Placing an offer on a house before mortgage approval

strat_640

Ok, so I have been searching a few sites concerning the question of "can I put in an offer before I get Mortgage approval" and I have read some conflicting reports.

My position is that I have viewed a house and I am very keen on putting in an offer. Apparently there is some interest with the current bid in below my cut off point. The estate agent seems to be pushing me on putting in an offer but I keep putting her off (ok...so I said to her that I had approval but I thought if I said no then she would not take me seriously...cant turn back time now!). The application has been with the bank for nearly two weeks now with them saying that they are inundated at the moment so hopefully "soon"! I am not sure what I can either say or do concerning the estate agent. I am tempted to put in the offer with hope that I do get approval (fingers crossed but I am in a great job with a great name and accounts are respectable). Then again I am afraid of the 'ol jinx aspect or more so annoying people. But, to me, the question is, it is illegal? I do understand that nothing is going to get signed for a bit so if I have to, I can pull out.

Any thoughts??

ABajaninCork

There's nothing illegal in what you're doing. I daresay there's loads of people out there who put in offers pending mortgage approval. But what happens if that approval doesn't come through? The seller and the EA will have you marked down as a time waster.

I'd ignore the EA. Of course they're pushing you to make an offer. Their commission's riding on the sale! Just tell them you're still considering the property and that you have others in mind. Having said that, personally I would not be making an offer until the approval is in my hand. Without that, your bargaining position is seriously weakened.

DO NOT appear too eager! When you make your offer, leave it on the table. Don't keep harrying the EA.

strat_640

I couldn't agree more! There is something slightly unnerving about EA's! More so to the point of "is there really a large amount of interest"....!! I think I will go with your thoughts. There is another property that we want to view but it will have to wait until next week as I am away. There is something wrong when you feel this pressured especially when dealing with something that could be for the rest of your life!

Then there is the fact that I still dont even know what we get with the house, i.e. all parts of the kitchen, curtain rails, lamp fixtures etc. Most of those things are fitted apart from the curtain rails but that dosen't mean we should take it fro granted!

ABajaninCork

That's what the contracts are for! Hammer out these things with the seller, then have your solicitor put them into the contract.

strat_640

I guess then its a case that when I put in my offer I say that this is dependent upon agreement of finish of the house etc. Can I say anything like " I offer 350,00 for all fittings etc" or "340,00 with appliances and fittings removed" or just wait until the contracts are drawn up? I have a good solicitor who knows what he doing so that should be a help! I guess what I am asking is, if i put in an offer of x, will that be the bottom line or can it become x - y once contract is hammered out and survey etc is completed?

Scortho

Don't put in your offer until you have approval. Your only wasting your time and te sellers time as well.
When you do put in your offer say your interested in whatever fittings your interested in. You might love the suite of furniture that they had intended getting rid off. Likewise that 1500 euro Miele microwave etc. mightn't be included (yes it does exist!) so you could have a shock on moving in day to see that you now need to go buy a full set of kitchen appliances.
Make the offer subject to survey as well and get a good engineer to give a full structural review. Who knows what damage could have been patched over but not fixed. Might cost you a couple of hundred quid but could end up saving you thousands in the future. A dodgy roof isn't a cheap thing to fix, or a nice thing to sleep under.

strat_640

Nah, I think the whole thing of putting in a offer before approval is something that will just come back and bite you in the ass. However much people might get annoyed with EA's, if you get on the wrong side of some you could be in a spot of bother!

I called to say that I was still thinking it over and had another house that I wanted to look at! She seemed happy with that!

1500 euro for a microwave??!!! WOW!

Argus all the way for me!

Scortho

strat_640 wrote: »

Nah, I think the whole thing of putting in a offer before approval is something that will just come back and bite you in the ass. However much people might get annoyed with EA's, if you get on the wrong side of some you could be in a spot of bother!

I called to say that I was still thinking it over and had another house that I wanted to look at! She seemed happy with that!

1500 euro for a microwave??!!! WOW!

Argus all the way for me!

Yeah best thing to do.
Yep its a combi oven though but even still far to expensive. Parents decided to get the old one fixed!

DavyD_83

Go for it!
I went Sale Agreed without having applied for a mortgage.
We didn't do it in that order intentionally it was just the way it all worked out.
Nothing illegal in it, and all perfectly do-able

D3PO

DavyD_83 wrote: »

Go for it!
I went Sale Agreed without having applied for a mortgage.
We didn't do it in that order intentionally it was just the way it all worked out.
Nothing illegal in it, and all perfectly do-able

go for it and potentially waste the vendors time. Yeah great idea, just because something isn't illegal doesn't make it right.

Yes the OP might get approval or they might not and have alienated other potential buyers for the seller.

Its not illegal but it is irresponsible. This isn't 2005 where you were sure you would get approval regardless.

ABajaninCork

One more thing OP - DON'T tell the EA how much you've been approved for. They'll try their best to wring every last penny from you!!

DavyD_83

D3PO wrote: »

go for it and potentially waste the vendors time. Yeah great idea, just because something isn't illegal doesn't make it right.

Yes the OP might get approval or they might not and have alienated other potential buyers for the seller.

Its not illegal but it is irresponsible. This isn't 2005 where you were sure you would get approval regardless.

I bought last August; as i said I didn't set out to bid first, get approval later.
I was advised to wait a few months in applying for approval as my documentation would look better with further saving. in the meantime we found a house we loved and our broker told us there was no harm in placing an offer. We went sale agreed, then got mortgage approval, closed the deal.
Our mortgage application didn't actually cause any delays, as things moved slowly from the vendor's side.

I'm not saying people should just go out bidding on houses they can't afford for the craic and then see if they can wangle a mortgage.

I'm saying don't let the fact you don't yet have approval (which you believe you will be able to get) stop you placiong an offer on a house you really want.