Posted by
cheeky
18 yrs ago
I'm just considering making an offer on a property, but don't want to move into the place/make mortgage payment for at least 2 months but preferably 3. How long does the mortgage process usually take and in what order do the bills come in for all the extras like S&P Agreement, Lawyers fees, Agents fees etc. What are the chances a landlord won't want to push things more quickly?
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Patrick,
You seem very well informed. Please can you tell me if the deposit is refundable subject to finance? ie, if I place a deposit and then get knocked back by the bank for say, a bad valuation, can I get my 4% back?
Thanks
Twirly
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Thanks Patrick.
So when is the Stamp Duty payable, and the lawyers fees, and the agent's commission?
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Thanks CM - and how much deposit did you put down in/for the provisional agreement? Or was that before any deposit was paid?
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Cheeky, check the Estate Agency Agreement that you sign - Patrick says the agency fee can be paid upon completion, but it depends on the agent, some of them make you pay immediately you have signed the provisional agreement. The Estate Agency Agreement should specify when commission is payable.
Twirly, I agree with Patrick that Christian was lucky, most vendors will not agree to have "subject to mortgage approval" or similar on the provisional agreement. You need to be sure that you can get a mortgage before you sign. You shouldn't be knocked back because of a low bank valuation, because you should get a bank valuation before you even make an offer.
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just checked - luckily the estate agency agreement says payable on completion date - but I didn't check when I signed it so anyone who signs the estate agency agreement its worth noting! It could easily have been due and payable on the signing of the S&P.
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Patrick, I agree, an agent's job is not yet finished - but when I signed the provisional agreement to buy my flat, the agent started chasing me the next day for the commission! She rang every day until I paid it. I wasn't working in real estate then, so I didn't know I could argue with her.
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Thanks to all for the useful info. I'm sure there's a lot of people, like myself, who don't know the ins and outs of purchasing.
BTW, anyone have any experience with Pan Asian for home loans?
Cheers all!
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Patrick, you may be more scrupulous than most agents, but they don't always have a particularly good reputation for putting buyers first - especially if they tend to be newbies to purchasing. It was only from a conversation with colleagues yesterday that I found out that an agent should assist with a lot more. Patrick, perhaps you could give some tips on things that an agent 'should' do, but doesn't always offer?
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Cheeky, an agent is supposed to help you find a suitable property, arrange inspections, assist with negotiation, and help you to enter into a tenancy or sale and purchase agreement. They are supposed to act with honesty and integrity, and to put their client's interests first. In my company we also deal with utilities, i.e. arrange for gas, water and electricity to be transferred into the new tenant's name, and organise phone/fax/Internet/Now TV. Some agents don't do this.
I know it can be very frustrating when you've told an agent exactly what you want and they still take you to see a property which is unsuitable. Unfortunately this cannot always be helped. A lot of landlords won't let agents into the flat unless they're accompanied by a client, so it's not possible to view it beforehand and assess its suitability.
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I'm not sure the agent I was using for the place I was interested in has helped me in the slightest. He called yesterday to say that the landlord had come in and asked for the key to be returned as the property had been sold. Do you think perhaps his enthusiasm to assist me was lacking because he knew that someone had a stronger buyer, or someone who could move more quickly? I'm rather disappointed by my first potential buying experience - but guess we all learn! Is there a way of checking if a Sale & Purchase agreement has been entered in to and for how much the property was sold for in the end?
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Patrick, I disagree with you about what an agent is supposed to do. We have to be very careful about "suggesting possible offers" because the amount of commission usually depends on the amount paid, and there could be a conflict of interest. As for calculating the monthly repayments, I never ask my clients how much money they are borrowing from the bank because it's their private financial concern. So if I don't know how much money they are borrowing, how can I tell them how much the repayments will be? It is not part of an estate agent's job to give advice on mortgages. The Estate Agents Authority itself advises that agents should suggest their clients talk to the bank. Also, in my experience, most people want to get a mortgage from the bank they have an account with, so they're not interested in hearing about the interest rates at other banks.
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Cheeky, it's not really possible to offer an opinion on the agent's behaviour without more details. Did you actually make an offer on the property? Even if you did, and even if he put the offer very strongly to the vendor, it still might not be his fault. Vendors mess people around sometimes. For example a client of mine was supposed to sign a provisional sale and purchase agreement at 11.00 am last Friday, and the vendor called at 10.15 am to say he had just signed with someone else. This was after he had accepted the offer verbally, and we had all agreed on the time for signing. At no time did the vendor even suggest that another buyer was interested.
But in Hong Kong, it's normal to move quickly, so bear this in mind.
Yes, you can check if a property has actually been sold, and how much for, by doing a Land Search, but the agreement probably won't be registered for a while.
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Thanks Patrick that's really useful, I didn't know about those sites.
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Patrick, in your first reply you say that a minimum of 4% will be required to be put down - is that the same percentage if the mortage was 95%, ie, the total deposit would only be 5%? A friend of mine said to secure the flat at short notice she put down just $10k to show she was serious whilst transferring money from overseas etc. Is that a possibility?
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Thanks Saikunga. I'm looking to get 2 mortgage 'offers' from 2 different lenders - one was more conservative in their previous valuations, but offered a better interest rate/would include some of the costs incurred such as stamp duty etc. The other one came up with the equal valuation price to the asking price but I would still be paying cash for stamp duty/agent fees. I figure with these 2 mortgages set up I should be ready to go at the drop of a hat!
And thank you for the comforting words that you found something much better!!!
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Message for ED - How about allowing a posting of 'looking for property'? I'm quite clear about what I want, in the area I want it, and how much my budget is. People who maybe haven't got as far as putting their properties on the market may be interested and prompt them to sell. Rather that than having to call 10 different agents to show you the same properties of which few cover some or all of my requirements...
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Ed
18 yrs ago
We wont do that because that results in chaos... we have very organized sections where agents and owners can post their listings - we dont want them posting on a forum...
Also if you cant find a listing that fits your bill then you can contact one of the many agents that advertise on this site directly and theyd be more than pleased to send you info
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ldavy, you mention checking if the property has been sold through a land search - how long is the usual time from the signing of the S&P to the land search recording the change of owner?
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ldavy
18 yrs ago
Cheeky, sorry, didn't see your message before. I would say that normally the change of owner is registered on or after completion, which is usually about 6 weeks after signing the provisional S&P.
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There are a number of online bank sites which give valuations of properties - DBS, HSBC, Hang Seng, BOC, CCB all have them. I found Hang Seng at http://evalue.hangseng.com/eng/ usefully conservative, plus includes carparks.
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