Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

herbalplants · 23-12-2022 10:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120024056#Comment_120024056

Well done!

sandyxxx · 24-12-2022 06:26AM

Cheers,

Sale had closed today,both EA and legal teams went above &

beyond to get new owners in on time!

Padre_Pio · 25-12-2022 11:13PM

Got keys to our place on Tuesday.

Started the sale in May. Went with Haven as I needed an exemption.

Beggars can't be choosers, but by god I wish I could have chosen someone else. They were useless.

12weeks to get AIP, 6 weeks to get loan approvals, and an interest rate rise at the end of it all. Deadlines came and went. They requested more forms twice as my bank statement went out of date since it took them so long.

Somehow the final loan offer was set up for staged payments, even though they were well aware I was buying a new build. A new offer had to be drafted and I lost a week, meaning my draw down date was after the interest rate rise. My broker was absolutely fantastic throughout though, and I managed to get the lower rate in the end.

Honestly I feel taken advantage of every step of the way. The EA, the builder, the bank, the kitchen fitter, the engineer. Everyone knows they'll get paid regardless, no matter if they do a good job, bad job or no job at all. There was no point where I was confident I could hand off any responsibility to anyone. Everybody with the exception of my broker and solicitor needed to be chased and chased to get things done properly and on time.

IWW2900 · 25-12-2022 11:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120033956#Comment_120033956

Good luck Padre Pio, hope you have a great new year.

herbalplants · 26-12-2022 11:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120033956#Comment_120033956

Congrats!

Thargor · 27-12-2022 06:05PM

At what stage of the process are people asking about existing furniture in the house and if its staying or the previous owners are taking it with them etc? Do you always pay for the tables/chairs/beds/white goods in the kitchen etc?

sandyxxx · 27-12-2022 06:24PM

id imagine after contracts go to

purchasers solicitor and they're

returned to vendors for clarification....

herbalplants · 27-12-2022 07:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120038439#Comment_120038439

Solicitors will approach you on the subject. Usually white goods come with the house. Should be stated in the initial ad for selling. The other furniture, some sellers like me would have offered them for free and you get asked through the solicitors. Other sellers would look for money for the furniture. Depends.

Thargor · 27-12-2022 08:57PM

Okay thanks, Im sale agreed on a place atm in an estate, estate agent says they've downsized to a holiday home in Kerry or Clare or somewhere and their sons are handling the sale but the few times Ive borrowed the key from the agents and gone in there I get the impression they're deceased or at least in a home, the surveyor said the same thing, coats hanging on the backs of doors, awards on the mantlepiece, clothes in the wardrobes, freezer full of food, lawnmower and tools in the shed etc but a general vibe that all that stuff has been sitting like that for a couple of years judging by the layer of dust and the state of the garden when they were obviously big gardeners.

The neighbours dont know anything either, one auld lad a couple of doors down said he'd had 3 short conversations with them in 40 years. EA has a very "who cares?" type of attitude about it but I suppose Ill find out from my solicitor in the new year, Id like to take the whole thing as is and just skip half of it and deep clean the rest leaving me with a very ready to move in house, it would save a good few grand Id say.

herbalplants · 27-12-2022 09:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120039019#Comment_120039019

Oh sounds like you are right, doesn't seem like they have downsized if all that stuff is there. Still you can demand the house is empty before you move in.

On the other side, it sounds you could well use some of items. It wouldn't surprise me if the son will let you have them for free and he will be delighted as it saves him the hassle of removing it.

Definitely ask again but not through the estate agent but through solicitors.

30-12-2022 10:19AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120039019#Comment_120039019

this happened with me and have heard, anecdotally, that is not that rare. The agent also had a ‘who cares’ attitude. The vendors were elderly and had downsized to live permanently in their holiday home. But given that the holiday home to which they were downsizing was already completely furnished and lived in, they had no need for anything in the main house. They basically used their sale to get rid of everything they had no use for….furniture, pots and pans, clothes, all sorts of stuff. They just didn’t care given their stage in life.

If the children also have fully furnished homes then they have no need for anything either and are probably too busy to organise a house clearance. I know I would be.

they literally left the house as if they had just gone out for a walk and not come back. They washed up and that’s about all they did. Was a pain clearing a lot of the stuff, but there were mowers and tools that were handy, and I made about 3 grand, net, after selling stuff, giving stuff away, clearing the rest, and deep cleaning.

so I wouldn’t necessarily assume they’re in a home or deceased. We all just have a lot of stuff these days and this could have been the easiest way to get rid of it

Jasna1982 · 30-12-2022 10:52PM

After following this thread for about 4 years, I can finally say that I've bought a house! Closed a few days before Christmas, but as I'm away visiting family for Christmas I'll pick up my keys early January.

Honestly everything went pretty quickly.

