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

kippy

K.Hawksworth wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that no vendors anywhere in the country are accepting offers less than asking at the moment.
It only takes 2 min to pick up the phone and call an estate agent about properties you're interested in. Find out the current bids. But personally as someone who is also in the market to buy, I don't even consider anything with an asking price outside my budget.

I've seen a couple of houses in the local area drop about ten k in asking on daft over the past few months so it depends on a few factors I would say...

jimmytwotimes 2013

Had offer accepted 2 days ago on place we wanted. Deposit paid to EA and docs gone to solicitor. 4 wks since we accepted offer on our own place.

Nice to get moving to the next stage.

brianc27

KBH2020 wrote: »

Could anyone offer any advice on how to establish your price cut off point when looking at houses?? Up until recently I thought if you had up to 500k to spend then you could look at houses with asking price between 450k - 500k and also keep an eye for houses up to 520k as some vendors may accept a lower offer for various reasons.

Asking price now seems quite meaningless as you need to add 10% to it, upper end of budget seems pointless as it appears no one is going to accept asking price, the houses slightly outside the budget seem like a total no go. I know this is all in the context of the current market hysteria. Checking the PPR last year 90% of the time I was seeing houses I was interested in going for in and around the asking and some going for less.

Would you be crazy to enquire about houses at the upper end of your budget/ slightly over your budget? From my experience so far there seems to be a lot of cash to splash around in the 400k's but once the bids go over 500k demand does seem to drop a bit?

Really feel totally clueless currently!

I'm looking at places 15-20% below my max, most I have bid on have come close to that, few went for more and others I pulled out of bidding because I didn't believe they were worth that much.

Have kept an eye on a few places closer to my max budget but haven't bid on anything yet, I just assume they will go above what I can afford

Milena009

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Had offer accepted 2 days ago on place we wanted. Deposit paid to EA and docs gone to solicitor. 4 wks since we accepted offer on our own place.

Nice to get moving to the next stage.

How long is normal to wait for docs to arrive at solicitor?
We got confirmation of deposit paid on 15/03 from EA.

broker is working on valuation but solicitor did not contact us yet

I wonder if it's one of these "how long is piece of string" type questions.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Milena009 wrote: »

How long is normal to wait for docs to arrive at solicitor?
We got confirmation of deposit paid on 15/03 from EA.

broker is working on valuation but solicitor did not contact us yet

I wonder if it's one of these "how long is piece of string" type questions.

It probably is one of those questions alright I'd say. Each situation different. House we buying isn't occupied so solicitor acting on behalf of builder which could be different to owner-occupied who might try slow things down to give themselves time to get their move sorted.

Not very experienced in these things so only spitballing.

mcsean2163

Just looking at central bank rules:

https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/explainers/what-are-the-mortgage-measures

Loan-to-Value limits
The LTV limit requires you to have a minimum deposit before you can get a mortgage. The size of this deposit depends on what category of buyer you are.

First-time-buyers need to have a minimum deposit of 10%
Second and subsequent buyers need to have a minimum deposit of 20%
Buy-to-let buyers need to have a minimum deposit of 30%.

Banks and other lenders have the freedom to lend a certain amount above these limits. In any one calendar year they can give an allowance to:

Up to 5% of the value of mortgages to first time buyers
Up to 20% of the value of mortgages to second and subsequent buyers
Up to 10% of the value of mortgages to buy-to-let buyers.

Does that mean that we can get a 100% mortgage for a second property if the bank likes us?

awec

mcsean2163 wrote: »

Just looking at central bank rules:

https://www.centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/explainers/what-are-the-mortgage-measures



Does that mean that we can get a 100% mortgage for a second property if the bank likes us?

No.

It basically means that ~20% of second time buyers can be given an exemption on the LTV requirements, i.e. 4 out of 5 applicants will not be given an exemption.

Monsieur Folie

What happens if you go sale agreed on a new build which is due to be delivered well after the expiry of your AIP... do you just reapply for mortgage approval? Does this cause issues if you have a mortgage exemption for example?

errlloyd

awec wrote: »

No.

It basically means that ~20% of second time buyers can be given an exemption on the LTV requirements, i.e. 4 out of 5 applicants will not be given an exemption.

Is it 20% of the people or 20% of the value.

For example, if 5 people have 100k in salary it is clear that they can give 4 of them 350k, and 1 of them 450k, but can they give 3 of them 350k and 2 of them 400k.

The reason I ask is that I am applying for a relatively small exemption. I hope the attitude in the bank isn't "don't give waste an exemption shot on him when they are more profitable options".

