Making an offer on a house

WaltKowalski

Apologies if this is posted under the wrong topic.
I can't find of a more appropriate one.

I have found a great house that seems like a bargain (even in these 'times').

I'm knew to the house buying business - completely green.
I have provisional mortgage approval.
I'd like to make an offer, pending definite mortgage approval and a survey by a structural engineer.
What do I do? What happens next?
I don't have a solicitor yet.
Should I just make the offer to the estate agent and wait for confirmation from the bank?

coylemj

It costs nothing to make an offer 'subject to loan approval' and in the current climate that's probably the format of all initial offers.

The classic sales tactics used by estate agents (and used car salesmen) is to tell you that someone else is interested in the same house/car in order to pressure you into making a decision and putting down a deposit. If you're prepared to take your chances, just make an offer subject to loan approval and do not hand over a deposit. The estate agent is obliged to forward all bona fide offers to the vendor, do not believe him if he says that he won't do so without a deposit.

If you come under irresistible pressure to hand over a deposit, find out if it's returnable in full if the survey or valuation falls through. In other words, if the sale falls through through no fault of yours, will you get all of the money back? I would not hand over more than a couple of hundred without getting the advice of a solicitor. In the current climate, you as a potential buyer are holding all the cards, remember that and don't allow the estate agent to bully you, you should be in control and calling the shots.

Get yourself a solicitor and hopefully when your loan is approved after the survey you'll be ready to go.

WaltKowalski

coylemj wrote: »

you should be in control and calling the shots.

Get yourself a solicitor and hopefully when your loan is approved after the survey you'll be ready to go.

Cheers MJ.
I'm trying to keep costs down as much as possible but I suppose it'd be foolish not to ensure that every legality is covered.

nuac

Ask for the BER

Put a time limit on your offer.

If you are not experienced in property purchase see your solicitor at an early stage.

seamus

Number one mistake I think a lot of first-time house buyers make/made, especially in the bubble years, is to find a place, go all gooey-eyed about it and then not listen to advice from people who've owned property before - i.e. parents & family. God knows we fell in love with a couple of places that our parents grimaced at, and we wrote them off as just being over-protective. With the tinted glasses off, they were spot on.

So listen to any homeowner who offers advice, particularly parents, aunts, uncles, etc. They've probably been homeowner longer than you've been alive, so have the experience.

WaltKowalski

nuac wrote: »

Ask for the BER

Put a time limit on your offer.

If you are not experienced in property purchase see your solicitor at an early stage.

It's been a slow process and it's not sorted yet.
But the more research I do, the less I feel the need for a solicitor!
It's such a massive expense. And having looked up the details of the property in land registry, I don't see why I can't do it myself.

nuac

OK Walt - best of luck with that.

I trust you have found on the 'net a concise correct statement of the relevant contract law that could apply here