The nervous wait to exchange....

[Amplus]

So put house on the market last week. Expected lots of viewings and a flurry of offers....in just under a week I have a grand total of......1 viewing!

Underwhelming to say the least. Was priced at 190k by 1 agent, £210-220k by 2 of them. Put it on at £200k. It's well presented, pictures are good, and it's a popular road close to train stations so confused why the lack of interest.

It's with a big estate agent and everytime I call they rarely pick up the phone. Wondering if that is part of the reason.

 

[MikeTheNative]

So put house on the market last week. Expected lots of viewings and a flurry of offers....in just under a week I have a grand total of......1 viewing!

Underwhelming to say the least. Was priced at 190k by 1 agent, £210-220k by 2 of them. Put it on at £200k. It's well presented, pictures are good, and it's a popular road close to train stations so confused why the lack of interest.

It's with a big estate agent and everytime I call they rarely pick up the phone. Wondering if that is part of the reason.

Despite what the other two agents said, it's probably over priced. Although that's very area dependant, some 'in demand places' get's offers and viewings straight away although in smaller places even when priced competitively you might not get much interest. You would expect more than that though to be honest.

 

[Robi]

Where in Manchester @Amplus?

 

[happy_2008]

Thats true some places closer to the city will probably sell a lot quicker!

 

[ChrisD.]

Viewing a new build this weekend, it's ready to move into so we can't spec it to what we want. Advantage is that it's full fibre, obviously new etc. That's versus buying a 20-30 year old house and putting a single story extension in as well as a new kitchen. New build is over £500k though so stamp duty to pay.

 

[Fluke?]

So put house on the market last week. Expected lots of viewings and a flurry of offers....in just under a week I have a grand total of......1 viewing!

Underwhelming to say the least. Was priced at 190k by 1 agent, £210-220k by 2 of them. Put it on at £200k. It's well presented, pictures are good, and it's a popular road close to train stations so confused why the lack of interest.

It's with a big estate agent and everytime I call they rarely pick up the phone. Wondering if that is part of the reason.

Its a strange old game I think. There are a few properties by me which are really quite similar and priced closely too yet a couple of them have been on the market for yonks with zero interest (seemingly) whereas the others went in no time.

Wouldn't be happy not being able to get through to the EA easily though. Just think of the number of missed potential viewings, and also as and when you do sell it there will be loads of back and forth between you and the EA and would be a massive unnecessary stress not being able to get through to them when you need to.

 

[The_Arbiter]

We have our bespoke super ultimate survey coming up at the end of the month, I would presume they'll probably cover all the bases, inc some issues with the current windows I noted when we did a second viewing, but is there anything you all would recommend stipulating that the surveyor looks at? I understand this may be difficult given you don't know the house etc, just thought i'd ask!

If it's bespoke is there anything that might not be covered would be my question. Otherwise the obvious things which you probably know already as you mentioned windows for example. Roof, attic,flooring, boiler, fusebox, construction/wall types etc. Though i know very. little

 

[Temujin]

If it's bespoke is there anything that might not be covered would be my question. Otherwise the obvious things which you probably know already as you mentioned windows for example. Roof, attic,flooring, boiler, fusebox, construction/wall types etc. Though i know very. little

Ta! it's an enhanced buildings survey, so it covers everything that does and more, just this is my first purchase so not really sure if there's anything more I should be clarifying for analysis!

 

[The_Arbiter]

Ta! it's an enhanced buildings survey, so it covers everything that does and more, just this is my first purchase so not really sure if there's anything more I should be clarifying for analysis!

Going along with the surveyor if possible and asking questions might be a go. I think i read that on the MSE site a while back. I didn't have one myself as lucky/thankfull to have family in the know.

 

[roge8014]

So I've joined the "nervous wait to exchange" group. Sold our house last Saturday and had an offer accepted on a new property the same day. DIP received and first load of forms from solicitors sent back. Doing all the paperwork made us realise how much work we've done to the house in the past 10 years. Digging out all the consents, test certificates and warrantees really puts in perspective how much money we'd invested. Anyhow, we've done everything we can for now - time since acceptance of offer on our house - 6 days (early days and we're bascially end of the, pretty short, chain as the family we're buying off are moviing to Chester into rented accommodation).

 

[Temujin]

Going along with the surveyor if possible and asking questions might be a go. I think i read that on the MSE site a while back. I didn't have one myself as lucky/thankfull to have family in the know.

Unfortunately not really possible as I'll be working and i'm shielding anyway, hopefully they are as good as they seem. Or they find nowt and that's actually the case!

