When you are considering a house purchase it is very easy to get swept up in the moment and you can easily get carried away with all sorts of ideas. Many different parties get involved and you need to always keep in mind is, who actually works for you? As apposed to who works for the some one else.
Let’s start with the estate agent. They may act friendly but don’t be fooled, ultimately they don’t work for you they work for the seller. Remember to keep your cards close to your chest and don’t say anything to them that you wouldn’t openly tell the vendor. You wouldn’t tell the seller that it was your dream house before you start negotiating the price, that would put you on the back foot and they know they would be able to push you for an increased purchase price. The estate agents patter may include asking questions which indicate your price range, you may just think this is chit chat but when you come to negotiate on the purchase they will remember things you have said. For example, if you tell them your budget is between £120,000 to £140,000, but then offer on the lower end of that price range stating you can’t go any higher the chances are they will remember what you have previously said and push you to pay a higher amount.
Next up is your mortgage adviser. If you use an independent adviser or even multi-tied adviser they will be working for you, however if you go for a tied adviser like someone employed at the bank they work for the bank. An independent or multi tied adviser has access to a wider range of mortgage products from different lenders whereas a tied adviser can generally only advise on the products that the particular bank or building society can provide.
Finally the solicitor, they work for you. It is their job to ensure that your purchase of a property is finalised and legally transferred to you. They therefore look out for your interests and may pick up on things that you were previously unaware of, such as restrictive covenants for example.
Daniel Brown BSc (Hons), Cert SMP
23rd April 2018