Know all that, but as I said, the lender effectively owns the property, regardless of equity, until the loan is repaid. Just ask someone that's been repossesed.
The point i'm making is that the subbing surveyor for the lender may not necassarily be blase about doing it.
It might not even be that much. When we employed this arrangement a few years back the guy was happy to pop in to take a quick look for not much more than beer money, on the basis that he knew we were going to use him when we took a place on.
Andrew
One quick question - I am assuming I would be looking for a structural engineer who deals in residential property (as opposed to mainly commercial), rather than a structural surveyor?
Velvet
But ten years later, could you have afforded to buy the house again (ie had salary inflation kept up with property inflation)?
Owain
From the (snipped) description it could be '30s.
So, the big question.
Do you know why it is being repossesed?
Two obvious choices:
(1) Poor unfortunate who lost job and couldn't keep up the repayments
(2) Canny little s*d who discovered that there was a major structural problem which made the property worth much less than the mortgage. Decided that it was better to default on the mortgage than try and find the money to fix it (and still end up owing more than the property was worth) or keep on making repayments on a negative equity loan.
(1) may lead to a bargain, however (2)...............
How lucky do you feel?
Cheers
Dave R
P.S. You have to budget the (sensible) survey costs into any buying process. Of course, you could buy a house without problems for a knock down price and end up rich. But then if the deal was so good, perhaps it would never have got as far as being offered to you but instead have been snapped up by a professional developer. You seem to be going in the right direction - aim for a survey but with the minimum outlay to identify obvious major problems. Hope that it all goes well for you, but try and find a professional cynic with a bucket of cold water as an assistant :-)
In message , Velvet writes
Yes - a Structural Engineer, (NOT A Structural Surveyor).
No... You said cracks in the wall ? walk away.
My reply was based on the fact that very few houses have no cracks in the walls, even new houses.
I havent seen the photo - will probably comment when I do.
So would I if I was a 1st time buyer... but if it's a nice house, with a simple solution, it could be just the one.
In message , Peter Crosland writes
We dont know what the problem is until it has been inspected by an expert - the engineers conclusions and recommendations will be the key, after which she can proceed further or walk away.
Heh :-) My parents are acting (I'm in my 30's, by the way!) as cynics armed with cold water, ta.
I *think* it's option 1, based on what I've pulled from the Land Registry on the property. Looks to have been bought a few years ago, then possibly remortgaged a while later, then involvement from a third party (loan secured on it?) when it's feasible repossession proceedings started, and finally eviction seems to have happened a month or so ago.
I have an open mind on it though - the place looks to have had quite a lot spent on it recently - new kitchen, new bathroom, new central heating (all within the last 2-3 years, heating possibly a bit more recent than that). Possible that was all done as an attempt to tart up and sell with deeper problem underlying, but my gut feeling (right or wrong) is someone getting in over their head with doing up an old property - there's similar just up the road I viewed that would need exactly those things doing to it to bring it up to a liveable standard
- freeing up capital to do work and then getting into trouble with the repayments for that.
I've budgeted sensible survey costs into the 'can I afford to buy a house' equation, and I realise that while I might spend more money on this one on the survey I probably won't be looking at the cost of a new cooker (I've rented unfurnished for years and years so that's the only thing in a kitchen I've never actually had to buy) - but I'm trying to find one that's ok and has the added bonus of also having built in cooker :-)
I know if I don't buy now I'll never manage it, you see. Despite earning a decent wage, and despite having hefty rent going out each month (thus knowing I can afford a mortgage not just now but also if rates go up), my salary is not and will not keep pace with property price rises. The only places I can afford to buy the sort of place I'm after are small pockets in the south where property started at a lower price than the rest of it, and consequentially % rises in value have meant a lower amount in terms of thousands of =A3's. Those pockets, unless there is a massive crash in the housing market, will also be out of my reach before long. There will be others in the same position as me, so while the rest of the SE may plateau and stall, I am optimistic (but not foolhardy enough to think it's a dead cert) that these small pockets may continue a slow but steady increase in value.
