Bid for apartment purchase accepted, next steps?

Ok, so a bid on a different place was accepted. And we're excited. We now have a solicitor who is in contact with the estate agent. I just sent the solicitor copies of our identification/proof of current address.

I suppose someone will tell us what the next steps are. But, any clues? My husband thinks that we need to have a property evaluator come and check out the place before we go back to the bank to secure the mortgage. Is that right?

I confess that I am a lot more anxious about this than I would be if this was back in the US. But, we don't have friends to ask.

That's right. The mortgage company (and more importantly, you!) need the results of a homebuyer's survey. Usually the solicitor will recommend a few to you.

My only advice: take the survey's contents very seriously. We had two different general contactors (one was a damp specialist) come in to give us estimates on the repairs indicated in the survey. This is also an important step in evaluating who is responsible for any repairs (landlord or leaseholder). For example, our apartment has a damp issue in the bedroom wall. Because the contractors were able to determine the source of the damp was due to a fissure in the exterior wall, the landlord will be paying for the cost of repairs (well, sort of - we pay into that fund as well!).

The entire process, between now and when you get the keys, may take a very long time. Hopefully your solicitor will be thorough and find out everything you need to know regarding the freehold or leasehold you're buying into. If there are any issues, expect them to add on a couple of weeks minimum. But, in the meantime, your estate agent and solicitor will let you know what needs to be done. Don't worry, and good luck!

Definitely get a full structural survey completed.  The solicitor should be able to recommend a firm.  Your solicitor should also go over the results, as well as yourself and pick up on any issues.  It will take a long time from here...we accepted an offer over 6 weeks ago and we haven't even exchanged yet.  The postal strike and our solicitors holiday haven't helped, but it's just a slow process.  Once the survey is complete, you can expect your solicitor to ask a lot of questions to the sellers solicitor and go back and forth on that.  When all questions have been answered and you are satisfied that the property is in the expected condition, then you will exchange contracts.  At this time, you become legally obliged to buy the property.  If you back out after this point, you lose your deposit.  I also think that this would be the date you set for completion (i.e. closing or move in date).  This can be two weeks or two months or even longer.  Will depend a lot on if the seller is in a chain and needs to wait for his seller to find someplace etc. 

Congrats and good luck!

Our offer was accepted on August 11th... we're hoping to exchange on November 6th. 

Our solicitor did go over the survey, but we were more proactive because the solicitor can't tell you how much the repairs will cost, nor will s/he contact various contractors and have them come out to give you estimates. As I already mentioned, the contractor may be necessary in determining who will be the one responsible for the costs.

At this point, though, just worry about getting a survey in and then dealing with the results when the time comes. After that, it'll just be a lot of waiting and signing various forms as they come in... not a whole lot to do but wait, really.

Again, good luck!

I agree with Karin regarding a full structural survey.  We recently purchased a stone built character cottage and that survey was worth every single pound paid.  It didn't show many problems, which gave us peace of mind.  However, it did mention high moisture readings in the lower level of the house, which could be a serious concern.  We took the time to get a damp specialist in who assured us that we did not have a problem with damp and that high moisture readings are typical in very old stone buildings.  We also learned that the extension on the back of the house never had planning permission (the previous owners did not add the extension as it was there before they bought the house 7 years ago) so the solicitor could put an indemnity into the contract.  Since the house had recently undergone refurbishment, the solicitor required copies of all the certificates (rewiring, boiler installation, windows installation, plumbing, etc).  This was very involved; but, we exchanged, completed, and moved in within 8 weeks (it would have been sooner but our solicitor decided to take an unplanned holiday during our original week of exchange/completion and didn't leave our file with any of his colleagues  ).

One piece of advice that I can give you is to follow up with the estate agent and the solicitor as much as possible.  The estate agent will push the solicitor and that is a good thing because otherwise, the process can drag on much longer than it really should.

Good luck!

CD, good luck with the upcoming exchange of key dates. Keep us posted!

We also have a longish period for the exchange planned. The owners of the apartment need to find a place to move to...so they want to exchange at the end of January 2010.
Although I am anxious to get out of the rental we're in, this is fine. We need to exchange money over to the UK for the deposit.

I am very glad I asked and am appreciative about the structural survey points. If anything turns up, I will look into getting a contractor's estimate as well. Thanks, CD.

Any further points are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Rutabega

Rutabega - I'll ask hubby if he's got anything to contribute but TBH you should be asking your estate agent these sort of questions as it's their job to know this sort of info!

Aless, that would be appreciated! I cannot believe we are first-time home-buyers and we're doing it in the UK...

I'm so nervous about this I've had a really rough time sleeping. I keep getting up in the middle of the night and puttering about the house for an hour or two...

Best,
Rutabega