Owning your own home

Eh?

we put offers on 3 places this morning. one "by informal tender", one normal, one OIEO.
are we going to accidentally buy 3 homes?

one estate agent has asked us to meet them this week with financial stuff and ID. I don't have the paperwork* for the actual monies I'm going to use for deposit, but I do have paperwork for some monies that I'm not going to use. can I show them that instead? they just want to know I have money and not making it up - it doesn't matter whether the money I eventually hand over is the same money, does it?
I've also never done a credit check on myself, I don't think there's anything bad in there but I don't always pay utilities or credit card bills on time... but do eventually pay them.

^^^

The information came from a mortgage adviser who conducts a financial interview for the housing scheme whom we have applied through. We don't have to use them to apply for a mortgage though, so I might call her out on her claims of massive deposit and say that I'll shop around myself.

I've also never done a credit check on myself, I don't think there's anything bad in there but I don't always pay utilities or credit card bills on time... but do eventually pay them.

I'd check if I were you. There are a few things you can do for free/cheap to check. There can be negative things on your credit file that you wouldn't know about unless you check. For example, mine wan't showing that I was on the electoral register for my current address even though I had been for 3 years (I have an odd address). A phone call sorted that out. Utilities and credit cards can also be nasty if they are in your name.

Rob, they really shouldn't care where the deposit comes from. My bank lent me the money for the deposit as well as the mortgage!
I'm not sure that is even legal.

This is the broker that the property developers require us to use though...

Is that legal? I've yelled down the phone at these developer types many times before when they've tried to hard-sell me their crap off-market mortgages with their in-house broker. They all seem to bump up their return a couple of points by making a cute little spread on the credit side of the deal that doesn't reflect fair risk premia.

R My bank lent me the money for the deposit as well as the mortgage!

#2007 #whatcrisis

#2007 #whatcrisis
1999 actually.

It's none of their business where the deposit comes from, unless a charge on the property by the family member is insisted upon.

That's not entirely true. Some lenders want to see history of saving rather than some large lump sum that just 'appears'. It could just as easily disappear and they are then fucked and have to repossess. Especially true if you're a dirty forrun on a visa of some kind.

Or if you're from Derby.

monies
negged

I may be wrong, but money is money- it has no provenance, as it were.

Just as long as you are not trying to pay in blood diamonds, racehorse semen and fur coats what fucking difference does it make where the cash comes from?

There may be a misunderstanding that the Mother In Law is going to be the holder of the mortgage maybe?

Because it could come from a loan from somewhere else and when that loan has to be paid back... shit meet fan.

It's none of their business where the deposit comes from. All they need to know is that you have the money.

It is in their interest. If it's a loan then repayments will need to be factored in to expenses when they work out whether or not you can actually afford the loan. If it's from dodgy dealings or family then they might see it as a risk if the originators want their money back for whatever reason.

It's skipping over these kind of checks that caused the whole sub-prime fuck up. "What's that, you're both unemployed smack heads, sure you can have 105% loan, saving is for chumps after all."

http://www.santanderforintermediaries.co.uk/library/lib_195.pdf

On saturday I'm going to view a flat with only 67 years left on the lease. I don't yet know why it's slipped so low and apparently the landlord hasn't looked into the cost of extending, although the estate agent reckons it's be in the region of £25k to extend it. I'm thinking it'll more likely be £40k. My mortgage advisor has said there shouldn't be a problem (which surprised me). Beyond bargaining very hard, what are the poignant things I should be aware of with such a property?

As folk say, use the calculators which are widely available online. You may also be able to agree a price with the freeholder ahead of the sale and have it enshrined in the sale contract (or rather a separate contact which is enacted whilst the vendor still owns it, which enables you to get around the wait-for-two-years thing). We bought a place with 72 years left on the lease and paid £15k to extend, which was a few thousand less than our best estimates.

We paid substantially under the going rate for the area buying this way; I think people were put off by the perceived complexities of extending a lease on top of all the other conveyancing nonsense. Add the cost of extending (and the fees) to the total purchase price and see where you are.

ONe issue with money coming in from overseas for a deposit could be the various Know Your Client rules. They're often interested to know where it's coming from.

For credit checks, noddle is a decent free option. Remember to untick the various "Can we contact you with these offers" boxes. It's surprising how much info is on your credit record.

we put offers on 3 places this morning. one "by informal tender", one normal, one OIEO.
are we going to accidentally buy 3 homes?