Aisling(",)

errlloyd wrote: »

The reason I ask is that I am applying for a relatively small exemption. I hope the attitude in the bank isn't "don't give waste an exemption shot on him when they are more profitable options".

I'm using an exemption currently and I was told that the bank wouldn't allow us to use it if it wasn't at least 20k more than the basic 3.5 times our wages.
We're using an additional 56k so it wasn't an issue but it is something to be aware of.

Milena009

Aisling(",) wrote: »

I'm using an exemption currently and I was told that the bank wouldn't allow us to use it if it wasn't at least 20k more than the basic 3.5 times our wages.
We're using an additional 56k so it wasn't an issue but it is something to be aware of.

Back when we inquired about KBC exemption we were told the same.
Minimum amount is 20k

boredatwork82

Hey,

Currently in the process of trying to buy a house. Been sale agreed since November. The house is been sold by the deceased owners children. Therefore the will needs to go through probate before contracts can be exchanged.

This process has been expedited to the courts as my mortgage approval may lapse other wise.

Has anyone any experience how long it can take for a will to go through probate in the current working environment?

Thanks

Graham

Mod Note

some off-topic posts moved to the Irish Property Market Chat thread.

thunderdog

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Hey,

Currently in the process of trying to buy a house. Been sale agreed since November. The house is been sold by the deceased owners children. Therefore the will needs to go through probate before contracts can be exchanged.

This process has been expedited to the courts as my mortgage approval may lapse other wise.

Has anyone any experience how long it can take for a will to go through probate in the current working environment?

Thanks

I’m in a very similar position. Went sale agreed on a house in November that required a grant of probate. No update on the probate until today- found out from the sellers solicitor that it should be another 4-6 weeks. So if that comes to fruition, it will have been a 6 month wait for the probate to be granted in my case (in Dublin).

boredatwork82

thunderdog wrote: »

I’m in a very similar position. Went sale agreed on a house in November that required a grant of probate. No update on the probate until today- found out from the sellers solicitor that it should be another 4-6 weeks. So if that comes to fruition, it will have been a 6 month wait for the probate to be granted in my case (in Dublin).

Hopefully it goes through quicker. My solicitor said the probate could take up to 6 months if not expedited. But other anecdotal stories I have heard is that once sale is agreed they tend to go faster or be prioritised.

Just my sale couldn't go to probate straight away as the sellers needed to get pps numbers and that took 3 months with the backlog in the government department at the minute. Which is understandable considering they are dealing with all the covid PUP stuff.

thunderdog

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Hopefully it goes through quicker. My solicitor said the probate could take up to 6 months if not expedited. But other anecdotal stories I have heard is that once sale is agreed they tend to go faster or be prioritised.

Just my sale couldn't go to probate straight away as the sellers needed to get pps numbers and that took 3 months with the backlog in the government department at the minute. Which is understandable considering they are dealing with all the covid PUP stuff.

Yeah in my own case the estate agent mentioned that the deceased owners partner is still alive (not sure in what capacity) so he was guessing that this might have been adding some additional time to the grant of probate process. From a buyers perspective it’s a bit of a black box

Dolbhad

Most probates are being carried out because a house is being sold. Priority is not given when this is the case as it makes up most applications. The probate offices around the country were backlogged due covid. However a new system as come into place in the last few months to streamline it so the application form as a big online element. The idea is that this will speed up the process. But it’s still early days as to whether it’s happening.

D_s

Does anyone have experience with how long it takes to get a Letter of Offer from PTSB?

soc

D_s wrote: »

Does anyone have experience with how long it takes to get a Letter of Offer from PTSB?

It took us about 2 weeks...but we also had to have our AIP renewed before Letter of Offer could be drafted.

Greenlights16

Hi all, First time buying new build detached house in brand new development of 40 houses. Couple of things I wanted to ask advice on here:

4 weeks tomorrow to *supposed* move-in date.

For snagging:
Should I wait until keys/handover day to see if there are any snags to be done first, before I call in someone to do a professional snagging list to return to developer? I was told to get a list back ASAP before any furniture is moved in.

There is a grant of easement for surface water drainage to a manhole in my back garden corner. Easement runs under my driveway at side of house and through garden. Contract states not to build a shed/erect hedge etc here. Thinking this may affect mortgage valuation when they eventually get out to do it. Although this was knowledge to everyone back before Xmas.

My solicitor informed me yesterday after our zoom call to sign contracts - developer is to receive 10% next week(80% mortgage) with remaining 10% at drawdown. After I send that, am I legally obliged to buy house at that stage? Or is that only once I send money over in full in final week at drawdown stage?



- Provisional move in date only been given up until now, 2nd last Friday in April, with no commitment to any concrete date yet.

