The refurb begins

One month on and Im ready for the buiders to move.

Ive the house stripped back and some scary things have shown up , namely damp, plaster falling off walls in LARGE sections, a ceiling needs replastering , theres no ventilation.

Im also getting heating installed, a new bathroom put in upstairs , a full new kitchen, new floors through out .

its all mine !!!

after months of stress I now a house !!!!

Had a small heart attack when i pulled away the old fire covering and the wall crumbled. Seriously do not have the funds for any extra jobs

closing day - allegedly

so here we are , closing day !!
and not a peep from anyone involved.

The solicitor said yesterday that they expected the sale to go through today and that I dont need to sign the deeds today. She also said I can get the keys from the EA. I ve rang him and he didnt even know we were closing today.

Ive no idea what actually happens today, the seller left the property weeks ago and has had two weeks to get the property cleared out so surely it could have closed this morning!

I might pop down to the house and have a look

final countdown

the bank had lost my documents ...now theyre found and were closing and getting keys on the same day - Friday

Ive rang the Life insurance to activate it and it turns out ive been paying for the last 3 months!

Contracts signed but...

The cert was sent to the bank last Friday to ensure it was what they wanted. Its holding everything up again but better to be safe than be in a contract where i cant get a mortgage.

All contracts are signed and Ive handed over the second cheque. Solicitor will hopefully have an answer today from the bank.

eventually cert has actually arrived

turns out everyone was lying ....cert was only received to day by sellers solicitor who have sent it over to mine. Solicitor is away on holidays so nothing can happen until next Tuesday.

Rang house insurance again for a new quote and was talked to by an arrogant idiot. :-(
They reckon a new kitchen is renovations so wont insure contents until it is fitted .

cert is ready

have rang the ea again who has rang the sellers solicitor again. The cert is ready and ok and was sent to solicitor today. they also rang my solicitors office who obviously didnt think it was important to tell me !

hope fully this is it... there is still the other conditions
* bank statment
* insurance schedule
* homebond or similar

also heard a rumour solicitor is on holiday so nothing might happen for a bit

cert has been done

Cert was only done last Tuesday and is still being checked against planning law by the architect. There was no information coming either my solicitor or the vendors one who hired the architect. Eventually mine suggested i contact the ea and lo and behold its all now moving on a bit.

why do solicitors take so long over everything !!

still going...

vendor has agreed to get cert ! this has taken three weeks....mainly due to solicitors using post not email. Cert due next Monday and Ive all other paperwork ready

up.....then down

the loan offer has arrived with a few conditions attached. Mainly the bank want certificate of compliance . im presuming towards the extension.

now its too small to need planning and its out door space thats left is really small but that regulation didnt come into affect until 2002 and extension was built in 1982.

how ever there is no cert of compliance with the deeds and hence no proof that it was built in 1982. The seller inherited the house so has no documentaion from the time it was built. Allegedly it was built with a corpo grant.

Solicitor is contacting bank to say we dont have a architect inspection or home bond and the seller solicitor re compliance . Im willing to do just hire an architect to provide a cert if thats what it takes.

I really was hoping to sign contracts to day so I could give 8 weeks notice on my house next week. That would leave august and some of july for the builders to work on the house and for me to organise the move and furniture etc

still waiting

and the story drags on.....

Thebank requested a quote on a list of jobs they would like to be done, including :

central heating installed
water tank removed and replaced
plumbing and render cracks checked
access to attic provided

amongst others.

To be fair to me WTF! why should the bank dictate whether i have heating or not ? The list they sent is an exact cut and paste of the final page of the surveyors report. So that quote has now been sent in so fingers crossed. Im also wondering if they can make me get these jobs done as a condition of draw down?

They have also requested copy of planning permission for the extension built in the 80s but afaik it doesnt need planning and Ive had no comment from the solicitor.

