1) What's the thinking these days about going through a mortgage broker vs comparison websites and going direct to the bank? Do brokers save a lot of hassle and secure better deals?
Would probably be looking at the smallest possible mortage that allows us to make use of Help to Buy ISA / LISA and then borrow the rest from family if that makes any difference.
They accepted asking price but another very similar house in the same street went for £20k less just a month ago (we only found this out after putting the offer in).
When would be a good time to start trying to get the price down?
The vendors are probably in more of a rush to move than we would be as the stamp duty holiday is irrelevant for us.
I've used them twice now for house buying and I've never been able to get similar rates myself direct.
Some lenders are wary of using gifts from family to make up a deposit in case they demand it back. It's fine to do but they are likely to require you to sign a contract to say it is a gift and cannot be expected to be repaid.
Yeh I totally understand dropping the price is shit.
Interesting... can you normally go to them with a "beat this" without paying them anything, or does it not normally work like that?
Personally I would be prefer to be upfront about it but, as TT says, last minute can be incredibly effective. If not properly cuntish. (but if you piss them off too much, they may just back out due to principle!)
Ask yourself, is £5-10k (or whatever it is you're wanting to drop by) really worth being nice over?
Are the two houses the same in size, layout, location and upkeep? Are the situations of the buyer and seller the same?The two houses might be worth the same but being on the same street is no guarantee that they are.
I love how everyone on this forum is a card-carrying Corbyn-cuddling commie when discussing politics, and when push comes to shove it turns out that they're cold, calculating, callow capitalists who aren't above exploiting the desperation of others to save them a buck.
Had an offer on a house accepted this week. Still debating whether to go ahead with it or not but probably need to start looking at mortgages, solicitors and surveys.
if you're not really sure about the place, why have you made an offer? When the right one comes around, in my (limited) experience you know it's the one. I think Will is on the money, when it's the one paying a little more is neither here nor there in the long run.
Re price drop - if you want to be the fairest to the vendors - ask now. If you want it to be most effective wait until the last minute. Either way you won’t be popular.
It's only after that when (a) we found out what the other house went for so were feeling like mugs, and (b) they didn't take it off the market as agreed, that doubts started to creep in.