At the end of the day I'm not doing this because I want to make money by flogging it in three years time, I'm doing it because I'm fed up with my pathetic landlady who hasn't got a clue about anything let alone her legal responsibilities, and I want a roof over my head, the stability that will provide, and the ability to do important maintenance on my own terms, even if at my own cost. I hate moving, a home is very important to me, which is why despite problems with prior landlord to the current, I've actually ended up renting the same place for 12 and a half years...
Rant over :-)
The photos are in a separate thread with similar subject. Just in case you've not seen them yet...
Worthwhile the OP knocking on a few front doors nearby - you never know what you might be able to find out...
David
Indeed - "CEng, MIStructE" are the qualifications you're looking for!
David
In message , Velvet writes
To me, it looks like a fairly insignificant crack but, if I was thinking of buying, I would have the house inspected by a Structural Engineer, with particular reference to the crack.
How much do Structural Engineers cost in Rushden? I pay around £175+VAT in Manchester for a visual inspection.
Nope. Somewhere around 1998 I went within a year from deep negative equity to finding that a similar house had been sold for twice what I had paid for mine, so it all worked out fine for me in the end. It was horrible while it lasted though when I was trapped for several years in a well paying job that I loathed just to keep the mortgage paid
With hindsight and less emotion I would have carried on renting until
1990 and had a much easier ride of it when I did buy. If I were a first time buyer now, then I would be very cautious about buying this year. Property prices aint going to go up much and they could easily collapseEspecially if all first time buyers follow my advice :)
Anna
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|
Got to be worth asking the neighbours if they know anything. Also worth looking at neighbouring houses to see if they have any similar cracks.
From looking at the pictures I don't think the crack is anything serious.*
Mind you, it's a bit sus that they spent loads on doing up the insides but didn't get the crack re-pointed.
(*However, I'm not an expert!)
sponix
I think you have provided enough information to suggest the description 'first time buyer', though correct, may be a little misleading. You obviously do know what you are committing to. I can't really add anything to the advice already given. If the crack in the wall is the decisive factor then getting a reliable opinion on that at least cost is obviously the sensible course. I agree there comes a moment when you have to leap it does not get easier over time, once you reach your thirties you have to realise that salaries to not keep growing year after year.
[I brought my flat 20 years ago with the deposit provided by a small legacy, it doubled in price in a few years, then fell 40%, now it is probably worth six times what I paid. But I earn but twice what I did then and no more now than I did in 1990.]Looking at the picture of the house it is certainly different from the usual 1930 builders boxes seen in the background. There is a certain Arts & Crafts, Garden Suburb feel about it which suggests it may be earlier that the other houses in the street perhaps late 1920s. The plan presages the later standard designs but the brickwork suggests a style that is still a little Edwardian.
Get a builder to look at the wall, and (maybe*) pay him some money for his time. Just explain the situation as you have, that you are really interested in this house, but that there's this problem, and will he look at it 'cos you'd like to know roughly how much it would cost to fix it, if it actually does need fixing, and what would be involved. You will probably be able to have him give the rest of the house the once-over, too. Do you know a builder, or someone who does, or has had some work done recently? If so, that will help. Don't be above asking someone who's working on an extension or whatever whether they'll to see the place, or even using the 'phone to chat to someone!
*Perhaps for a drink or two, a "drink" was £20, I don't know whether it still is.
Yes, although the residential/commercial aspect isn't too crucial as such, although you want one who does smaller jobs.
You're looking for someone who's a member of the Institute of Structural Engineers and will have MIStructE after his/her name. The Institute
Owain
Just been quoted =A3100 all in for a visual and verbal, not least because they are only 5 mins, 10 at very most, from the place, I'm sure :-)
In message , DJC writes
I thought it had a look of something just above corporation property, (Council House) - shows how things differ in different parts of the country.
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