Bomb Site

Oh dear.

Took the flatmate down to see the flat and FINALLY remember to take my camera, only to find the flat looking like a construction site!

The wall between the flat and what used to be the marketing suite is being patched up and the company decided to put in some thermal panelling on the outside walls, so the two bedrooms are in a bit of state.

All the furniture is in storage, and the interior decorator is coming back to rearrange it when the work is done. ALSO, because the builders are in, they're replacing ALL the carpets, not just the highly trafficed areas. That's cool!

Chatted with the Barratt's girl about paying back the 15% outstanding on the load, and she said I could do it whenever I wanted, not after 10 years, like my solicitor said.

Also, checked out the new Show Flat. It's sooo tasty. Me wants! However, it's like £300,000 and I'll have to make due with my nice little pad for now. Bottom of the ladder is still on the ladder!

Good news again

Received a letter from the solicitors today saying that Barratt will accept me paying £20,000 toward their 25% ownership of the flat.

That means, they'll only own £30,000 or 15%, instead of 25%. Good news all around.

Heading off in a bit to sign some papers at the flat and have another look around. Hopefully the construction will be done soon, and we can agree on a moving in date.

I don't think the Halifax have gotten what they need from the landlady, but that should hopefully be recified on Monday.

It's moving ahead!

Just had a call from the Mortgage people and Halifax have FINALLY sorted things out with my HR department regarding the impact my oncall pay will have on my overall salary.

This has taken almost two weeks!

Now they just have to wait for a new letter from my landlady, as her last one got lost in the whole Halifax behemoth.

Fingers crossed I'll have some good news tomorrow and by Saturday when I go and sign some new papers at the Barratt site, everything should be going 100% ahead.

On the subject of me going on holiday a week from tomorrow, as long as I've signed all I need to sign with my solicitor, they can do what needs to be done and I could be a home owner by the time I get back from Oz!

Good news all around, really.

Wiping of brow!

Having talked to the mortgage people, it looks like I won't be liable for the entire value of the flat come the end of my mortgage in two years.

Turned into a mini-lesson on mortgages. As my mortgage is for 30 years, it's broken down into smaller chunks (in this case 2 years, fixed rate). After the two years, I negotiate the terms of the next bit, it's not a new mortgage, thus no need to have to pay back the whole amount.

Hoo wee!

Also, the solicitor is looking into seeing if I can have my 25% DreamStart dropped to a smaller percentage, as I now have £20,000 burning a hole in a bank account.

Not the best news

Went to the solicitor's at lunch to pay for the local authority search (£250) and get some new pages for my agreement for sale, to reflect the lower price.

During the chat, it transpired that the 25% loan to Barratt's becomes payable not after 10 years, but the next time I remortgage the property. As I opted for a two year term on my mortgage to start, I will owe close to £200,000 for the property (minus my £20,000 and whatever I pay off the principle of the mortgage - not much) in two years time. As it is, the bank's lending me close to my limit, so this DreamStart sounds like it could very easily turn into NightmareFollowup.

Mortgage rejiggin

Talked the mortgage broker and Halifax will now lend me £155,000 instead of £160,000. This isn't bad as I'm borrowing £5,000 against Barratt's 25% stake.

They're still waiting on my landlady's confirmation letter and a letter from my HR dept stating how being on call will affect my overall pay.

Oh the joys of waiting.

More good news

Got hold of the solicitor and there was more good news circulating around the devaluation of the property.

I was worried I'd need another Agreement for Sale drawn up and a fee of whatever they'd charge. Thankfully, there's only two pages that really pertain to the sale and those two pages are the only ones being replaced.

Also, on the subject of the mortgage, apparently the bank will only lend me 75% of the value of the place, which is now £150,000. This is good news as I may not have to touch ANY of my money. Also good news in that my monthly mortgage rate will drop to reflect the £9,850 less I'm borrowing.

All good news.

Now I have to get hold of the mortgage people and sort out the new mortgage offer.

Solictor's woes

Just tried to contact the solicitors to give them the news and arrange to come down with the cheque and the Agreement for Sale.

The woman I'm dealing with has gone to a Barratt site and won't be back today. Oh well, will give me a chance to get my flat mate's rent cheque deposited and put into my account.

Gotta get this sorted asap, as I want to sort out this purchase before I head to Oz!