Solicitor reckons Im not going to get the mortgage from the bank and need a broker. hes also suggested asking for a reduction on the sale price due to works needed. but i really dont want to do that, as much as i d like to have another 5000 in the fund Im happy with what i paid.

Hoping for news next week

its all about who they know

it seems everyone can spot something that has to be done and knows some one who can do it !

The survey has eventually gone to the bank and yesterday the damp assesser visited. he was recommended by the surveyer who said to get the him to call the surveyer first.

Damp asesser (da) says there is rising damp in the kitchen , front hall?? and party wall in the hall. This sounds like bull shit to me as there is no sign of rising damp in the hall , just damp due to non occupation, no ventilation etc. The kitchen in fairness - i dont know.

I asked the da how he knew and he said because he has a meter reader and he measures damp up to 1metre up the wall. Ehh!! theres no damp to touch, the plaster is fine and he reckons theres rising damp. His quote is for 1100 to chemically inject the walls and 3800 if they also remove and put back the plaster. Convienientaly he knows a plasterer.

So Ill be sending in the report to he bank on Monday and really hope this is it and I can get my loan offer.

I emailed the solicitor to make sure they got the surveyers report and to tell them that the surveyer is looking for a copy of the deeds and planning permission but havnt heard back. So thats 3 phone calls and 1 email theyve ignored.

Im wary now about the planning permission. The ea said it didnt need planning permission but as the extension leaves less than 25% of the original out door space it needs pp. Lets hope it has it .

pear shaped

a lot can go wrong in 9 days !

Insurance company have requested a report from my gp over a stupid throw away comment I made to a gp years ago. That report can take 3 weeks . Im trying to speed it up by collecting it myself. Rang the doc today to see if it was ready , they said theyd ring back but havnt.

Insurance quote arrived by post - alot higher than id discussed with them . Eventually i heard back today from the financial adviser and Im taking just basic mortgage protection which is called life mortgage cover,... or life cover ....or mortgage protection. Reckon this will be around 18 euro a month. Plain English award me arse!

Eventually the bank have rang about the loan offer and they have a problem with the valuers report. They want a damp proof specialist to look at it, the surveyers report, proof the extension is building compliant and confirmation from the solicitor that the the rear lane way has offical access.

whata load of bollix! the lady in the bank said to ring surveyer and ask him what was reported. Surveyer says it shouldnt be discussed with me . Also said that bank should contact the solicitor and not me !!! arghhhhhh

I rang the solicitor and they havnt rang back. I rang the bank and emailed them but no reply.


Plan now is to only deal with the solicitor. I reckon the bank are talking to me about stuff that theyre not meant to tell me and Im getting very confused. I also have to get in touch with a damp specialist and organise the EA to let him in

Im really getting worried now that its all going to fall through.

Life Insurance

Went for a life insurance consult which turned into a financial review. Will probably take basic insurance and added extra of specified sickness cover.

Bank were meant to email details and brochure over, but havnt. They are sending all details and quotes by post.

Surveyer

dissapointing day .

Survey has showed up a few problems, that might be costly.

* maybe rising damp. Walls showing damp so a damp proof course will need to be put on

*cant see behind wooden panels on wall but all walls will need insulating

*they need to check out a chimney that was removed

*they need access to the attic to check the roof as it appears to be undulated. This means the vendor "should" pay for access to be made to the attic. If they refuse the surveyor reccommends dropping the price due to risk

*gas meter should be moved outside

*boiler should be moved upstairs but is in good condition

*there are two cracks outside on the back wall but further investigation is needed to see if they are in the render or lintel


have a meeting with surveyer to see what it will cost. Have no mid week time off next week due to a wedding on the friday . However I might pop into them after the wedding meal but before afters ? Or try to get a late shift at work . no one works saturdays

Valuation & Survey

I got in touch with the valuer and hes also going to do the structural survey for a total of 365€ incl vat ! bargain, as the valuation was 130 on its own. The survey should be 350 ex vat but as its a small house its 300 ex vat and the valuation is free!