Timeline:

It's a New Build, went sale agreed first week of October (came off a cancellation list). My AIP had expired at this point, but got new AIP with BOI, including an exemption, in less than 2 weeks (my neighbour works for them and having that inside person makes a world of difference).
Signed contract mid November. Mortgage was drawn down by December 6th. Deadline was December 9th before the interest rate went up, and that was a bit more challenging as the bank kept saying my solicitor hadn't sent them documents which she did. But my solicitor was very responsive and we were able to get the draw down on time. My solicitor was worth her weight in gold! She chased everyone down.
Snagged on December 2nd. De-snagged on December 14th and then again after a few things were missed on the 16th. At that point everything was completed, and my solicitor closed the sale right before Christmas.

Can't wait to move in now in January! Good luck to everyone trying to buy a house next year.

ClaudeVercetti · 31-12-2022 05:52PM

Probably a bit of a question fueled by overthinking but - I'm closing in 10 days. Request for specific drawdown date has been accepted by the lender from my solicitor and all. At this stage is it likely I'll need to provide any more statements for review?

I ask as the house I'm moving into hasn't got anything bar some white goods and I was hoping to have essentials I don't already own like a bed, kitchen table and a couple of cabinets ordered and arranged to be delivered shortly after getting the keys.

I've already paid deposit and fees etc so my statements are going to look different but if I can air on the side of caution I will.

RedXIV · 04-01-2023 01:33AM

Would love some insights into a situation I've found myself in.

I went sale agreed mid july 2022 and since then, I've got almost no communication without being prompted. We've no contracts, no timeline, no names of seller solicitors, just an EA telling us that the hold up was caused by a signatures issue, or a mapping issue or as of the end of november, the map being with the land registry and submitted by the solicitors trying to get a favour.

We've only 8 weeks left on our current lease (which was almost 8 months after we went sale agreed so we thought we had loads of time) so we're now starting to panic a bit. Our solicitor has gone quiet also, so I'm trying to find alternative options on what I can do to chase this up?

ionapaul · 04-01-2023 10:18AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062992#Comment_120062992

You need to be very pushy with both your own solicitor and the EA, asking them what is the current situation re contracts and what can be done to speed things up. Keep on calling until you get answers, and be firm with the EA that the details of the seller's solicitor need to be provided to your own ASAP. It is actually mad that your own solicitor isn't in contact with the other side after all this time, they've let you down a bit by not pushing this with the EA themselves. Don't bother emailing, only call. At the end of our most recent transaction, we resorted to threatening to 'drop in' to our solicitor's office whenever we didn't get a prompt call back, it usually worked to focus his mind!

Aph2016 · 04-01-2023 11:37AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120021025#Comment_120021025

Very interesting to see a timeline like this, food for thought when I put my house up for sale this year. Thanks for posting.

AnnieinDundrum · 04-01-2023 01:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119671486#Comment_119671486

New year

same old story… still rocking that caretakers arrangement. Glad we didn’t agree to even a nominal rent

meanwhile the solicitor has our cash. The sellers seem to be happy to wait… clearly getting the money isn’t a priority. I believe that they have sorted the PPS number and now « just » need to pay up the LPT and any fines, interest etc.

AnnieinDundrum · 04-01-2023 01:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119672624#Comment_119672624

We were advised not to bother as it’s location and size not decor that sell a place. Clean and tidy is enough. Some places we looked at weren’t even clean, I mean basics.. flush the bloody loo… but we were focussed on what we could do to the place and where it was. Some buyers won’t be able to see past dated decor etc but they’ll be looking at new show houses not fixer-uppers

KillerShamrock · 06-01-2023 01:50PM

So our funds got released by the bank pretty much first working day of the year paid the remaining balance off to the solicitor all done on our end thinking we would be closing 2nd/3rd week of Jan like was mentioned to us....

Nope turns out vendor ain't arsed moving till Feb. Now we have to sit and wait and see if they can pack up quicker funny feeling they won't 😏

UnholyBitchYunalesca · 06-01-2023 03:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073850#Comment_120073850

It's so frustrating that Ireland doesn't have the same protection for buyers that other European countries do.

Venting my frustration to German colleagues, they couldn't understand how there's no 'date' in the signed contracts that the vendor has to be gone by or the developer has to deliver by. The Netherlands is the same, not sure how many others.

