ArcticBeast Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 8 hours ago, Davetrials said: So has anyone had a good straightforward experience when buying a house? all i see are nightmares Sort of had one, happened to be selling a house and buying a house through the same estate agent, when things weren't progressing or the seller was being a pain, we just threatened the estate agent that we would pull our house from the market if they didn't sort the seller out, the thought of losing out on 2 lots of fees soon got them moving, they even footed the bill for a damp survey and an endowment policy On the properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Repress Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 On 29/03/2021 at 1:34 PM, manuel said: We only got one because we were forced to by the mortgage company The mortgage company shouldn’t have forced you to get a survey... are you sure it wasn’t a mortgage valuation? A lot of people get this mixed up. Relying on the mortgage valuation alone is risky. Mortgage Valuation - for the lender, a very brief 2-3 page report that confirms the property exists, doesn’t have any major defects and is worth the money that they are lending on it. These used to be commonly disclosed to applicants but this is becoming less common now. Survey (HomeBuyer / Building Survey) - this is for the applicant and is not provided to the lender. It’s a far more detailed report, anywhere between 30 and 50 pages. It breaks down all of the elements of the property and rates each on a traffic light system. Green = ok, amber = small issue, red = urgent issue act now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Clarify - valuation, which then required a survey as a condition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aener Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 On 30/03/2021 at 11:40 AM, Davetrials said: So has anyone had a good straightforward experience when buying a house? all i see are nightmares The first house we looked at fell through because of the roof thing, but once we found the next one we were interested in it all went through easy and lovely. Only "drama" was that the inspection found ~£2k worth of work needing to be done (wall ties and a bit of flat-roof above a bay window), offered asking price - £2k and he sold it to us for asking price - £3k because we "seemed like a lovely young couple" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Our neighbour just put her identical flat on the market with the same estate agent (Purple Bricks) and is now asking for feedback on her advert. I don't know why she thinks it's cool to put an identical property on the market with the same agent and then act like it's not a big deal. We have been on the market for 2 months and haven't been run off our feet with viewings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Third time lucky... "I have just received a call from the selling solicitors to say that they now understand the chain above is ready to exchange, with completion 19th April. For compliance on my file, please can you therefore each confirm I have your authority to exchange contracts (committing you to the purchase) with completion on this date." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Boooom. "I am thrilled to confirm I have now exchanged contracts in your purchase and completion is now fixed for 19th April 2021. CONGRATULATIONS !! A perfect excuse to enjoy a celebration or two over the Bank holiday weekend !" 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Congrats Mike! @Joe Aston - is it on for the same price as yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 55 minutes ago, Mark W said: Congrats Mike! @Joe Aston - is it on for the same price as yours? Yeah, exactly the same price. Two adverts below, I won't say which is which, let me know which you think is the better advert. Before anyone mentions it, I know house prices in London are absolutely mental. https://www.purplebricks.co.uk/property-for-sale/2-bedroom-apartment-streatham-1108728 https://www.purplebricks.co.uk/property-for-sale/2-bedroom-flat-streatham-1151048 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Can you even open the oven door all the way? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted April 6, 2021 Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 On 01/04/2021 at 6:20 PM, Joe Aston said: https://www.purplebricks.co.uk/property-for-sale/2-bedroom-apartment-streatham-1108728 I'd say the images were better in this one. Without going too Poirot, from the URL # I assume that's yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 6, 2021 Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 On 01/04/2021 at 11:09 PM, manuel said: Can you even open the oven door all the way? Yeah opens fine, the kitchen is a bit on the small side but for this kind of flat in this area its not uncommon. We had a viewing at the weekend that ruled us out due to the size of the kitchen. 2 hours ago, Mark W said: I'd say the images were better in this one. Without going too Poirot, from the URL # I assume that's yours? Yeah, this is ours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted April 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 Well, despite me making this thread... I had the shit job of calling the estate agents this morning explaining that we're pulling out of the purchase. Back to the drawing board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.KYDD Posted April 6, 2021 Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 Ahh balls man, how come? