Home Buying/ Mortgage Advice

[Viewer1901]

Hi All

I've recently accepted a permanent contract at work (finally) so can seriously start looking at moving out but I'm so lost with it all! I've found a house that I absolutely adore but it's typical that its come on the market now, during a flipping pandemic!

How do you go about mortgages? I've emailed an advisor but someone's said I should phone my bank first? I'm so confused! Am I even likely even get through to anyone right now?!

Sorry if these are really stupid questions - I'm so new to all this and don't understand it at all!

 

[Curlywurly85]

Phone your bank, they will be able to tell you how much you can afford to borrow and give you a Decision In Principe which is basically a document that says they have agreed to lend you the money subject to approval. When your offer on the house gets accepted you send them a copy of your DIP so it can be taken off the market whilst the sale goes through. Hope it all goes well for you!

 

[Viewer1901]

Phone your bank, they will be able to tell you how much you can afford to borrow and give you a Decision In Principe which is basically a document that says they have agreed to lend you the money subject to approval. When your offer on the house gets accepted you send them a copy of your DIP so it can be taken off the market whilst the sale goes through. Hope it all goes well for you!

Thank you! I’ll phone them tomorrow

 

[Smca53]

Phone your bank, they will be able to tell you how much you can afford to borrow and give you a Decision In Principe which is basically a document that says they have agreed to lend you the money subject to approval. When your offer on the house gets accepted you send them a copy of your DIP so it can be taken off the market whilst the sale goes through. Hope it all goes well for you!

I’m not sure where you’re based but you don’t need a decision in principle in order to get a house taken off the market. You just need to have your offer, made via a solicitor, accepted - and the solicitor will act on your behalf before you’ve provided proof of funding etc. That comes later. In my experience I’ve been asked if I’ve sought mortgage advice etc but I’ve never been asked for proof.

Even if you get a decision in principle from your bank, I’d still go to a mortgage lender as your current bank might not be offering the best rate available to you.

 

[Viewer1901]

I’m not sure where you’re based but you don’t need a decision in principle in order to get a house taken off the market. You just need to have your offer, made via a solicitor, accepted - and the solicitor will act on your behalf before you’ve provided proof of funding etc. That comes later. In my experience I’ve been asked if I’ve sought mortgage advice etc but I’ve never been asked for proof.

Even if you get a decision in principle from your bank, I’d still go to a mortgage lender as your current bank might not be offering the best rate available to you.

I’m in the U.K. - north west to be precise. Thank you. I’ve emailed a mortgage advisor so hopefully they come back to me soon.

 

[Be More Pacific]

I see you've already had conflicting advice but definitely don't go with your bank in the first instance - talk to an independent mortgage broker/financial adviser, one with access to the whole of the market, so you get the best deal/rate out there, not just what your bank will offer you.

You don't need to make an offer on a house via a solicitor either.

 

[Ladymuckx]

Definitely go to an independent broker. They will find the best deal for you. As a first time buyer with a decision in principle it will stand you in a favourable position as a buyer but that decision isn’t necessary before an offer is accepted. Do be prepared to lose the house if the amount you want to borrow is more than anyone will offer though which is why having an amount agreed first is worth it.

 

[Be More Pacific]

An IFA/mortgage broker can arrange a DIP (some lenders call them an AIP - agreement in principle) for you when they have found a suitable lender - you don't have to do this via your bank.

Also, just as a side note, personally, I'd hang fire on doing anything until all this is over or we're at least over the worst because I think the economy/housing market is going to be hit very hard especially with Brexit looming at the end of the year (although apparently there is talk of that being pushed back)

There will always be other houses. And they'll probably be cheaper if you wait!

 

[Pinkflamingo19]

We are in the North West too. We bought a house last year and went through an independent mortgage company. We went through RSC Mortgages for our actual mortgage but had dealt with First Mortgages too. Both based in Manchester It can all be done via phone / email though, we never seen them in person once with RSC. However, we did have to have an initial face to face meeting with First Mortgage, going through our outgoings and what we would be comfortable with price wise per month. Both were really helpful, we only went with RSC as we bought a new build and for speed and easiness on both sides, we went with what they recommended. Hope this helps!

