus hates it or not...

Also, mortgage company informed. Now to send all the things.

Will switching bank accounts affect my ability to get a mortgage. I'm just about ready to start looking for a house and don't want to anything which will give someone an excuse to turn me down.