Buying a house..HELP!! Need advice

[babyalex1 10]

I assume you have a mortgage arranged in principle? So you know that you can actually get a mortgage for the required amount.

If not then I'm surprised they accepted the offer from you.

They can certainly ask for that, and it's theoretically possible.

It will mainly come down to the searches though, assuming that neither of you are in a chain. And the searches take as long as they take (28 days would be impressive though).

Say yes then. But be aware that you could lose the money you've spent on the survey and solicitors.

Starting the process anew, and she will still have to do searches, which will probably still take longer than 28 days, in addition to the time already spent on your searches.

 

Either of you can pull the plug up until the contracts are exchanged (or possibly even up until the money changes hands).

 

It's highly unlikely that it can be done in 28 days, but that's nothing to do with the mortgage and all to do with the searches.

 

Yes, you could potentially lose money.

 

---------- Post added 08-08-2014 at 11:51 ----------

 

 

A cash buyer vs mortgage buyer should be pretty much irrelevant to the vendor.

 

The mortgage will either be agreed in a day or two, or it won't. And it should already be agreed in principle, or everyone is wasting their time.

 

I've never heard of a house purchase being held up by the mortgage, cash makes no difference at the end of the day, the vendor receives cash whether it's debt funded or otherwise.

 

The searches generally take about a week these days, if the solicitor asks the search provider to expedite, they can be back in 2-3 days.

 

A house purchase is often held up by the mortgage, the mortgage offer is often then last thing to come in. Not to mention that most lenders then require approx. 5 days to drawdown funds. A cash purchase, from the right buyer, is definitely preferable because they are also in the position to dispense with searches and tell the solicitor not to worry about any minor issues if they are that way inclined. When a mortgage is involved the solicitor also has a duty to the mortgage provider, so must carry out searches, raise certain queries etc.

 

Like I said though, if you're willing to put the effort in pushing it along, theres no reason why it can't be done in 28 days

[Cyclone 10]

I bought a house 18 months ago, and I know other people who've been buying or selling more recently.

I've never heard of searches being completed in a week.

Perhaps I and the people I know have just been unlucky though.

 

How can the mortgage offer be the last thing to come in. Without a mortgage offer why would someone a) accept the unsubstantiated offer, b) pay for searches and a survey when they may well be refused a mortgage.

 

They could dispense with searches, but IMO that would be extremely foolish.

 

Perhaps you're right, but I've never heard of it happening. It's only anecdote of course, I wonder if google can provide any statistics (off I go to search).

 

---------- Post added 08-08-2014 at 14:56 ----------

 

http://www.thepersonalagent.co.uk/news/first-buyers-how-long-does-it-take-to-buy-a-home/

 

This reckons 12 weeks to buy a house, including 4 weeks to sort out the mortgage (assuming you start with AIP and a provider already lined up).

 

Perhaps I was lucky, sorting out my mortgage took only a few days. Although maybe in hindsight it was most of a week from the initial visit, selecting the product, then going back in with proof of income and so on, then another few days before the bank confirmed. Definitely not 4 weeks though.

[Hippogriff 10]

A cash buyer vs mortgage buyer should be pretty much irrelevant to the vendor.

 

The mortgage will either be agreed in a day or two, or it won't.

 

While you are incorrect in what you say, I guess your personal experience is somewhat out of date, from reading your later post.

[Chez2 10]

Good advice above. We have bought and sold a house in less than a month back in 2000 when the housing market was a lot busier. The rate limiting step for us was the backlog of land registry searches.

 

You can complete and exchange on the same day if you aren't in a chain and don't have to move in the next day. Arranged a date in advance so we could complete and exchange quickly. The vendor has moved into rented and he wanted us to complete quickly before it was repossessed. We then put our house on the market but ended up selling to a first time buyer who wanted to move in to our house within the month.

 

We had to keep in touch with solicitors otherwise the transaction just gets in the filing tray with everything else.

 

Not sure how the new paperwork regarding mortgages affects timescales. We have always done some of this with our own financial advisor before buying and selling. Have a word and see how quickly these new forms can be done.

[Cyclone 10]

While you are incorrect in what you say, I guess your personal experience is somewhat out of date, from reading your later post.

 

Maybe things have changed a lot in the last 18 months. I accept that my opinion is mostly based on anecdote.

 

---------- Post added 08-08-2014 at 15:36 ----------

 

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2263815/The-time-buyers-guide-getting-mortgage.html

 

2 to 4 weeks according thisismoney

 

not clear if that's after the AIP or without that though.

 

http://www.homewardlegal.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-conveyancing-take

And a variety of different sources on the web suggest 6 to 8 weeks for an average conveyancing job.

