Owning your own home

How much do you trust your estate agent? The correct answer would normally be 'not at all' but if they're human you could try and squirrel out of them what it could take for them to take it off the market now.

Failing that, stretch to another £2.5k-£5k if you can but demand it goes off the market straight away.

We asked our estate agents if we should match the other offer that had been made on the house. They told us no, offer £5k less than them and they'd make sure we got it. We weren't cash buyers but were aware of the work needed and had seen it more than twice, and previous offers had fallen through on second viewing so they went with our offer.

Fingers crossed it could work the same for you.

You could raise it by what you can afford but make it a time-limited offer.
So say £434k (or whatever) but this offer will be retracted by 6pm today.
Then they have to consider the fact that you will walk away and they won't want to lose cash buyers.

cheers all!!! Finally!

@amey I am definitely getting a cleaner in to do a proper clean.
@Ramsaye ill see you in the exclusive conservatives.com/privatemembers area. but i think you spell it conservatories.com/join

@sparky cheers for keeping it affordable for me

No worries. Can I stop roaming the streets in a stained string vest shouting at imaginary adversaries now? It's getting cold out here...

No... you know its now vest season all year round

She's in her diamond-encrusted house snorting powdered money.

make it a time-limited offer.

oh this is nice, i like it.
just go with what you are comfortable with, that was my rule.

Well it worked for me!

I like the idea of reducing the offer, I suspect it would confuse them immensely.

I do too :)

Especially as it turns out that they've officially rejected the 230k cash offer.

There are no other offers on the place yet but one person was apparently interested but hasn't offered yet. 12pm deadline for our best and final.

230,000.99?

I once added £100 on top for the 'best and final' offer .. didnt get it; was just gauging the market and the overall cuntitude.

The nasty methods used to extract every last penny from buyers are quite inventive. You could admire it, if it wasn't so cold and repugnant.

Still waiting to hear on our offer.

But what's the process once it's done? Get a surveyor then need a solicitor? Then back to mortgage broker?

Contact solicitor, then book a survey. This shows immediate intent to complete the purchase - i.e. you aren't a time waster.

I'm just waiting for the survey now, should be any day.

no, get the mortgage valuation (survey) first. you want to know whether you want to spend money on a propah survey in the first place. And whether the bank will give you mortgage on the place.
Make contact with solicitor, but don't officially engage.
You may find you need to renegotiate on price, so that takes some time.

You need to take no much you are paying in rent into account. At a guess, how long will it take you find another?

And who are the forum recommended solicitor and surveyor?

I used http://www.1stpropertylawyers.co.uk/
Great services and cheapest around. Everything is online/cloud based.

I think we paid £600-something for a freehold house.
Our agent tried to flog one of their solicitors which was £5k .. oh how I lol'd.

Martin Browne at Gisby Harrison is the forum conveyancer.

no, get the mortgage valuation (survey) first. you want to know whether you want to spend money on a propah survey in the first place. And whether the bank will give you mortgage on the place.
Make contact with solicitor, but don't officially engage.
You may find you need to renegotiate on price, so that takes some time.

I disagree.

Many (most? all?) estate agents won't take the property off the market until you have instructed a solicitor. So it's risky not to.

If you are fairly confident the property is sound and you have got some sort of mortgage agreement in principal there is probably just as much chance of getting a problem with the title as with mortgage lending.

Therefore crack on with both things, they both have to be done eventually and both have some risk of not going through.

I spoke to my solicitor earlier and they reckon everything could be ready to complete by the end of the month! I'm well excited to have somewhere to live again.

Vendor went witht he other offer same amount but with 350k deposit - what does that matter?

Anyway I've added £5k onto my offer but said it only stands until 3pm

Having a massive deposit means the other offer won't have a problem getting another mortgage if his/her current one falls through.

Me and Simon are in the early stages of buying a new place. Expect some tales of woe and depression. I'm already frustrated with what estate agents are sending us. Oh and the being the cunt on the phone that won't leave you alone job will be mine. I used to be a PA to a mortgage adviser so my job was basically to ring every Tom, Dick and Harry and be a twat to them until they got the fuck on with things.

Got a few viewings lined up in Peckham and Gipsy Hill.

If it's going to take another month to find a new home, it would make sense to increase your offer by the amount of rent that you are going to have to spend if you can't buy this place.