Im meeting the bank on Tuesday to arrange life insurance and then im meeting the surveyor at the house to point out any queries etc . I need to measure the doorways when im there for sofas etc and look under the carpet in the extension to see if its concrtete. A major expense might be getting gas into the extension

Ive also made a spreadsheet to keep an eye on the budget. Ive a contingency of 2000 and 18000 to pay for everything ! thats stamp duty, solicitor, fees, labour + builder , appliances, lock smith, beds, paint etc

According to the bank they have approved my mortgage but I have nothing on paper yet. Theyre sending a valuer out to the house and he was given my details today. I have to pay him €130 as the banks dont pay it anymore. Im going to try tommorow to get his number and ask him for a price if he will also do the survey .

The EA sent out the particulers a few days ago which stated they hope to close on June 6th !!!!!!!

Plan now is to get to bank to organise life insurance and home insurance. Im llooking around to cost essentials that ill need after the builders leave , such as
bed, sofa, wardrobe, pots, ...thats it really.

Im still waiting to sign contracts before seeing a builder

waiting on approval

Ive organised a solicitor now and have passed his details onto the estate agent and bank. The EA says he'll send out all the particulers.

The problem now is the bank dragging their heels. i had originaly signed all the paper work to speed things up but theyve rang every day looking for :
p60
rent book
house size & condition
reconfirming address
rate to be used .

Mostly done now and Ill email them with a rate descision tommorow. They reckon a week to make a formal loan offer but with all the bank holidays itmight be longer.


Six months ago I was offered 139000 from the EBS down from the original offer of 190K. Ulster Bank said theyd give me 135k but Im applying for 89k. They said my credit card debot of €1000 wont be taken into account :-0 as its too small. Im trying to call in all debts and pay as much as possible anyway .

Plan now is too
1 get letter of loan offer
2 contact solictor to start searches
3 organise surveyor

Offer Accepted

26th April 2011
My offer has been accepted (21/4) so now Im all nerves that it will fall through or someone else will come along with more money.

Ive been to the back and given them the house price, address and agents details. Ive now officialy applied for a mortgage , not just approval.

I went to see a solicitor but wasnt happy with his price so Im looking for another one, hopefully that will be sorted soon as the estate agent and bank want their details.

Today I paid a €5000 booking deposit. I now really want to get a move on and sign contracts so it cant fall through. Ive no idea how long this will take. Presumbly the solicitor has to do his thing and the bank have to approve me and the house. I plan to get a structural survey done when approval comes through but before the contracts are signed.

Negotiations

April 20th UPDATE

I eventually gave in and rang the agent. he doesnt answer say I left a voice mail saying I needed answer as i was considering placing an offer on another property. I wanted it sorted by Easter.

He rang back saying the seller would like 110k. Soooooo... if he must be expecting me to try to negotaite so why did he say 100k?? I offer 98k saying that this is possible by not getting the windows changed. He calls and leaves a message saying the seller is thinkiong over night as she wants / needs 100k .

so this is nerve wrecking. I cant even publish these posts incase I tempt fate. Im now stressing over costs, mortgage, how much the builder will charge, how to find a builder...i dont even have a solictor and every where is closing for easter tommorow at 5 .

fingers crossed

House No 20

April 14th 2011

This cottage is a split level in phibsboro. Being sold by the owner who has no mortage and on at 150k. Ive viewed it three times and it needs work including

windows
new kitchen
new shower
small bathroom added up stairs
central heating

and other cosmetic works.

Estate agent says they have an offer of 95 k which was turned down. However his collegue says theyve no offers . hmmmmm The ea has rang me a few times to ask how its going , what i think. Ive put in an offer of 95k and ea reminds me theyve turned that down already ( really ???) so i offer 96k. That was on 13/4 and now 14/4 at 9pm I havent heard back yet.