Published on 12, July, 2020
I recently realised that I have enough money in cash savings to purchase a flat (mortgage-free) in my area. This would save me £850 a month in rent, so financially it's a very sensible decision, and would also mean I could move out of my current place where I have to sleep on the floor in the entrance hall with earplugs due to noise outside. However, I can't work out how to do it.
I have auditory processing disorder and have absolutely no idea what people are saying over the phone. I tried contacting an agent to book a viewing on a flat, but they contacted me only by phone despite me asking for email and when I couldn't communicate that way that was the end of it: I never heard from them again.
I have no family or friends who are willing to help. I get stressed out easily and have trouble making decisions quickly.
I live in fear of being homeless if my landlord decides he wants my current flat (which I rented with my ex) back.
Is there some kind of service I can pay to help me?
I can see people have mentioned CAB. They should know if there are any advocacy services in your area.
If you find somewhere you like, although you don't need a survey if you have cash it is worth getting one done for peace of mind. You may be able to arrange this with email and the report is likely to come the same way.
If you have a viewing it is worth writing down any questions to email after and don't feel pressurized to make a decision.
When it comes to price you can try putting in a low offer at first by email.
Once whilst I was out at work my O/H put in an offer for a house "subject to survey" as all offers are, of 64 thousand quid to beat off the stiff competition. Our maximum calculated repayment capability was 55K and stamp duty was set at a 60K threshold. I took our surveyor to one side and instructed him to "find everything" he possibly could, and made sure he knew he was being paid to "miss nothing".
When he came back with a decent list of defects, I thanked him kindly, and instructed the O/H to submit the report to the agents with a revised offer of £59,995...
She said "if you make me miss this house"....
She had a point, it was well below market value, (but was a fixer upper) so there really was serious competition for it, in a housing boom, and it was nice the best we'd yet seen. Even I liked it.
But I knew those few words of instruction to the surveyor had produced me a body of confidence killing information to the agent! I suspected that my proposed reduction although by getting under the stamp duty threshold was amazing for US wasn't as bad for the agent as possibly restarting the deal would be, so there was a chance that even in that bull housing market I could pull it off.
And being "tight" when buying a thing is what I seem to be really good at, so of course I didn't lose her her house!
I could have, but I called it right, and to be fair, I needed to, we had a hard job hanging onto it after a few years, and that smaller mortgage really helped.