Buying a house 2012

killers1

blueturnip wrote: »

Thanks Killers!!

I'm not sure I am anxious, it will make it all real! Just curious as to normal time frames.

I'm sure you'll be fine! Best of luck!:)

helbelle

thanks Killers, i appreciate your speedy reply. can anyone recommend a reputable and trustworthy surveyor?

killers1

helbelle wrote: »

thanks Killers, i appreciate your speedy reply. can anyone recommend a reputable and trustworthy surveyor?

Where's the property?

nemo32

killers1 wrote: »

Surveyors will usually check the electricity & heating or at the least will recommend in their report that your solicitor requests a service history of the boiler or if there's not one available that owners pay for service prior to completion. You don't need to wait to have the survey done but should make sure you/surveyor gain access to the property again prior to closing to ensure they are working properly..

Thanks Killers, The seller has agreed we can get the boiler serviced but we can't get that done until the electricity is back on and we just got the reci cert done so it probably won't be until next week before it goes back on so I am worried it will run into May at this stage before we get the keys. The closing date is April 20th so maybe I should go ahead with the survey and then check the heating before closing. We haven't signed the contracts yet but they have been ready for 2 weeks. How long after we sign the contracts do we get the keys normally?

killers1

nemo32 wrote: »

killers1 wrote: »

Surveyors will usually check the electricity & heating or at the least will recommend in their report that your solicitor requests a service history of the boiler or if there's not one available that owners pay for service prior to completion. You don't need to wait to have the survey done but should make sure you/surveyor gain access to the property again prior to closing to ensure they are working properly..

Thanks Killers, The seller has agreed we can get the boiler serviced but we can't get that done until the electricity is back on and we just got the reci cert done so it probably won't be until next week before it goes back on so I am worried it will run into May at this stage before we get the keys. The closing date is April 20th so maybe I should go ahead with the survey and then check the heating before closing. We haven't signed the contracts yet but they have been ready for 2 weeks. How long after we sign the contracts do we get the keys normally?

There's no hard and fast rule as to the timeframe but I'd still say 20th April is more than achievable. Push ahead with your survey ASAP and then get the contracts signed after that and you should still be on target to close as planned so long as it doesn't take forever to have the electricity turned back on! Get all your non-legal conditions satisfied at this stage too...

sillyruby

looking for some advice put in offer for house (very low knew it would be rejected!) they asked us if we could do any better so we upped our offer by 5000. We have sat it out nearly a week and EA got back to us saying that basically they seller is saying he cant sell the house for anything less than15,000 more than we offered. We can go up to this price and its still 30,000 below asking price but would like some advice?

The house itself is in a great location for us, 2,700sq feet and could move into straight away very little work to be done on it.

killers1

sillyruby wrote: »

looking for some advice put in offer for house (very low knew it would be rejected!) they asked us if we could do any better so we upped our offer by 5000. We have sat it out nearly a week and EA got back to us saying that basically they seller is saying he cant sell the house for anything less than15,000 more than we offered. We can go up to this price and its still 30,000 below asking price but would like some advice?

The house itself is in a great location for us, 2,700sq feet and could move into straight away very little work to be done on it.

It really boils down to how much you want the house? At €30k less than the asking price is it a comparable price to similar properties recently sold in the area? Could be a case that vendor has to clear a mortgage and can't take less than amount outstanding? You could hold off in the hope there are no other offers, seller may panic and accept yours or you can decide €30k less than the asking price is a reasonable amount to pay and go for it! If you do match the figure they want and then they come back to say they got a higher offer be prepared to walk away... No right or wrong here just a question of what you feel it's worth and how much you're willing to pay...

pawnacide

sillyruby wrote: »

looking for some advice put in offer for house (very low knew it would be rejected!) they asked us if we could do any better so we upped our offer by 5000. We have sat it out nearly a week and EA got back to us saying that basically they seller is saying he cant sell the house for anything less than15,000 more than we offered. We can go up to this price and its still 30,000 below asking price but would like some advice?

The house itself is in a great location for us, 2,700sq feet and could move into straight away very little work to be done on it.

You need to set a max price in your head and don't go above it .. no matter what happens. This way if you dont get the house you won't be annoyed or think you could have played it differently. I think it's a bit soon for you to meet their counter, try splitting the difference between your last offer and their counter first. For some reason making the point that you're willing to split the difference often works so don't just offer it without pointing out that you are splitting the difference.

