mullethunter Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 OH and I have just had an offer accepted to buy our first house We really didn't expect it to be accepted and are now a bit scared! Excited because when we've finished the alterations it'll be a great place (all important garden in massive compared to now) but overwhelmed with all the stuff to do. We'll be instructing a solicitor in the morning, then sorting out our mortgage. Is there anything else that WE need to do now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 No advice really, just congratulations. Exiting looking forward to a bigger garden to fill up with girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Exiting looking forward to a bigger garden to fill up with girls. I don't know what you mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Congratulations! I think the first thing that will happen is the estate agent will need to see proof of funds before they take it off the market. Your solicitor will also do an id check on you and will need to see proof of funds too If you have a mortgage the next step will be a survey. The survey that the lender does will be to see if the house is worth what you offer so if you want to know about the building in any greater detail you may need to instruct your own surveyor, and expect to pay upwards of £500 for a full structural survey. Solicitor will do searches on environment and locale for you and will give you the results to ponder. Questions may need to be asked and replied to depending on the results of all said searches and surveys, then it goes quiet for a bit and you get more forms to peruse. You will be asked if you want indemnity insurance for varying reasons and then you wait a bit longer. Then it goes really quiet and you realise the solicitor has stopped bothering with your conveyancing so you start phoning them up to nag That's the stage I'm at now and I'm selling to a ftb (but not you ) and buying my home in the country. What should follow is exchange and completion accompanied by lots of panic!! I may have missed out some steps but after 4 months and still no exchange it's all a horrible dream at the mo Good luck, and keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thanks CharlotteChicken that's really useful. I think you forgot to add the panic bit to every stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Just wanted to add my congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I think you forgot to add the panic bit to every stage Yes although I wasn't until a couple of weeks ago I think the stock phrase for buying and selling is it always takes longer than you think it will (no idea why). I've managed to move things along by telling my solicitor I am putting all my stuff in storage and moving out on 30th November to my mum's. He knows my buyers will know the house is then empty and suddenly the paperwork is available to sign Who knows how long it was going to drag on for if I hadn't done this. More expense I could do without though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Start packing! Long before you think you need to. Collect boxes (often available on freecycle sites) and paper to wrap in. Label all boxes clearly, so you can find the things you've packed that you then need . Start giving/throwing things away, then give/throw away lots more things - freecycle sites are good for this as well. Don't accept "it takes months". From my first viewing of my first house, to me getting my furniture over the doorstep took one day less than four weeks - it can be done. Enjoy the excitement of owning your very own home and making all your plans (especially chicken-related) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thankyou everyone. I hadn't thought about boxes - should be able to get them from work. Definitely should chuck / charity shop lots of stuff. Have instructed solicitors and should have mortgage meeting tomorrow. We have no chain and the vendor has just offered on a no chain house too so I guess in theory it could be as fast as our mortgage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Yay, so pleased for you. I hope everything goes well. Where is your new house ? St.Ives ? I could visit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'm afraid we don't have enough money for tha luvachicken We're in Bodmin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Congratulations. Exciting times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I'm afraid we don't have enough money for tha luvachicken We're in Bodmin. Love Bodmin too. I had lovely crab salad there too the year before. I soooooooooooo love crab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Re Survey. The bsnk/B Soc will need/do one, that is really basic. the other "survey"(£500) ..well.. I would sooner paya reputable builder to come look through the property thoroughly, rather than use a survey Co. The last two "surveys" we had done were pointless, and expensive, and come with a get out of jail free clause in the small print. Congratulations, by the way!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I was lucky, managed to find a highly qualified surveyor for the area we are moving to and he was very good, very enthusiastic about the property I am buying, happy to give ideas on developing it as we both agreed it is rather unloved, and happy to chat about his report in detail on the phone with me. His quote was the lowest and he was the highest qualified surveyor I contacted. Agree though, reading other stories they appear to be able to hide behind small print and have a similar reputation to solicitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 In that case luvachicken let me know next time you're in Cornwall What type of survey do you think we should get for a 60s dormabungalow? Or should I just get a good builder to check it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcountrygirl Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 As a former Estate Agent (boo, hiss) I would say it depends if you know the area well. If you do you would probably have some idea if there had been any previous problems in the area. The Building Society survey is done for them. They always will state that the electrics need checking, gas needs checking etc. This is because the regulations change every 2 years. It doesnt mean that they arent safe. If you pay for a Homebuyers report - the next survey up then it will be about £300-£500. The surveyor goes into great detail and again will comment on virtually everything even down to the decorating. Dont let it worry you. If they say that it needs woodworm checks etc I would take it with a pinch of salt in a property of that age - although when we bought our current home - a 1970's bungalow - we did find some in the roof joists. We are pretty sure that the reason it was there was because the original owner had used some old wood. We did get it treated though just in case. Also if it mentions Radon Gas - dont worry. Virtually everywhere in the uk has some presence of this and it is a recent thing that they have started mentioning in surveys. It is all to cover the Building Society. Just remember that if the Building Society states the will hold a retention of some money until some work is done then go back to the Estate Agent and ask for a renegotiation in the price or for the work to be done and a certificate provided as proof. Good luck - hope everything works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 The survey may appear worrying (as mentioned above) but really only get the basic one for the sake of the bank being able to offer the loan (it's just a formality to ensure the place isn't a wreck) but DO get a builder of your acquaintance to go through the property and use any findings as a bargaining tool against the price if you reasonably feel that lots of structural work needs to be done. If you intend to get something major done, then use a quote from the builder to add the amount to the mortgage if you need to borrow the funds, as this will be a cheaper loan. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Congratulations! Still a long way out of reach for my two, sadly. It's going to be a lovely adventure for you both. Just try not to argue when things get a bit stressful as they most definitely do. Lock and Store places have lots of boxes if you can't find any - and use a marker pen for the sides. We wrote the rooms and numbered the boxes so that we knew where to pop them. Keep the kettle, tea and coffee and biccies for the car and not the van. Also hoover and cleaning equipment because we still felt the need to clean even in the cleanest of places. Dettol wipes are good and quick. Oooh so exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Thanks Valkyrie. I hate saying it but we were lucky in that when my grandad passed away earlier this year he had a house and savings that he left to my mum, and she has very generously split three ways with me and my sister so that gave OH and I a good deposit. Otherwise we'd have been years away. Tea and kettle will definitely not be packed with the rest, and we're hoping to be able to overlap owning the new place and still being in our rented house so we can get the garage built and the place cleaned. It smells quite badly of cats and as we have 2 of our own to move in we need to neutralise that as much as we can. Thanks also DM. Going with our builder this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 That's a good plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Simple spray is great for cat pee smells. You might want to get the place fumigated though before you move in - they could have left fleas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Yup, we only found out when we stopped for takeaway and was eating our food and one pinged onto my leg. Then we realised we weren't getting mosquito bites on our legs. When we sprayed in our bedroom to be (and the windows were drying after being painted) we found loads of little bodies all over the glass! We had already removed the carpets from upstairs - just needed the rest removed before spraying. Oooh I'm itching just at the thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Good idea. We'll probably be getting rid of most of the carpets but we'll spray any that are staying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 In that case luvachicken let me know next time you're in Cornwall Will do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