Which is why I suggested that 28 days wasn't reasonable even for a cash buyer.

[geared 319]

We found it was the solicitors dragging their heals that was the longest part of the process.

Getting the mortgage sorted was far quicker in comparison.

[babyalex1 10]

I bought a house 18 months ago, and I know other people who've been buying or selling more recently.

I've never heard of searches being completed in a week.

Perhaps I and the people I know have just been unlucky though.

 

How can the mortgage offer be the last thing to come in. Without a mortgage offer why would someone a) accept the unsubstantiated offer, b) pay for searches and a survey when they may well be refused a mortgage.

 

They could dispense with searches, but IMO that would be extremely foolish.

 

Perhaps you're right, but I've never heard of it happening. It's only anecdote of course, I wonder if google can provide any statistics (off I go to search).

 

---------- Post added 08-08-2014 at 14:56 ----------

 

http://www.thepersonalagent.co.uk/news/first-buyers-how-long-does-it-take-to-buy-a-home/

 

This reckons 12 weeks to buy a house, including 4 weeks to sort out the mortgage (assuming you start with AIP and a provider already lined up).

 

Perhaps I was lucky, sorting out my mortgage took only a few days. Although maybe in hindsight it was most of a week from the initial visit, selecting the product, then going back in with proof of income and so on, then another few days before the bank confirmed. Definitely not 4 weeks though.

 

The searches can actually be done in a day! All it requires is the search provider being able to obtain an appt at the relevant town hall/LA. I work in this field, I have had them back in few couple of days numerous times, back in the boom you used to be looking at 2 weeks, but these days its much quicker. You might be told it's longer as the solicitor hasn't got round to going through them yet/they're dealing with enquiries arising from them, but they definitely only take a couple of days/a week max.

 

The mortgage offer is often the last thing to come in, the purchaser may have provided all his documentation, and been accepted, but until the survey is arranged and the bank has satisfied their own requirements, the offer isn't issued to the solicitor, and therefore the monies cannot be drawn down.

 

Its not foolish in certain circumstances for a cash purchaser to dispense with searches. Say they are very familiar with the immediate area of the property, they would know whether roads were adopted by the local authority/affected by mine shafts/affected by previous flooding, plus a quick search online can reveal whether any planning applications have been submitted/approved..etc, etc

 

and, yes, we always say 6-8 weeks, but this is just the standard, it can be much shorter, or much longer!

Edited August 8, 2014 by babyalex1

[mc55 10]

The searches can actually be done in a day! All it requires is the search provider being able to obtain an appt at the relevant town hall/LA. I work in this field, I have had them back in few couple of days numerous times, back in the boom you used to be looking at 2 weeks, but these days its much quicker. You might be told it's longer as the solicitor hasn't got round to going through them yet/they're dealing with enquiries arising from them, but they definitely only take a couple of days/a week max

 

searches are indeed very quick - I wonder if there is some confusion generally with surveys which take much longer to organise.

 

We had a cash buyer who wanted our old house ... he didn't want to do any surveys etc and wanted us to be out within a week !!

[Olive 10]

searches are indeed very quick - I wonder if there is some confusion generally with surveys which take much longer to organise.

 

 

I think it's a legacy from a few years ago when they took a lot longer. Presumably much of the info is now computerised which has speeded things up.

 

When I bought my first house in the 90's the mortgage was agreed very quickly and it was the searches that were the limiting factor, they took a few weeks.

 

When I moved a couple of years ago the searches took a few days.

 

A friend bought a flat just recently and it was the mortgage that held everything up.

 

Brownd95 - what have you decided to do?

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

Preliminary searches usually comprise:

a. Local Authority (LLC1 + CON29R);

b. Water Company (CON29DW); and

c. Coal Authority (CON29M).

 

Most often, they are nowadays lodged online. The results/replies tend to arrive with a few days (or two weeks for the Local Authority).

 

If their absence is prejudicing exchange of contracts, a temporary low-cost indemnity insurance can be purchased to bridge the gap.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Jeffrey Shaw

[babyalex1 10]

Preliminary searches usually comprise:

a. Local Authority (LLC1 + CON29R);

b. Water Company (CON29DW); and

c. Coal Authority (CON29M).

 

Most often, they are nowadays lodged online. The results/replies tend to arrive with a few days (or two weeks for the Local Authority).

 

If their absence is prejudicing exchange of contracts, a temporary low-cost indemnity insurance can be purchased to bridge the gap.

 

But not for personal searches, which are widely used, i'm assuming you mean

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

Personal searches aren't really value-for-money when official ones are usually so quick and scarcely more costly.