House Prices #2 Property market, buying and selling

[Anne1448]

It’s a good job I did and then I got a further damp survey. They reported that they think there’s a massive concealed leak under the floor and that the floor will need digging up for it to be fixed. Said it’s quite common in new builds.

New builds have been dodgy here too.

Some people have houses with bricks literally falling off the walls, no fire exits for people living in apartments or balconies collapsing. Builders are just trying to get the most money quickly.

Personally I am determined to buy a house built pre-90s. The quality is just on a different level.

 

[WilmaHun]

Having spent the last 2 years working in conveyancing, I've always vowed never ever to buy a new build! The amount of clients we've acted for who have spent an outrageous amount of money on a new build property to only come back to us 8 months down the line wanting to start litigation with the developer because snagging issues haven't been resolved, cracks are appearing and so forth.

I bought a house built in 1903, and although we've done a lot of work to it (mainly cosmetic to be fair), I'd much sooner that than buy a supposedly "perfect" new build and have loads of issues later down the line.

 

[HoGi]

Having spent the last 2 years working in conveyancing, I've always vowed never ever to buy a new build! The amount of clients we've acted for who have spent an outrageous amount of money on a new build property to only come back to us 8 months down the line wanting to start litigation with the developer because snagging issues haven't been resolved, cracks are appearing and so forth.

I bought a house built in 1903, and although we've done a lot of work to it (mainly cosmetic to be fair), I'd much sooner that than buy a supposedly "perfect" new build and have loads of issues later down the line.

My friend has been in her new build 10 months and issues still aren't fixed. Things like they put the wood floor down before painting, so there are paint spatters everywhere! The decorators contracted by the developer have tried cleaning but nothing works so now the developer is making the decorator pay for a new floor. But as it is a new build downstairs is one giant room! So it's a huge job and the house is full of furniture now so going to be a real pain.

This is just 1 of the many issues still outstanding

 

[lurkingaround123]

I am in the process of buying my first house, was told we could complete on the 25th, now it keeps getting pushed back further and further due to everyone involved in the process being incompetent. Firstly my solicitor didn't think to tell me to get my closing statement from my help to buy ISA, so that has delayed the bonus request. Then yesterday my mortgage advisor tells us all that he's requested the financials with a completely different solicitor company down on it, not the one I am using, so now we are delayed further waiting for the revised offer to come through.

Is this common practice? I'm so annoyed because I am paying thousands to these people and I have to chase them to do what I am paying them to do. I feel like everyone I speak to has a horror story with buying a house, which is putting me off complaining, but I am going to have to extend my rental tenancy to cover these mistakes and miscommunications which are no fault of my own.

Sorry needed to rant

 

[WilmaHun]

I am in the process of buying my first house, was told we could complete on the 25th, now it keeps getting pushed back further and further due to everyone involved in the process being incompetent. Firstly my solicitor didn't think to tell me to get my closing statement from my help to buy ISA, so that has delayed the bonus request. Then yesterday my mortgage advisor tells us all that he's requested the financials with a completely different solicitor company down on it, not the one I am using, so now we are delayed further waiting for the revised offer to come through.

Is this common practice? I'm so annoyed because I am paying thousands to these people and I have to chase them to do what I am paying them to do. I feel like everyone I speak to has a horror story with buying a house, which is putting me off complaining, but I am going to have to extend my rental tenancy to cover these mistakes and miscommunications which are no fault of my own.

Sorry needed to rant

Who was it who said you could complete on the 25th? Without your solicitor having received your mortgage offer, it would have been impossible to complete on 25th as they have to review it, report on it and submit a Certificate of Title (COT) to the mortgage company to request funds. Depending on the lender, some lenders require a 5 working day notice between submission of COT and release of funds.

It's important to bear in mind that any completion dates discussed are not binding until you have exchanged contracts, so should not be relied upon. Contracts cannot be exchanged without everything in place, such as mortgage offers etc, and relies on the whole chain being ready.

 

[lurkingaround123]

Who was it who said you could complete on the 25th? Without your solicitor having received your mortgage offer, it would have been impossible to complete on 25th as they have to review it, report on it and submit a Certificate of Title (COT) to the mortgage company to request funds. Depending on the lender, some lenders require a 5 working day notice between submission of COT and release of funds.