Eg: Your last offer 100k , their counter 115k .. try 107,500.

sillyruby

would be willing to go up to what they are asking, just trying to figure out how to play it. It was previously been sale agreed and fallen through so they are pretty anxious to sell at the same time. To give figures the asking is 270,000, they are saying they can't go below 240,000 its a 5 bedroom/ 3 bathroom, garage, on the wicklow wexford border on an acre site only build 6 years ago landscaped garden etc.

pawnacide

I would still try to split the difference first, you can always go to the 240k as soon as they say no.

sillyruby

Thanks a millions for the advice yea think will will try that first:D

killers1

sillyruby wrote: »

Thanks a millions for the advice yea think will will try that first:D

Be sure to emphasise that you need to beg steal and borrow to get to that level! Tell them your wife was in floods of tears as she thought you won't be able to buy the house and then your parents came in and offered all their savings to enable you to buy at €230k or whatever level below €240k you decide... Best of luck!

nemo32

killers1 wrote: »

There's no hard and fast rule as to the timeframe but I'd still say 20th April is more than achievable. Push ahead with your survey ASAP and then get the contracts signed after that and you should still be on target to close as planned so long as it doesn't take forever to have the electricity turned back on! Get all your non-legal conditions satisfied at this stage too...

Thanks again killers, Reci Cert has been sent in so the electricity should be back on next week. So I will try and book the surveryor for next week aswell. Have all my life insurance and house insurance done now. Is there anything else I am missing?

killers1

nemo32 wrote: »

killers1 wrote: »

There's no hard and fast rule as to the timeframe but I'd still say 20th April is more than achievable. Push ahead with your survey ASAP and then get the contracts signed after that and you should still be on target to close as planned so long as it doesn't take forever to have the electricity turned back on! Get all your non-legal conditions satisfied at this stage too...

Thanks again killers, Reci Cert has been sent in so the electricity should be back on next week. So I will try and book the surveryor for next week aswell. Have all my life insurance and house insurance done now. Is there anything else I am missing?

Only other general conditions would be to sign a DD mandate & your ID & Address Verification but you've probably done these already. Seems like it's just a satisfactory survey and you're good to go!

Verte11

Hey Killers thanks a million for your advice on this one. It worked. I sent in a letter from surveyor along with the letter you messaged to me and I've got the cost of the repairs removed from the loan condition. I can now draw down the full amount. If it wasn't for your advice I'd be putting in 3k of my own money to buy the house.:)

killers1 wrote: »

The more I think about it the more I think you should fight your battle with BOI to give you the €144k. At the end of the day the valuer (their valuer!) has valued the current market value of the property @ €160k and the value on completion of the repairs at the same figure. So, there should be no reason for BOI to reduce your loan amount as the loan to value is still 90% & within their policy. I can see where they are coming from but they lose a huge part of the argument by the Valuer not having noted a lower value on the property before the works are done. Get a letter from your Structural Surveyor confirming the works are not essential and then raise the issue that the Bank's valuer has confirmed that the property is suitable security for the loan and that it's current value (in it's current condition) is €160k. They don't have an issue with giving you €144k as you've already had a loan offer at that amount so you just need to convince them as outlined above and using the actual val report & surveyors letter to prove your case...

Verte11

Fridge and washing machine not included in sale nor are what looks like 'Sliderobes' wardrobes( I assume they are free standing if they are not included in sale, even though they look like they're fitted) How much would you pay in negotiating these items with a seller? I'd say the washing machine and fridge could be 7 years old.

CleverUsername

Hi All,

I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice re the following application:

I'm married & in public sector job earning €41K. Husband earns just over €30k but this work will be finishing up in the next couple of months and looking for new job.

We have no loans and €40k saved (€200 per week for the last 4 years!) for deposit. No outsanding cc balance either (did have occaisionally but cleared totally since jan and determined not to use unless I can pay it off immediately)

We have been paying rent of €900 per month for the last 5 years (relevant for affordability?)

We're interested in a doer-upper which we should hopefully be able to buy for €200K.

Because my husbands job is uncertain should/could I apply as a single applicant?

We also have 1 dependent (not sure if this has any implication).

Thanks

killers1

CleverUsername wrote: »

Hi All,

I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice re the following application:

I'm married & in public sector job earning €41K. Husband earns just over €30k but this work will be finishing up in the next couple of months and looking for new job.

We have no loans and €40k saved (€200 per week for the last 4 years!) for deposit. No outsanding cc balance either (did have occaisionally but cleared totally since jan and determined not to use unless I can pay it off immediately)

We have been paying rent of €900 per month for the last 5 years (relevant for affordability?)

We're interested in a doer-upper which we should hopefully be able to buy for €200K.

Because my husbands job is uncertain should/could I apply as a single applicant?

We also have 1 dependent (not sure if this has any implication).

Thanks

Hi there,
As you are buying a family home and are married, the bank's will insist that you are both party to the mortgage and the title of the property so not possible to apply in your sole name. If it's a case that your husband is out of work when you apply the banks will only base the application on your sole income. Your best bet is to apply for approval while there are still 2 incomes in place. You have an excellent proven repayment capacity based on your rent and savings and have proven that repayments on €200k are affordable. However, this i based on 2 incomes so the banks may take a different view if you wait until your husband is finished up work...The fact that you have 1 dependent is also a factor as the banks will want to see that you have sufficient funds left over each month after the payment of all loans to cost living expenses of a 3 person family...