 

[jonnylaris]

Unfortunately not really possible as I'll be working and i'm shielding anyway, hopefully they are as good as they seem. Or they find nowt and that's actually the case!

Just make sure they look for stuff like Japanese knotweed etc, some don't look for it. Also signs of damp and mould is a must and even things like wood worm in the attic. These are the types of things that will cost you money after you move in.

Any decent surveyor should be looking for these anyway by default unless you opt for a less thourough investigation which I wouldn't recommend. Spend a few hundred more and get the full story. If they come back with hardly anything I would be a bit dubious. We got a 40 page report on our last purchase and the house was in pretty decent shape. Happy to send it over if you want to get an idea of what a good one looks like.

 

[Temujin]

Just make sure they look for stuff like Japanese knotweed etc, some don't look for it. Also signs of damp and mould is a must and even things like wood worm in the attic. These are the types of things that will cost you money after you move in.

Any decent surveyor should be looking for these anyway by default unless you opt for a less thourough investigation which I wouldn't recommend. Spend a few hundred more and get the full story. If they come back with hardly anything I would be a bit dubious. We got a 40 page report on our last purchase and the house was in pretty decent shape. Happy to send it over if you want to get an idea of what a good one looks like.

Thanks! I've sent an email to ensure that they are checking those things, i'd think mould/damp is a given but better to know for sure!
They're well reputed, and we opted for their bespoke/enhanced buildings survey over standard since it seemed to cover more things, hopefully it will be sufficient!
Yeah, that would be grand!

 

[jonnylaris]

Thanks! I've sent an email to ensure that they are checking those things, i'd think mould/damp is a given but better to know for sure!
They're well reputed, and we opted for their bespoke/enhanced buildings survey over standard since it seemed to cover more things, hopefully it will be sufficient!
Yeah, that would be grand!

Sent you the report via trust

 

[Temujin]

Sent you the report via trust

Cool thanks, i'll have a look over that this evening!

 

[Lonewolf]

Only a novice when it comes to buying and selling property so forgive the following questions

Partner is going through the process of selling her house, surveys etc stage. I intend to put my flat up for sale once hers is completed, valuation already done. Intention is to then purchase a house together.

At what stage is the correct time to apply for a "mortgage in principle" and to start viewing potential properties? Am I right in thinking an offer from a lender lasts for 6 months or is it less?

 

[jonnylaris]

Only a novice when it comes to buying and selling property so forgive the following questions

Partner is going through the process of selling her house, surveys etc stage. I intend to put my flat up for sale once hers is completed, valuation already done. Intention is to then purchase a house together.

At what stage is the correct time to apply for a "mortgage in principle" and to start viewing potential properties? Am I right in thinking an offer from a lender lasts for 6 months or is it less?

Wait until you have your house on the market. Then get a Decision in principal. Then once you have a buyer and a house in mind with an offer accepted you can apply for a mortage. The mortgage offer will last 6 months. My personal advise would be to go through a good broker. They are very helpful.

 

[Ninco!]

Only a novice when it comes to buying and selling property so forgive the following questions

Partner is going through the process of selling her house, surveys etc stage. I intend to put my flat up for sale once hers is completed, valuation already done. Intention is to then purchase a house together.

At what stage is the correct time to apply for a "mortgage in principle" and to start viewing potential properties? Am I right in thinking an offer from a lender lasts for 6 months or is it less?

I wanted to understand exactly how much I could borrow from the outset, so I spoke to lenders and obtained a mortgage in principal before undertaking any viewings.

My first purchase fell through due to probate. So I had to apply for an extension. It was a simple phone call; my circumstances had not changed so my lender was happy to extend for another 6 months.

Unless your circumstances drastically change, I would imagine applying for an extension will be okay. Might be simplifying as the market has changed, granted, I was very nervous my offer would be withdrawn but on the whole it seemed to be okay as long as your circumstances don't change.

 

[ristac]

I wanted to understand exactly how much I could borrow from the outset, so I spoke to lenders and obtained a mortgage in principal before undertaking any viewings.

My first purchase fell through due to probate. So I had to apply for an extension. It was a simple phone call; my circumstances had not changed so my lender was happy to extend for another 6 months.

Unless your circumstances drastically change, I would imagine applying for an extension will be okay. Might be simplifying as the market has changed, granted, I was very nervous my offer would be withdrawn but on the whole it seemed to be okay as long as your circumstances don't change.

I agree with this @Lonewolf you need to know how much it’s going to cost you and how much you can afford before looking

 

[fastwunz]

I agree with this @Lonewolf you need to know how much it’s going to cost you and how much you can afford before looking

100% - people have a tendency to over estimate too haha!