 

[Wetmyplants]

We used a mortgage advisor for both house purchases we’ve had.

Worth the cost, as my partner is a sub contractor so we found it hard to get a good rate and be able to borrow what we needed despite of deposits and a good income.

Good luck with everything

 

[Viewer1901]

Thanks all - I got in contact with someone this morning and he's been really helpful. I then went to drive by the house and the man who owns it was there and let us in for a socially distanced viewing whilst he waited outside! (It's empty he's just been doing it up and lives elsewhere - it was just good timing). I really like the house and its a steal for a newly refurbed house but that means there's been lots of interest in it - he said 33 people but we were the only ones who had viewed. Who knows but I'm hoping lockdown slows everyone else down a bit but not sure what Boris will announce on Sunday! Fingers crossed, thanks for always being lovely tattlers!

 

[Elisha97]

Use a mortgage advisor- you basically can’t do anything until you’ve got an agreement in principle/ mortgage in principle. You potentially don’t know what you can borrow so it’s best to check. As people have already said they’ll find the deal most suited to you, yes you will pay a fee but it’s worth it for the money they’ll save you and the help they’ll provide you.

Once you have your agreement, you make an offer to the estate agent. They give the offer to the seller, there might be some negotiation. The house doesn’t come off the market until you’ve proved to the agent that you are able to proceed- you’d show them your ID, proof of deposit and proof you can get the mortgage to cover the value of the house. Or you’d ask your mortgage advisor to send that directly to them. You’d then instruct solicitors to carry out the sale.

Not sure why someone’s said you don’t need to have a decision in principle to get a house taken off the market and the solicitor doesn’t make the offer for you, that’s completely incorrect. You can make the offer without the agreement in place but it would be unwise because someone good to go (Offer in place) could get in there first and the owner will take their offer because they can prove they can go ahead and buy the house whereas you just have your word that you can. I could offer 1 million on a random house but they’d be stupid to take it off the market because I definitely couldn’t afford that and I’d be wasting everyone’s time and would lose them potential buyers. They’d only do it when I showed them my cash or mortgage agreement and it would be sold subject to contract only then

 

[Mustard]

Agree about using a mortgage advisor.

 

[Tui]

I’d be cautious buying a property right now unless it is a forever home. I’m in the north west too (Mcr) and we had a house sale fall through recently. I’ve been watching the market for nearly a year and people are still listing houses at crazy prices when all signs are pointing to an upcoming economic recession. obviously if it’s unique, a dream house etc then that’s different, but if i were you I’d have a good think before you commit to a major financial purchase right now.

 

[Yel]

I'd be very cautious buying right now, the economy has dropped more than it did during any of the world wars or the great depression.

Places are still coming on at kite flying prices because it will take months for people to realise everything has changed and there's no way it will go back to normal anytime soon.

House prices were already way overpriced before this. I'd wait 6-12 months and see what happens. We could have massive inflation that destroys debt and savings.

 

[Viewer1901]

I’d be cautious buying a property right now unless it is a forever home. I’m in the north west too (Mcr) and we had a house sale fall through recently. I’ve been watching the market for nearly a year and people are still listing houses at crazy prices when all signs are pointing to an upcoming economic recession. obviously if it’s unique, a dream house etc then that’s different, but if i were you I’d have a good think before you commit to a major financial purchase right now.

Its a newly refurbished 3 bed close to Liverpool for cheaper than anything I've seen before that wouldn't need a lot of work to move into. There's only 2 of us, it's potentially not a forever home but it's not something I'd look at selling any time soon as we are not going to have kids etc. Chances are I'm not going to get this house, he said there was over 30 interested so its all food for thought. I wouldn't be jumping into any house other than this one at the moment.