Afehogan

Going into the bank tomorrow to look for approval in principle. Have all the paperwork ready but was wondering how long will it be before they give me approval? Is it an instant thing or will it take a week or two?

Verte11

Maybe I'm wrong i think it was a week.I needed to provide a few more things than I thought I had to but it depends on individual circumstances. They kept coming back to me for x,y and z and asking me to clarify things. Hope thats of use

killers1

Afehogan wrote: »

Going into the bank tomorrow to look for approval in principle. Have all the paperwork ready but was wondering how long will it be before they give me approval? Is it an instant thing or will it take a week or two?

It depends on the bank, they should be able to give you an idea of what your salary qualifies you to borrow tomorrow. By the time your application is underwritten and a formal approval in principle issues will take approx 10 working days but again it depends on the bank!

Yeboah

We have everything ready to go now, we are just still waiting on the vendors solcitors to send title and contracts. A little bit worrying as this is how the last house was going also and then we found out it was in serious breach of planning and building regulations. However, did my own research last night on my County Council website and see that all planning was approved so maybe they are just trying to track down the title and thats the only issue....the waiting game is a pain though. Would like to be in for the start of the summer.

Verte11

Hi Yeboah I know how you feel I'm at pretty much the same stage now. Contracts are in but part of deed has not been sent by vendors solicitors. Maybe they forgot to send it but now paranoid that it's lost or something. I'd love to be in for start of summer too. Fingers crossed. What happened with your last house?

folan

Im going to look at the first couple of houses this evening. Have AIP, just need to find a place now.

What should I be looking out for? even the obvious stuff, cause im likely to forget.

size of rooms for family in future, quality of rooms, whats included (any furnishings etc), what needs to be done (can I ask if this will be fixed before sale?)

Any other suggestions?

Cheers

Yeboah

Verte11 wrote: »

Hi Yeboah I know how you feel I'm at pretty much the same stage now. Contracts are in but part of deed has not been sent by vendors solicitors. Maybe they forgot to send it but now paranoid that it's lost or something. I'd love to be in for start of summer too. Fingers crossed. What happened with your last house?

Basically long story short there was no planning for the second story of house and the ceiling heights?stairs etc were no way fitting with building regulations so an exemption wasnt possible...We found out that vendor and estate agent knew about the problem and never did anything about it but hoped we would overlook it, lucky my solicitor picked it up. It was only when we were pulling out that they decided to lower price but we were just sick of it at that stage and walked away. Im pretty sure theres no problems with current house, just wanna get it sorted now. Pressure was all on me for a few weeks to get approval, deposit etc. and now its me and my fiance thats waiting around for this to be sorted. Like yourself just hoping the title has been misplaced somewhere and will be with solicitors soon..Ill wait till Tuesday to contact solicitor again and ask whats the story. Will keep ya posted

killers1

folan wrote: »

Im going to look at the first couple of houses this evening. Have AIP, just need to find a place now.

What should I be looking out for? even the obvious stuff, cause im likely to forget.

size of rooms for family in future, quality of rooms, whats included (any furnishings etc), what needs to be done (can I ask if this will be fixed before sale?)

Any other suggestions?

Cheers

Have a read of this before you go...,

http://www.propertytoolbox.co.nz/the_house_hunt.php#viewing

killers1

Yeboah wrote: »

Basically long story short there was no planning for the second story of house and the ceiling heights?stairs etc were no way fitting with building regulations so an exemption wasnt possible...We found out that vendor and estate agent knew about the problem and never did anything about it but hoped we would overlook it, lucky my solicitor picked it up. It was only when we were pulling out that they decided to lower price but we were just sick of it at that stage and walked away. Im pretty sure theres no problems with current house, just wanna get it sorted now. Pressure was all on me for a few weeks to get approval, deposit etc. and now its me and my fiance thats waiting around for this to be sorted. Like yourself just hoping the title has been misplaced somewhere and will be with solicitors soon..Ill wait till Tuesday to contact solicitor again and ask whats the story. Will keep ya posted

Keep the pressure on your solicitor to regularly contact the vendors solicitor for an update. It's not an unusual situation and probably just a case of the title deeds are in the process of being taken up from the vendors lender.

Verte11

Yeboah good luck with it. I'll do that Killers. Oh yeah killers did you say before on this thread there is a way of working out what your mortgage interest relief will be each month?

killers1

Verte11 wrote: »

Yeboah good luck with it. I'll do that Killers. Oh yeah killers did you say before on this thread there is a way of working out what your mortgage interest relief will be each month?

Multiply your loan amount by the rate, multiply the answer by 25% & divide by 12.... so yours will be in and around €115pm...

Verte11

Is the rate the variable at 3.75 or the APR 3.8?