Missed call, Good news

Just had a missed call from the Barratt's site office.

Apparently the re-evaluation to £200,000 has been accepted. This is stellar news! I had to stop the DVD we were watching to tell my flat mate and mate. Told Sue and she said we should still pay the £180,000 as we could afford it. That means we'll owe Barratt's £20,000 instead of £60,000.

Now I have to go to the solicitor's and pay them to do the searches and drop off the signed copy of the Agreement for Sale.

Happy happy days!

Valuation Update, but not update

Had a quick call from the mortgage company to update me on a couple of things.

The letter from my landlady to say that I actually pay her hasn't come back yet and neither has the letter from the HR dept at work to say how much impact my On Call work will have on my final salary.

They're also expecting to hear from Barratt's on Monday now about the valuation of the flat.

I guess Monday is the day then.

Concerns

Having seen the flat and been given the offer, it's all becoming a bit real. I'm still concerned that the flat's not going to be big enough to hold all my stuff (and Sue's!) but my mate G told me to shut up and get on the property ladder.

I'll never be able to jump onto the rung that gets me the 2000 sq ft penthouse, I'll have to climb to that. He also generously offered me some storage space in his cellar for stuff we won't be able to store at the flat.

How sad are we?

Had brekkie at the Perfect Blend in Streatham this afternoon and were at loose ends, so Sue and I drove down to Wallington to sit outside the flat and have a look at it. I sat and ate a Kebab roll I'd bought at a new Indian takeaway in Streatham.

Noted the route and the pain in the ass traffic can be, but it was fun going down and just checking it out.

Solicitor Meeting

Just got back from the solicitor's. Took my ID (passport, utilities, etc.) and a document they wanted me to sign.

Talked over what the process is about the flat buying and such. I mentioned what Barratt's had said about the last valuation being closer to market value. The solicitor seems to think a local authority search may have already been done. She also said she'd harrass Barratt's as well to get the sale price lowered to reflect the drop in value. Here's hoping I can get at least £20,000 off!

Took all the stuff I needed to... except for the cheque for £250.

Still, now that they have my ID, they can open my file and start working for me. Hurrah.

Also asked about the £1,000 in solicitor's fees that Barratt's takes care of. Apparently they need my dosh up front to pay for the services they'll provide, then I'll get reimbursed the £250 and any other fees will be covered by Barratt's.

Barratt's call

Before I had chance to call Barratt's and find out what's up with the de-val, they called me!

Apparently they're as perplexed at the value drop as I am. The guy who was taking it before had a valuation done and apparently it came in closer to the asking price than mine.

They said if worse comes to worse, they'll organise a 3rd valuation and pay for it themselves.

I'm wondering if it's worth progressing at this point. I have paid a load of money, but if it's all going to fall apart I don't know how much more I want to spend, and no one can tell me whether it's a dead deal or not.

I was going to call the landlord tonight and give notice as well. I think I'll wait until things are a tad more stable.

Valuation woes

Well, the mortgage company called and talked about the de-valuation.

Not sure it's a good thing and neither do they. They're going to talk to Barratt's and find out what can be done. I think I'm quite worried. If Halifax say it's worth £200,000, then that's £40,000 worth of mortgage money I have to find which is not going to happen.

Halifax Valuation

Well, I had a valuation from the Halifax in the post today.

One look at this rudimentary two page photocopy and all I could say was "I paid £400 for this?"

It told me everything I already knew, but the area where the guy valued it, he put £200,000 based on similar property nearby. This is a tad troubling, as the property should be worth £250,000.

Through my keen negotiation skills, I knocked £10,000 off. However, with this new document I feel like quite a putz. Not sure where this leaves me. Should probably call the mortgage people tomorrow and find out.

Moving Help

I was down in Bognor today and my cousin Rob very thankfully offered his services when I move to the flat in Wallington. He's going to borrow his dad's large-backed lorry so we can haul my stuff from Streatham to the new place.

This news is a godsend! I was worried about how I was going to haul my stuff to the new place, as well as who I could recruit as an extra hand. Rob's a good guy and I'll make sure he's well taken of for helping me out (I envision showering him in pizza and beer!)

Train prices

Sue's been onto me about train prices from Wallington again.

Just forwarded her an email she sent me outlining the prices. I think everything will be ok, but I do worry about just about EVERYTHING!