Advice on our mortgage situation please?

[Rose143]

Hi peeps,

Ronald and I have been battling for two years to get a mortgage as we haven't found a lender that would lend to foreigners. We are south African and have been here in the UK for almost 4 years. We can apply for citizenship only next year which means any normal lender would say no until next year. It's costing us an arm and a leg. Ronald and I are both on a brilliant income (Ronald being over £40k alone) and can afford up to £1000 repayment on a mortgage and not one lender would look at us until now.

We finally moved into a house last September and it was agreed with the current owner back then that we would rent the house for six months and purchase the house at the asking price of £????? and try again in six months time to find another lender but if we battled we would give him 2 month's notice. Needless to say we have finally got a lender to lend us the money after years of battling. We got good news yesterday that we've got an agreement in principal. So we phoned the previous owner to tell him the good news and he has gone back on his word and said, "Well I suppose the fair card to play here is that we get the house re-valued"

I can't believe this!!! :cry: We have spent years battling to find a lender, got our agreement in principal and nothing in writing from this guy about the asking price being what it was. The reason why we never got paperwork involved was because once our lease is up, the owner would cut his agencies out of the loop and save himself £4000 and this would then save us £4000 which would put the asking price of the house down. This means both parties would win at the end and our savings would go towards my new shop :cry:

We have also made slight improvements to the house with him permission because he said to us that as far as he's concerned the house is ours and we can do what we like to it. We've had a brilliant relationship with this guy since meeting him and he even wanted Ronald to coach his new football team.

Sorry this is so long but we are heartbroken, we cant lose our house!! And we're trying to open the salon as well, I have my Master exam on Monday, shopping for salon furniture at professional beauty on Sunday the list just goes on and on. This is the last thing we needed. We pay our freagin council tax, our taxes, our MOT's our credit cards and this is how we're treated. We just want to have what every other person has ... a house, we have worked so hard! :cry:

xxxx

 

[CadenceAlex]

I see how awful this is for you, but don't be too harsh on the owner of the house... over the last couple of years it could have gone up reasonably in value... and he could be making a few thousand more quid... you can understand that can't you?

Perhaps you could get someone to value it to work out if it's worth it... if not, and you don't want to do as he says.. at least you have a mortgage lender so you can find a proprty elsewhere if needs be.

:hug:

 

[oey]

Rose - dont back down and stick to your guns. Althoug you may have to go int a negotiating game as you had nothing in writing - have you taken legal advice on this?

If it is meant to be yours then it will, just grit your teeth and you will get there!

 

[Rose143]

I see how awful this is for you, but don't be too harsh on the owner of the house... over the last couple of years it could have gone up reasonably in value... and he could be making a few thousand more quid... you can understand that can't you?

Perhaps you could get someone to value it to work out if it's worth it... if not, and you don't want to do as he says.. at least you have a mortgage lender so you can find a proprty elsewhere if needs be.

:hug:

Yes but we can't afford it at this point in time as the lender has only agreed so much and my salon is just on the point of being agreed. How much would the house value go up in 6 months? We haven't been in the house for years at all.

I can't go looking for another house, my god it's going to cost us in time which we are really pushed for, it's bad enough that I've been working solid for 2 weeks till 1am some morning on paperwork and negotiating for my shop. I haven't had a single day off in weeks.

He can't improve his new house unless he has our money, I think we have a bargaining tool.

xxxx

 

[Good Skin Day]

Rose, that's awful :hug: I agree with what Theresa has said.

The cheek of it! To verbally agree with you on a certain price, and for him to say "as far as he's concerned it's yours anyway" and for you to have made improvements which will no doubt be taken into consideration in the valuation, meaning you'll pay twice for them!

TBH, hun, I don't think the house will have gone up loads since last September, but that's not the point - this chap is going back on his word for the sake of greed! But it would be such a satisfying outcome if he did get the house valued and it came up less than the price he'd agreed with you in the first place, that would be karmic perfection :green:

I wish you loads of luck :hug:

 

[CadenceAlex]

Yes but we can't afford it at this point in time as the lender has only agreed so much and my salon is just on the point of being agreed. How much would the house value go up in 6 months? We haven't been in the house for years at all.

I can't go looking for another house, my god it's going to cost us in time which we are really pushed for, it's bad enough that I've been working solid for 2 weeks till 1am some morning on paperwork and negotiating for my shop. I haven't had a single day off in weeks.

He can't improve his new house unless he has our money, I think we have a bargaining tool.

xxxx

I hope this is the case... and there must be some rights for you seeing as you have added value to his property by carrying out work on it... perhaps this could be taken into account and knocked off the value of the house?

Ohhh I thought you said 2 years.... in 6 months it could be doubtful it has gone up much at all... the cheeky b****d - I could understand his point a bit better with a 2 year time scale but SIX months!!!

 

[Rose143]

Thanks guys for the comments, we're gonna ring him tonight and say that the agency has already out of routine sent us another 6 months contract and if he doesn't agree to the house price as discussed before we're sending the contract in to the letting agents and he can't break that. Ronald has already read through the contract clauses.

xxxx

 

[marketing-geek]

Speak to a local estate agent and ask what house prices have done in the past 6 months (houses like the one you are in). This will give you a ball park figure of what the increase has been.

Then subtract the costs of your improvements and this should give you a fair additional cost to what you should expect to pay.

If you have no contract it is difficult. But if there's no contract, is your landlord declaring the income? If not, that could be a HUGE bargaining chip you could keep up your sleeve.

 

[Rose143]

Speak to a local estate agent and ask what house prices have done in the past 6 months (houses like the one you are in). This will give you a ball park figure of what the increase has been.

Then subtract the costs of your improvements and this should give you a fair additional cost to what you should expect to pay.

If you have no contract it is difficult. But if there's no contract, is your landlord declaring the income? If not, that could be a HUGE bargaining chip you could keep up your sleeve.

Thanks very much hun, I'll get onto that right now! :hug:

xxxx