- Estate agent who is supposed to be main point of contact for the development has been shocking, knows sweet FA about construction, never has an answer, I've had to liaise with the developer himself directly on few occasions, he's another problem altogether.

- My solicitor (who was recommended) has the worst communication skills I've ever witnessed, seems she point blank refuses to reply to an email, return calls or answer anything. I have definitely not tortured her, hadn't contacted her in a couple of months there, but after our call yesterday I sent her an email and 2 calls to office asking for urgent call back, still nothing today.

When I call and email the estate agent about getting another look at the house (we have only seen it 3 times including show day back in October) it takes him about a week to reply. Last time we saw it was February. I'm not convinced the garden size is as promised and to scale on contract/land registry draft map provided and drawings. One of main reasons we bought the house was that it was one of only two of its type out of 40 that had a larger garden than semi detached, until it's lined out or fenced off I can't see it as I've had a look last time, I brought a tape.

Developer and I already had a heated phone call at end of Jan, he built sunroom on wrong side of the house at back with no notice or apology until I discovered it on site. Of course, I wasn't in contract so I've no rights yet, only a deposit was put down. I asked him to run the gas pipe (house heated by gas) to the living room so I could install gas stove or similar at some stage down the line, would not be surprised if he never did that. Also wouldn't be surprised if he charged me extortionately for it when settling final accounts.

errlloyd

Stuck in a pickle here

Sale agreed on a property I love, but I need an LTI exemption for. The bank told me they could not apply for the LTI exemption till I was sale agreed - but told me they were confident I'd get one. Now we are sale agreed but in the last two weeks we haven't had any luck getting an LTI exemption.

The EA is getting really NARKY about the delays even though they have the deposit.

Any advice?

cubatahavana

Greenlights16 wrote: »

Hi all, First time buying new build detached house in brand new development of 40 houses. Couple of things I wanted to ask advice on here:

4 weeks tomorrow to *supposed* move-in date.

For snagging:
Should I wait until keys/handover day to see if there are any snags to be done first, before I call in someone to do a professional snagging list to return to developer? I was told to get a list back ASAP before any furniture is moved in.

There is a grant of easement for surface water drainage to a manhole in my back garden corner. Easement runs under my driveway at side of house and through garden. Contract states not to build a shed/erect hedge etc here. Thinking this may affect mortgage valuation when they eventually get out to do it. Although this was knowledge to everyone back before Xmas.

My solicitor informed me yesterday after our zoom call to sign contracts - developer is to receive 10% next week(80% mortgage) with remaining 10% at drawdown. After I send that, am I legally obliged to buy house at that stage? Or is that only once I send money over in full in final week at drawdown stage?



- Provisional move in date only been given up until now, 2nd last Friday in April, with no commitment to any concrete date yet.

- Estate agent who is supposed to be main point of contact for the development has been shocking, knows sweet FA about construction, never has an answer, I've had to liaise with the developer himself directly on few occasions, he's another problem altogether.

- My solicitor (who was recommended) has the worst communication skills I've ever witnessed, seems she point blank refuses to reply to an email, return calls or answer anything. I have definitely not tortured her, hadn't contacted her in a couple of months there, but after our call yesterday I sent her an email and 2 calls to office asking for urgent call back, still nothing today.

When I call and email the estate agent about getting another look at the house (we have only seen it 3 times including show day back in October) it takes him about a week to reply. Last time we saw it was February. I'm not convinced the garden size is as promised and to scale on contract/land registry draft map provided and drawings. One of main reasons we bought the house was that it was one of only two of its type out of 40 that had a larger garden than semi detached, until it's lined out or fenced off I can't see it as I've had a look last time, I brought a tape.

Developer and I already had a heated phone call at end of Jan, he built sunroom on wrong side of the house at back with no notice or apology until I discovered it on site. Of course, I wasn't in contract so I've no rights yet, only a deposit was put down. I asked him to run the gas pipe (house heated by gas) to the living room so I could install gas stove or similar at some stage down the line, would not be surprised if he never did that. Also wouldn't be surprised if he charged me extortionately for it when settling final accounts.

A few things:

- Do not close before snagging. Snagging should take place before key handover. Aim for closing about 3 weeks after the first snag (if lucky). You'd be astonished at how slow this can be. If you close, the developer may ignore all your efforts for them to fix anything (depends on how the developer is)

- Make sure you know exactly what you can do regarding that manhole. It could come back to bite you in the a**.