It's important to bear in mind that any completion dates discussed are not binding until you have exchanged contracts, so should not be relied upon. Contracts cannot be exchanged without everything in place, such as mortgage offers etc, and relies on the whole chain being ready.

That makes sense! They put the date on the portal and said it should be fine, so i just rolled with that. Its more annoying because its the most important thing in my life, and my tenancy, financial situation, everything depends on it, but then i am just one of the many files on their desk so I get they don't feel the same level of stress as I do.

 

[JoeBloggs]

As someone who works in property & construction, I will never ever buy a new build.

With all this talk of increasing interest rates, I am trying to work out if I should remortgage. Lower rate but exit fees.

 

[Chuff offohc]

Has anyone bought recently? Weve had our offer accepted and all survery/valuation has been done just waiting for the underwriters to get back to us with a decision but it seems to be taking a while. Getting frustrated and so are the estate agents so it seems

 

[WilmaHun]

Has anyone bought recently? Weve had our offer accepted and all survery/valuation has been done just waiting for the underwriters to get back to us with a decision but it seems to be taking a while. Getting frustrated and so are the estate agents so it seems

I had offer accepted in April and completed in August. I think after our mortgage valuation it took about a week for the underwriters to offer our mortgage. We used Skipton who had a really good application tracker on their website, which showed what date it was expected to go to underwriters, when they expected to be able to offer etc. We applied for our mortgage mid April and it was offered 22nd May (for reference on timescales) Could you speak to your broker/lender to see if this is something they have available too? Good luck and I hope it goes smoothly from here

 

[Chuff offohc]

I had offer accepted in April and completed in August. I think after our mortgage valuation it took about a week for the underwriters to offer our mortgage. We used Skipton who had a really good application tracker on their website, which showed what date it was expected to go to underwriters, when they expected to be able to offer etc. We applied for our mortgage mid April and it was offered 22nd May (for reference on timescales) Could you speak to your broker/lender to see if this is something they have available too? Good luck and I hope it goes smoothly from here

That's helpful thank you. We are first time buyers and have had absolutely no idea what we are doing from the get go. Everyone just expects you to know what your doing so I'll just be happy when it's all over and done with at this point. Will give them a call next week and ask what's happening if we havent heard by then

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Has anyone bought recently? Weve had our offer accepted and all survery/valuation has been done just waiting for the underwriters to get back to us with a decision but it seems to be taking a while. Getting frustrated and so are the estate agents so it seems

I had mine submitted 24th August and it got accepted by the underwriter on the 15th September.

 

[Yel]

Mail saying some mortgage lenders have put interest rates up by 13% overnight.

BoE forecast on interest rates predicts rates rising soon to counter inflation, which seems about right.

House prices are often a reflection of how much people can borrow, it's about the money supply rather than the supply and demand of houses. Even small changes can make a huge difference. Acotyal interest rates from mortgage providers had been falling up until now.

Rising inflation, rising taxes is wiping out any small increases in pay. But I do think some people assume it's the normal (and almost a human right ) for house prices to rise by a double-digit percentage every year.

Mortgages are ALREADY getting more expensive: NatWest, HSBC and Barclays ALL put up rates just hours after Budget as homeowners are warned they face biggest interest payments hike since the financial crisis

• Analysis suggests homeowners should prepare for biggest rise in interest payments since financial crisis
• OBR says rising inflation may prompt Bank of England to hike interest rates from 0.1% to 0.75% by end of 2023
• Forecasters say this would have a massive knock on effect on amount of interest mortgage payers have to pay
• Expert tells homeowners to cut back on unnecessary spending and make overpayments while rates are low

 

[Anne1448]

Oh my God! I can't handle any rise anymore.

I mean, my rent went up by an extra 100€ even though absolutely nothing changed in my house. Food is now as expensive as gold. Petrol is as high as a mortgage. I mean, come on! We are getting hit on all sides

 

[Theyallneedarealitycheck]

We are selling our 5 year old house, we bought it new, lots of snags which we thought had been fixed now issues with the stone cladding which we raised a year ago and were told its "natural weathering" an not an issue...