 

[Tui]

To be honest I’m suspicious of him saying 30 other people have expressed interest. That would be unusual right now. Unless he was to give you objective evidence of that, I would take everything he says with a hefty pinch of salt. He wants to sell the house and he knows you are interested, he’s hardly going to say that nobody else has shown interest as that could affect the offer you make

 

[Viewer1901]

To be honest I’m suspicious of him saying 30 other people have expressed interest. That would be unusual right now. Unless he was to give you objective evidence of that, I would take everything he says with a hefty pinch of salt. He wants to sell the house and he knows you are interested, he’s hardly going to say that nobody else has shown interest as that could affect the offer you make

No I know that he’s likely exaggerating but I do imagine there has been some interest.

 

[Lonelylondon]

Hi everyone, I’m a first timer buyer and looking for some advice…

my boyfriend and I are looking at flats in London, we have found a really lovely 2 bed, with a garden and separate living room and kitchen and it’s own entrance. The asking price is £500k. We went to view it, and it is really lovely, it is in the location we currently are renting in, so we know we like the area. The only downside, is that it backs onto the train line, you couldn’t hear the train when inside, but obviously when in the garden you can, so we are abit apprehensive about that.

Now this is where we are confused, we have looked online at the history of the property, and the current owners bought it in April 2020 for £461k .. since then, they have made the garden abit nicer, added fitted wardrobes, painted and added carpets in the bedrooms, but to me all of that is just cosmetic and tbh personal preference and doesn’t justify the Property being up for £40k more than 1 year ago.. when I look at other properties on the street, a 3 bed flat with a garden sold in December 2020 for £470k, a 3 bed terraced house sold in September 2020 for £480k. I just don’t think the price is justified.. and I know that we can offer whatever we want and what we think the flat is worth, but it just makes me question it..

I also wonder why they are moving after only 1 year, they have said that their family is expanding and so they are looking to upsize in the same area, they don’t have a kid already, so if they are having their first child, why would they not stay in the same flat, as it has 2 bedrooms Just seems a bizarre thing to do considering they bought it 1 year ago.

we were told that they had an offer accepted on the flat 2 weeks ago, but those buyers pulled out, which makes me wonder.. why..

I just have a weird gut feeling about it, despite loving the flat a lot

what do you guys think?

 

[Tui]

Hi everyone, I’m a first timer buyer and looking for some advice…

my boyfriend and I are looking at flats in London, we have found a really lovely 2 bed, with a garden and separate living room and kitchen and it’s own entrance. The asking price is £500k. We went to view it, and it is really lovely, it is in the location we currently are renting in, so we know we like the area. The only downside, is that it backs onto the train line, you couldn’t hear the train when inside, but obviously when in the garden you can, so we are abit apprehensive about that.

Now this is where we are confused, we have looked online at the history of the property, and the current owners bought it in April 2020 for £461k .. since then, they have made the garden abit nicer, added fitted wardrobes, painted and added carpets in the bedrooms, but to me all of that is just cosmetic and tbh personal preference and doesn’t justify the Property being up for £40k more than 1 year ago.. when I look at other properties on the street, a 3 bed flat with a garden sold in December 2020 for £470k, a 3 bed terraced house sold in September 2020 for £480k. I just don’t think the price is justified.. and I know that we can offer whatever we want and what we think the flat is worth, but it just makes me question it..

I also wonder why they are moving after only 1 year, they have said that their family is expanding and so they are looking to upsize in the same area, they don’t have a kid already, so if they are having their first child, why would they not stay in the same flat, as it has 2 bedrooms Just seems a bizarre thing to do considering they bought it 1 year ago.

we were told that they had an offer accepted on the flat 2 weeks ago, but those buyers pulled out, which makes me wonder.. why..

I just have a weird gut feeling about it, despite loving the flat a lot

what do you guys think?

Price wise I don’t know the London market. They may just be chancing their arm to get more cash for their larger house? In terms of the short occupancy I would be suspicious too that they have discovered a problem. I would 100% want a full survey of the house expecting if it’s old