- You are only obliged to purchase the property after you receive back the signed contracts from the developer. At that point you are commited to buy and they are commited to sell. If you sign tomorrow, I'd say the earlier you'll get the contracts back would be mid next week (very optimistically)

- You will not get a fixed moving date. They don't have to give you that with new builds. Things can get delayed. If you haven't snagged yet, I cannot see you moving in until very end of April at the very least, especially taking into account that the garden fence is still not yet built!

- What do you mean that they built the sunroom in the wrong side???

Greenlights16

cubatahavana wrote: »

A few things:

- Do not close before snagging. Snagging should take place before key handover. Aim for closing about 3 weeks after the first snag (if lucky). You'd be astonished at how slow this can be. If you close, the developer may ignore all your efforts for them to fix anything (depends on how the developer is)

- Make sure you know exactly what you can do regarding that manhole. It could come back to bite you in the a**.

- You are only obliged to purchase the property after you receive back the signed contracts from the developer. At that point you are commited to buy and they are commited to sell. If you sign tomorrow, I'd say the earlier you'll get the contracts back would be mid next week (very optimistically)

- You will not get a fixed moving date. They don't have to give you that with new builds. Things can get delayed. If you haven't snagged yet, I cannot see you moving in until very end of April at the very least, especially taking into account that the garden fence is still not yet built!

- What do you mean that they built the sunroom in the wrong side???

Thanks @cubatahavana for reply.

I signed the contract documents yesterday while the solicitor witnessed over zoom, and sent back to her office by registered post yesterday eve.

She assured me that those contracts weren't binding or didn't technically mean anything until final drawdown of funds is received before handover. Now I'm not so sure!

After listening to your points I'm thinking that I should bring my dad (30+ years construction experience) along this weekend or ASAP to get a look at the house and garden if I am obliged to buy after sending half of the 20% next week. The solicitor told me I can't suggest any snagging or defects until it is handed over to me on move in day when it is mine.

Forgot to say - this is NI. When you say snagging should take place before key handover - I should have someone competent in with me to snag/spot defects week of handover or earlier if possible? I've been told this isn't possible. Estate agent very unresponsive via phone or email about seeing house.

Sunroom was not put on rear left hand side of house (essentially lounge extends out from kitchen, all open plan) and on right instead. His argument was that those plans were indicative only, even though architect logo on them etc, and I was not signed in to contract so no say in matter.

awec

I think the snagging process is different in the UK. They do snagging after you get the keys.

Greenlights16

Sounds like a bad idea all round, as poster has alluded to - once you've given them the money and been handed the keys what obligation do they really have to come back and fix things :mad:

VegetaIRL8e

VegetaIRL8e wrote: »

Now 5 months into waiting for a Letter of Consent from the sellers bank.
Starting to feel very disillusioned and nervous.

Almost 5 and a half months later....and in 3 days....Letter received. Deposit Paid, Contracts on the way out to sign. Couldn't be happier.
Get Key Mid April.

Daz_

So we have just sold our house on auction instead of private treaty . All the legal stuff , surveys etc done pre auction and then on the day it’s an unconditional sale . Best decision we could have made. Gets rid of a lot of time wasters who aren’t even in a position to buy who may try to get sale agreed and then drag out the process or pull out . Would recommend people look into it as an option .

itsusuallyjazz

Daz_ wrote: »

So we have just sold our house on auction instead of private treaty . All the legal stuff , surveys etc done pre auction and then on the day it’s an unconditional sale . Best decision we could have made. Gets rid of a lot of time wasters who aren’t even in a position to buy who may try to get sale agreed and then drag out the process or pull out . Would recommend people look into it as an option .

Just being nosey but did you get what you want for the house?

JimmyVik

Daz_ wrote: »

So we have just sold our house on auction instead of private treaty . All the legal stuff , surveys etc done pre auction and then on the day it’s an unconditional sale . Best decision we could have made. Gets rid of a lot of time wasters who aren’t even in a position to buy who may try to get sale agreed and then drag out the process or pull out . Would recommend people look into it as an option .

Me being nosy too. What did it cost you to sell your house at auction?
And what if it didnt get bid up to the price you were willing to take?
I think if I was selling id rather do it that way tbh. I hate long drawn out processes.

Daz_

hi. It didnt cost any extra for the online auction. just the same fee agreed with the estate agent.
We set our reserve quote close to opening minimum bid so we go there pretty quickly so that issue didn't arise.
It worked out great for us and we know we got more that we would have with private treaty.
You have to remember that its not just a case of people showing up on the day and bidding. They will have viewed the property and the auctioneer will have explained the whole process. They also have to provide deposit , ID and solicitor details so it really gets you down to serious buyers.
If anyone wants to PM for other details or some advise based on our experience just let me know.