Approaching a second hand house for sale.

splashthecash

Hi...kinda new to this so here goes. We have seen a lovely second hand house for sale. We went to a viewing with the estate agent. If we want to put in an offer, does that come from me to the estate agent (who then goes back to the seller), or does it have to come through my solicitor?

I am going to start the wheels moving to have a broker to to a number of banks..should I tell the estate agent that I am interested and to give me a week or two or should I not go back to him until I have a solid offer?

JustAThought

splashthecash wrote: »

Hi...kinda new to this so here goes. We have seen a lovely second hand house for sale. We went to a viewing with the estate agent. If we want to put in an offer, does that come from me to the estate agent (who then goes back to the seller), or does it have to come through my solicitor?

I am going to start the wheels moving to have a broker to to a number of banks..should I tell the estate agent that I am interested and to give me a week or two or should I not go back to him until I have a solid offer?

Well whatever you do unless you have a friend who is a solicitor & is doing it for free, make sure you have in writing his costs before you start involving him/her.

My fairly pedestrian & sloppy solicitor who was as slow as January charged me over e2500 euro and that was for a straightforward new build. ( & I'd shopped around).

I'd hate to see how much she'd charge for putting in basic bids .not to mention hidden " administration" costs with VAT added. Solicitors at this stage are imo An very unnecessary , unusual & extravagant cost that I don't think anyone pays for.

Someone has told you OP to offer about half of what the estate agent is looking for? I hope you're not trusting or believing them? Lamb...wolves...

racso1975

Your biggest prob is not having mortgage approval and so not having a clue how much a bid you can put in. I have no idea how long this process takes but this is what you should get sorted asap.

splashthecash

There was a similar house that sold in the past year so I have a good idea of the price range. I know how much ill be bidding (approx.) and it wo t be half the advertised price.. I think that is taking the piss a bit. The house is in a very well maintained eatate and no house is on the market for too long.

Im going to start the mortgage approval process this morning. .I presume this will take a couple of weeks to come back to us so should I say "I am putting together a proposal, dont sell without getting back to me", or would that sound too desperate?

Also...the question egarding who puts in the offer is still unanswered. ..me or my solicitor
Thanks!

Holiers

You. Solicitors are not involved until your offer is a accepted.

odds_on

splashthecash wrote: »

There was a similar house that sold in the past year so I have a good idea of the price range. I know how much ill be bidding (approx.) and it wo t be half the advertised price.. I think that is taking the piss a bit. The house is in a very well maintained eatate and no house is on the market for too long.

Im going to start the mortgage approval process this morning. .I presume this will take a couple of weeks to come back to us so should I say "I am putting together a proposal, dont sell without getting back to me", or would that sound too desperate?

Also...the question egarding who puts in the offer is still unanswered. ..me or my solicitor
Thanks!

If you make it known that you are exceptionally keen on the house, there will likely be more "bidders".

A buyers worst enemy is the one who falls in love with a property and shows it. I would suggest a second viewing and talking about the "problems - things you don't like - that would need changing etc. so that the EA hears these comments.

As regards the initial deposit, that is paid by you to the EA - no solicitor needs to be involved. Then the EA will notify your solicitor of the details of the sale - address of property, vendor's solicitor, purchaser's solicitor etc.

D3PO

you make the bid to the EA but for the love of god get mortgage approval first instead of potentially wasting the sellers time only to find out you cant get the loan to cover your offer.

P. Breathnach

splashthecash wrote: »

...
Im going to start the mortgage approval process this morning. .I presume this will take a couple of weeks to come back to us so should I say "I am putting together a proposal, dont sell without getting back to me", or would that sound too desperate? ...

Slightly.

It's down to how you express your interest" "We are having a think, doing some sums, and will get back to you" is a slightly stronger formulation.

the_syco

D3PO wrote: »

you make the bid to the EA but for the love of god get mortgage approval first instead of potentially wasting the sellers time only to find out you cant get the loan to cover your offer.

This. If the seller gets a bid from someone who has mortgage approval, they'll take it over a "maybe" such as yourselves. Just NEVER tell the EA how much your max is, as then phantom bidders will start to appear!

Trish56

Estate Agent wont take your bid seriously unless you have mortgage approval. This will take approx. 2 weeks to process once you have all the documents that is required for loan approval and also depends on the lender.

Seller will also be more willing to negotiate on the price if you have mortgage approval and you tell them that you are a first time buyer and can have the deal completed within 4/ weeks.

You can apply for an 'Approval in Principle' without a specific property which will give you an idea of how much you qualify for.
You make the offer to the Estate Agent. No need to involve a Solicitor until contracts are exchanged and as advised you should shop around and get price in writing to include Professional fee, outlay and VAT.

splashthecash

Update - we have our mortage applications in with a number of banks through a mortgage broker about a week now. Got a call from the estate agent of the house we like and he said that an offer has been made. I feel really trapped here that we have to wait for the bank to come back to us (with good news hopefully). I said that we are interested and are planning on putting in an offer, just waiting from mortgage approval from the bank(s). Hopefully the owner will wait for a week and see if any other offers come in before accepting.

I'll call the broker tomorrow and ask him to do anything he can to move it along with the banks.

The_Conductor

Depends on where the property is to be honest- but unless its in South Dublin- take the other bid on the property with a grain of salt. Take your time. Line up your ducks. When you're good and ready- with mortgage approval- go to the estate agent- give him what you consider to be a reasonable offer, and put a time limit on it. Don't budge. Don't accept any wonderful stories from him about other bidders. After the elapse of the time period you've specified- walk, and don't look back for any reason.