No. Until the contract is in writing, and signed by both parties, there is no contract for the sale of an interest in land - section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989.

I'd check if I were you. There are a few things you can do for free/cheap to check. There can be negative things on your credit file that you wouldn't know about unless you check. For example, mine wan't showing that I was on the electoral register for my current address even though I had been for 3 years (I have an odd address). A phone call sorted that out. Utilities and credit cards can also be nasty if they are in your name.

I was under the impression that credit checks adversely affected ones credit rating?
I've been on and off the electoral register here for 6 years or so. there were a couple of years when I wasn't living here. actually that might be a problem. shit. there's not much proof I live here unless you count utilities bills that spell my name wrong. my credit card and bank statements have always gone to my parents' address. I'm on the tenancy agreement.

and the deposit is mostly just going to appear in our bank accounts. gone from yesterday feeling like "what? you're actually taking us seriously?" to feeling decidedly less confident now.

I think it depends who's looking at your paperwork. I was in a similar position and the internet threw up such a mixed bag of responses I gave up. But my bank statements were going (still do, in fact) to my parents'; I'd moved about 14 times in 8 years including a stint in a commercial property; did not do credit checks, and my proof of cash was a photocopy of a bank statement where some money was sitting (not mine) and a letter from the executor of that account. Was fine, no questions asked.

huh. this one isn't with your estate agent btw. although we have put an offer in with them too. all the offers...

I was under the impression that credit checks adversely affected ones credit rating?

Most credit checks in the mortgage process leave a 'footprint' on your credit record.
It won't affect it negatively (or positively) but the fact you have tried to apply for a mortgage will now be apparent on your record.

Serious question, and not meaning to dampen your spirits, if you are prone to missing utility and credit card bills, are you ready for a mortgage?

we currently have a mortgage in principle with Halifax - I was told that it wouldn't leave a footprint (not that I really understand what the implications are - advisor was explaining why they use Halifax as they are the only ones that don't leave a footprint. doesn't seem very fair... )

^^ I'm a bit disorganised but not financially irresponsible, I don't think. never missed a rent payment. bills sometimes get forgotten about and then paid on the reminder, and credit card bills sometimes late but always paid off in full within 2 months, usually 1.

Streatham is vibrant.
Their solicitor has proved to be an utter dick. Unable to ask questions of Lambeth Living, unable to provide answers. I'm fairly certain it's deliberate. We've been told the seller would "knock 2k off the price if we can complete by the end of feb". Which would require me signing something without having all the information about a 17k bill on the property, whether Lambeth will transfer the land registry details etc etc.

The estate agents (haart streatham) have said "there's clarity and there's clarity" to which my next answer will be "if it's not clear, then it's opaque". I've had the estate agent say "if they don't complete by the end of the month, then they'll just unpack and stay there".

I'm utterly fucked off with the situation, "you look, you touch, you buy" and there's a very real possibility that if it doesn't happen then it'll be "adios London".

This is how I see it

What you have uncovered re. Lambeth Living is probably an estimate of the property's share of estate-wide improvements over the foreseeable future, which could be why it's difficult to get a straight answer. I have a projection from them of £5k costs later this year for things like estate lighting, which I will have to pay, but can arrange a payment plan if I don't want to stump up in one go. Lambeth Living have to consult residents (social and private) and have to give a detailed break down of the costs. In your case, they may not have this yet and so the £17k is just an estimate.

If this is costs for future works then, unfortunately the vendor is right in not offering to pay them and doesn't really need to discount the property, as the property hasn't yet benefitted from the improvements. BUT, their solicitor should be able to confirm in writing that all past and existing charges have been met and should be able to indemnify you against any arrears. It's a pain, but buying ex-council does come with estate management and improvement charges, even if you buy freehold.

Regarding the threat that the vendor will stay if you don't complete by the end of the month, it is probably agency bullshit because they want their commission this month. I had this, but went back through emails and saw that I had been copied in on one that included the vendor's email address. I told the estate agent that I was happy to contact them directly to explain my situation and confirm that I was serious about completing. The agent started backtracking quickly. Try something similar and see if it flushes out a lie. Agents do this all the time, they know you've incurred significant costs, they know your fear of it falling through at the last minute, so they wind everyone up to rush things through to secure their commission. They are scum, but you know that.

Gimme a shout if you want to discuss, I've been there recently...