Dante · 06-01-2023 06:23PM

Gone sale agreed on a duplex apartment, probably paid a little too much but avoided any potential bidding war and the seller wants it offloaded asap. Its in a very good location so I hope it will hold its value relatively well regardless of any downturn.

herbalplants · 06-01-2023 10:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120075549#Comment_120075549

Absolutely go increments for 1k.

morritty · 07-01-2023 07:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073850#Comment_120073850

We’re the total opposite, our buyers have demanded we’re out and house is empty the day before they transfer funds…they want a final viewing before their solicitor sends the funds to ours

KillerShamrock · 07-01-2023 07:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079218#Comment_120079218

Don't see how they can demand that cause till you have the funds it's your house. Kinda agree with a final viewing before funds are transferred though just to make sure it's not been completely destroyed/gutted and what was said is getting left is left while there ain't a whole load of crap left for them to deal with, not saying you are gonna do it but I'm sure it does happen.

morritty · 07-01-2023 09:04PM

Oh I agree with a final viewing… but it’s the fact that they’ve said they won’t transfer funds until the house is empty… it’s leaving me with having to store everything for a night and move it again after I get my keys and needing to find somewhere to stay with the dog for a night or two

Angelica24 · 09-01-2023 03:55PM

That seems unreasonable as it's very onerous on you to have to do all that. Closing the sale of my own house this week and it's been so hectic trying to pack and clean that I will still be packing the day before so if my purchasers try that one I'll have to tell them where to go! I would say no and see what they say as I've never heard that before - that's putting you under crazy stress and there has to be an element of faith on their part that you will pack up on time just as you have to have faith they will transfer the funds on time. Best of luck with that.

morritty · 10-01-2023 09:02AM

Turns out this is a normal thing now, most solicitors are asking people to do this and movers are saying they're hearing the same thing. Thankfully were sorted with moving the stuff into the house were buying early.

Mimojo · 10-01-2023 10:39AM

Hi there, would love some advice please.

We spotted a house for sale in the local area (rural) at the end of 2020, 80s bungalow, 3 bed, it was a 30s cottage extended in the 80s. At the time we weren’t in a position to buy. It was on the market then for 250k, and last summer it went to up 285k, and then in Nov just gone back down to 250k.

In generally in this area very little goes up for sale, mainly people build new houses. But during 2021 a number of houses did go up, and sold pretty quickly, 3-4 months average. However, this house remained on the market.

I had originally emailed to EA in Feb-21 to enquire about it. He told me at that point that there was a bid of 235k on the house, and he felt it would likely go for 245k. At the time we weren’t in a position to buy, and assumed the house would be gone.

Since then we have saved our deposit, and before Xmas applied for our mortgage, and as there is so little for sale in the area decided to go and view the house. We were pleasantly surprised. While it is dated, it is in a very liveable condition, and has been well looked after over the years. We requested a second viewing and the EA arranged for the owner to be there, he was very nice, showed us around, explained about the work done to the roof, the new boiler, water and BER tests recently completed etc. He seemed very keen and genuinely wanted to show up the house. He himself is retiring and moving away so seems to be a credible reason for selling.

When we got mortgage approval last week we decided to make an offer. We decided to go in at 225k. The EA has told us he is unlikely to take less that 240k, but for us the house has been on the market for over a year and the EA has told us there hasn’t been any interest. When we asked about the 235k offer he told us about earlier last year he was very vague, and just said “that it ended up that they couldn’t come up with the money”, and that “we stuck with them for too long”. He has now come back to say that he wont take anything less than 240k.

We just have this niggling worry about the house, is there something wrong with it? It is on the market 14 months, and while properties don’t move as quickly as in some areas of the country, we still find this really suspicious. 2 houses were sold mid last year, for similar amounts, and neither were a lot better, and were in much more remote locations. 2 other houses sold that were major doer-uppers and we were shocked they went so quickly and for full asking price. There is a small cottage for sale nearby now, and speaking to the EA there have been 3 bids already. We asked the EA why it hadn’t sold and he was vague and said “well its in a remote area and its not everyone’s cup of tea”. Our big worry is that something will come up in the survey and that is why the other buyers pulled out.

For us there are literally no other properties for sale in this area, we are really keen to buy something as we are currently staying with family. We really like the house, can see huge potential down the line, its close to family, childminder, school, and has a big lawn, and we can move straight in. Is it just a case that there hasn’t been any interest and the fact that the owner will not budge much on the asking price, or should be worried about a house that has been on the market for such an extended period of time which looks like a great buy on the outside?

Would love to hear your thoughts! Sorry its so longwinded!

what_traffic · 10-01-2023 12:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120089041#Comment_120089041

Go and get the survey, sounds like your cup of tea and a great opportunity for your family.

What works for you rather than thinking why it did not work for others is a rabbit hole one can go down.

Marcusm · 10-01-2023 12:11PM

In your circumstances, I would probably go lower than €225k and allow yourself to be bid up to that level, perhaps. If they couldn’t get an offer of more than €235k and then from a sketchy buyer, I would not rush to pay that level. Did you get the BER cert? I assume that it is at best a D and that may be from a new boiler and similar changes rather than a retrofit. €235k is probably less than the cost of a new build anywhere in the county but that would be a more highly rated house with lower running costs.

Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

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