Lenders are typically lending up to 40% less than they were 3 months ago and lenders are picking and choosing their candidates depending on who has the best credit rating and who's finances look the squeakiest clean on paper.
I have personally just been let down by my buyer who put in an offer on one of my properties over 2 months ago. It was a sale that should have been all tied up within 6 weeks due to the buyer being a first timer and the house being empty. I accepted the offer at the beginning of February and here we are 2 months on and the buyer has struggled to get a mortgage and has been let down by more than 1 lender. The position this now puts me in is a bad one because now my property is worth less and than it was at the end of January 08 and it has cost me solicitors fees plus 2 monthly mortgage payments. Where is the security for Sellers? There is none!
In Scotland they have a Bidding system and the buyer is locked in early and deposits change hands at an early stage but here in England the sale has to go weeks down the line with nothing firm or contractually binding until Exchange of Contracts when the deposit monies transfer across. I think it's about time out whole house purchasing system in England is reviewed to protect the seller more and also the buyer.
The buyer's in this country are also put in the position where the seller could leave the house on the market and decide to take a higher offer after they might have already accepted one from another buyer. This gets buyers into bidding wars and in some cases people end up paying more than a house is worth.
Isn't it about time we fought to get our property market back on track? To allow Sellers to feel more security when they receive and accept an offer? And, to give buyers the opportunity to buy a house at its true value? In today's market we are desperate for some change for the better and a review of the buying and selling process is well overdue.