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dann2707 Posted April 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2021 16 hours ago, J.KYDD said: Ahh balls man, how come? Basically because it's gone to probate were not willing to wait for x amount of months so instead we are much better to find a better house, pay a bit more and find one that really really suits us. The house was nice but I wouldn't say it would be worth waiting for that long nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt24. Posted April 7, 2021 Report Share Posted April 7, 2021 33 minutes ago, dann2707 said: Basically because it's gone to probate were not willing to wait for x amount of months so instead we are much better to find a better house, pay a bit more and find one that really really suits us. The house was nice but I wouldn't say it would be worth waiting for that long nice. That’s a shame - the property we bought in November was probate. Fortunately once we had made an offer they were about 4 weeks into the probate process and the whole process takes 10-12 weeks aslong as it isn’t super complex so tied into the general length of time for the sale to go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 Given up with Purple Bricks and we've decided to get a proper estate agent involved. I would never recommend Purple Bricks, every estate agent we spoke to said our flat would sell itself and we have nothing to worry about. Having been on the market for nearly 3 months we have only had 9 viewings, one very lowball offer. I found them hard to get information out of, our sign has only just arrived today, 3 months having been told it would take a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 My experience is that if its been on for that long, its overpriced. The market is so easy to access now, people searching can literally find out all the new properties in a few seconds, it doesn't take long for 'word to get out'. Stuff priced well goes within a month, stuff underpriced goes within days. PB overvalued one of mine when selling too, by about 10%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Adam@TartyBikes said: PB overvalued one of mine when selling too, by about 10%. Yeah, when we were chatting to our mortgage broker he mentioned that PurpleBricks consistently over-value, and that he's had customers have issues in the past with paying around the PurpleBricks valuation but then their mortgage valuation coming in much below it. I guess if they charge their fee up front then it's not really their problem if/when the house sells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 I completely agree as you say, Mark, they already have your money, doesn't matter to them how long it takes to sell. We spoke to a few traditional agents before deciding to go with PB but everyone's valuations were about the same, we just went with PB because of the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 Speaking of PB, Jane and I saw a house we wanted to view but got put off by the process of booking. I’m not much of a fan of talking on a phone so I like to do an online booking, PB had me sign up to their site and jump through a few hoops before I could actually do the booking and in the end I couldn’t be bothered any more (the house wasn’t really something we were seriously considering anyway). compare that with Right Move where I booked a viewing within seconds of starting the process. I certainly wouldn’t use PB if I was wanting to sell Edit: while I’m commenting I’ll update my situation... NO HOUSES in our budget anywhere we’d consider living, the market is dead and prices are insane right now. We may not need to buy though...sadly Jane’s 93 year old auntie is at deaths door with cancer. It’s obviously devastating for the family and there’s a lot of caring going on but Jane is on the will as the executor so will have to sort out the funeral and house (amongst other jobs). Now her Auntie has a 2 bed detached bungalow (but the rooms are huge) with a garage and gardens, it’s a lovely house and in a well off area although much further out than I’d have hoped... Jane has mentioned talking to the family about buying their shares and living there ourselves, it really depends on how many people are named in the will and what their thoughts are. Will keep you posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted April 12, 2021 Report Share Posted April 12, 2021 What's the comparable cost for selling? I've only ever bought (and not looking to move any time soon!) but interested to know how much it costs with traditional agents vs. things like PB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Aston Posted April 13, 2021 Report Share Posted April 13, 2021 18 hours ago, Ali C said: Speaking of PB, Jane and I saw a house we wanted to view but got put off by the process of booking. I’m not much of a fan of talking on a phone so I like to do an online booking, PB had me sign up to their site and jump through a few hoops before I could actually do the booking and in the end I couldn’t be bothered any more (the house wasn’t really something we were seriously considering anyway). compare that with Right Move where I booked a viewing within seconds of starting the process. I certainly wouldn’t use PB if I was wanting to sell I was not aware of this, I probably should have been. I think because we were selling with them we already had an account so I didn't notice when booking to view other houses with PB that you needed an account. 18 hours ago, monkeyseemonkeydo said: What's the comparable cost for selling? I've only ever bought (and not looking to move any time soon!) but interested to know how much it costs with traditional agents vs. things like PB. For London the basic price is £1500 all in, this covers your photography and the advert being uploaded to PB, Rightmove and Zoopla, I think outside of London its £1000, there are then options on top which increase the price. For comparison the agent we have coming to see the property on Thursday we would be looking at a max of 2% of the value of the sale plus vat. So significantly more than PB, and that's for a relatively cheap agent, some are above 3%. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted April 13, 2021 Report Share Posted April 13, 2021 Wow, that really is a huge difference. And echoing what others have said, considering the generally lazy, shit job most estate agents do how can they possibly defend that?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted April 14, 2021 Report Share Posted April 14, 2021 Estate agents are a complete scam. They literally provide a place to list an ad, show a few people around, then charge you for the shit your solicitor is already charging you for. Can't stand them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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