Looking for a 70s semi or detached we can do a few bits to but definitely staying away from new builds, especially Persimmon ones!

 

[Yel]

Oh my God! I can't handle any rise anymore.

I mean, my rent went up by an extra 100€ even though absolutely nothing changed in my house. Food is now as expensive as gold. Petrol is as high as a mortgage. I mean, come on! We are getting hit on all sides

I don't think mortgage rates are reflected in rents. Landlords tend to charge the most they can get for a property irrelevant of what their costs are.

My landlord owns the property outright, doesn't mean I get a reduced rate. They charge the going rate.

With so many having less money in real terms there's less money for rent so landlords can't just raise the rent - vast majority are already charging the most they could get anyway. It's a tit excuse they wheel out when tax changes and landlords say "those poor tenants, we'll just raise the rent" but they can't raise it above going rate. If that makes any sense

 

[Former_Antelopee]

There is a house I like, I haven’t viewed it so could be different in person. But it’s for sale by method of modern auction. It’s been reduced once and the cost it’s up for now is similar to other homes on the same street (slightly more expensive than them). But there is a £6000 reservation fee that doesn’t count towards the cost of the house. I just don’t see why anyone would buy a house via this method? Unless I’m missing something?

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

There is a house I like, I haven’t viewed it so could be different in person. But it’s for sale by method of modern auction. It’s been reduced once and the cost it’s up for now is similar to other homes on the same street (slightly more expensive than them). But there is a £6000 reservation fee that doesn’t count towards the cost of the house. I just don’t see why anyone would buy a house via this method? Unless I’m missing something?

Is it refunded after?! Sounds like an MLM for homes

 

[WilmaHun]

There is a house I like, I haven’t viewed it so could be different in person. But it’s for sale by method of modern auction. It’s been reduced once and the cost it’s up for now is similar to other homes on the same street (slightly more expensive than them). But there is a £6000 reservation fee that doesn’t count towards the cost of the house. I just don’t see why anyone would buy a house via this method? Unless I’m missing something?

i work in conveyancing and normally houses are sold by auction because they have issues which would
Prevent them being sold by normal processes, or at least would make it difficult. A successful bid at auction represents exchange of contracts and you’re bound after that. We normally advise people to go into it being very aware that it could end up being a money pit!

bear in mind the conveyancing process exists for a reason to allow for enquiries etc to be raised before anything becomes binding. But with exchange being a successful bid you lose this ability.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Is it refunded after?! Sounds like an MLM for homes

No it’s non refundable, unless I’m misunderstanding, this is what it says:

The buyer is required to sign a reservation agreement and make payment of a non-refundable Reservation Fee of 4.2% of the purchase price including VAT, subject to a minimum of £6,000.00 including VAT. This fee is paid in addition to purchase price and will be considered as part of the chargeable consideration for the property in the calculation for stamp duty liability.

i work in conveyancing and normally houses are sold by auction because they have issues which would
Prevent them being sold by normal processes, or at least would make it difficult. A successful bid at auction represents exchange of contracts and you’re bound after that. We normally advise people to go into it being very aware that it could end up being a money pit!

bear in mind the conveyancing process exists for a reason to allow for enquiries etc to be raised before anything becomes binding. But with exchange being a successful bid you lose this ability.

It does say that a survey can be done, but you have to pay the reservation free beforehand so would lose that but could still pull out after the survey

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

No it’s non refundable, unless I’m misunderstanding, this is what it says:

The buyer is required to sign a reservation agreement and make payment of a non-refundable Reservation Fee of 4.2% of the purchase price including VAT, subject to a minimum of £6,000.00 including VAT. This fee is paid in addition to purchase price and will be considered as part of the chargeable consideration for the property in the calculation for stamp duty liability.


It does say that a survey can be done, but you have to pay the reservation free beforehand so would lose that but could still pull out after the survey

This sounds as if it’s more intended for property developers who could write it off as a research cost than normal owner occupiers, which would make sense with what the other poster said re: the state such properties are usually in. Would avoid like the plague!