Tell me your "we didn't get the house but it was all for the best in the end" stories please?

[scribblegirl]

DP and I found the perfect flat. It's perfect. Location, style, garden AND parking, really decent sized second bedroom and within our price range. I've not seen anything that ticks all the boxes in all our searching.

So it went to sealed bids this morning. We lost our by £1,000. Which we could have stretched to - we just didn't think it would go for that much.

Right now I'm totally gutted and I just feel like it's never going to happen.

I am being consoled at the moment by DParents and DMIL's stories of houses they were gutted to miss out on but it was all for the best in the end. Anyone on here got any to stop me sobbing into my ?

[Sheikhu]

It will be all right. Actually it will be better than all right, it will be amazing!

We lost the flat we first fell in love with, because the person who viewed it right before us made the offer 15 minutes before we did. We were disappointed, but kept looking. Two weeks later we found the flat that we bought and guess what: It's in a much better location, was £15,000 cheaper, more spacious and has nearly doubled in value since we bought (probably because of it's location). It also required some work, which meant that we have been able to make it ours!

All in all, it was great that we didn't get the first place. Hope same luck awaits you :)

[spanky2]

Found the perfect house. Large south facing garden, backing on to fields, end of culdesac , doer upper, so we could have what kitchen etc we want. The seller wasn't as motivated as us, but didn't want to wait for us to sell our house. We sold our house twice before the actual buyers bought it. He took his house off the market but the estate agents didn't tell us. Another estate agent rang to congratulate us on us buying the house. We hadn't. So we started looking again. For the same money we found a new bigger house. The garden is rubbish (new build,) but we have a massive bedroom with dressing area, ensuite, and bed area. The house is in a nicer town and we are so glad we didn't get the first house. Our children love it here, whereas the other house was in the middle of nowhere this is in a town so there's lots to do. There is countryside we can walk to. It's so nice we got our longed for puppy! People are so friendly here.

[magicstar1]

We got in a bidding war and won, but had to wait for the bank to process the sale (repossession). While waiting we found a better house, with a huge garden and shed almost the same size as the house again. I cancelled the first house and it actually went for 50k less than we'd offered. It was a blessing that we didn't get it.

[Moving15]

My dream house went on the market before we managed to get our house on and under offer. It was STC within a week. I was frustrated as it is a totally unique property. We decided to wait a few months before pursuing somewhere else, then as soon as we put ours on the market the house next door to dream house came on the market. Bigger, better, less work. We moved in last month :-)

[HRMumness]

We almost bought a house bordering an up and coming area. The house was a total tip, as in completely not liveable. The rooms were a good size but it would have cost us so much to make it habitable. We ended up in some horror probate issue and in the end the seller pulled the plug after stringing us along for months, while we were overseas on a holiday.

A friend who was at the wedding we'd attended while overseas recommended we look in their area. First house we looked at was the same price, much nicer street and area, much better condition (still a fixer upper) and it was a no chain, very straightforward sale. Done in 6 weeks. I fell pregnant within a month of moving in and we've been so happy here. The house has doubled in value. The other house didn't go up nearly as much either.

[scribblegirl]

Thanks everyone these are making me feel better! Right now I feel like there's nowhere that would be more perfect for us but I suppose it'll happen eventually. We're first time buyers in the only (slightly rubbishy) bit of London we can afford, which doesn't help

[RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog]

Not our current house, for while it's perfectly lovely or will be once restored it's not in the area we really want to be in, but that's another story.

Twice previously though we missed out on something pretty amazing only to find something much better/dodged a bullet -

1. We found a fab 'forever' type house. A real project - which is what we love, hate houses that have already been done up - 3500 sq ft of pretty much unique detached house with bags of original Victorian features. Ours not yet on market. Viewed but obviously not in a position to offer. Got ours on asap, accepted an offer and put one in on dream house, but they accepted an offer from someone (that I happened to know) who wasn't in a chain as they were buying to convert to a business (nursery school). Gutted. Fast forward 6 months and happened to mention it to an acquaintance - turned out her FIL owned the house next door. Slightly different, less original features but same overall footprint and one of only 3 built. Bought it privately for 20k less than first house
   
   
2. When moving last time we found a lovely old grade 2 listed village house with large garden overlooking fields. Put in an offer that was accepted. Went back for second viewing/to measure up only to find building work on the land behind. EAs lied saying bungalows were going up, but the planning portal showed otherwise - three executive homes that would obscure any views we would have had. We pulled out and found a larger house with 1/3 acre garden in different village for only 10k more. First house went to auction and sold for 65k less than we'd offered.......

[SauvignonPlonker]

About 5 years ago, we put an offer in on a house which would be a project: new kitchen, bathrooms, room to extend, great garden; it just had fantastic potential. We wanted something positive to focus on after having a m/c & thinking we'd not be able to have any more children (I was 39). We had offered 385k (right at the top of our budget) & would have had to do it up as we went along.

A week later DP was made redundant & we had to pull out, and rented for 3 years.

We now live in a house which cost nearly 100k less, however we were lucky enough to have DD.

It would have been a nightmare of we'd kept that 1st house; we would never have been able to afford to do anything to it ( so would be living in 70's-ville). Plus there was no childcare nearby. The house we now live in has great nurseries nearby & was immaculately decorated thank god as our childcare fees are horrific & we can't afford to change anything

Looking back, it was a lucky escape!!

[lalalonglegs]

Years ago, just as Borough was getting popular, we found a top-floor shell loft apartment in a small development there. It was fantastic and I was busily working out the layout in my mind not thinking at all about why a developer would be selling it without doing it up (and getting the mark up for that) himself. We got it surveyed and it was absolutely pants - it would cost a fortune just to get the building stable so, very reluctantly, I walked away but I felt wretched.

A couple of years later, I walked along the street and couldn't see it - I walked past several times and realised finally that the nice courtyard that it was set at the back of had been completely built over - presumably by the same developer who had tried to sell us the loft - entirely blocking it in and meaning that its amazing rooftop views must consist entirely of the back wall of this new development. I felt enormously relieved.

Oh and by that time I had bought a really beautiful house in another area where we stayed for seven years and where I had my first two children .

[Bitofeverything]

I fell in love with a house, but was struggling to sell my flat for various reasons - and decided not to go through best and final offers (because was owned by old lady and didn't want to mess her around.) Ended up in a house just round the corner that I absolutely love - and wasn't on market at time. And was £20k less!

[MidnightRun]

Not me.. But a few years ago my parents got an offer accepted on a property, then something happened and it turned out someone else had already had their offer accepted first and were already doing the paper work (long story) but 6months later the entire downstairs of the house flooded.

Terrible shame for the new owners but as you can guess my parents were very relieved they never got it!

[shamedmothertobe]

On both properties we've bought, we lost out then the buyers pulled out and we ended up with it. Keep on at the estate agents - you never know, it may well come back on the market.

[VagueIdeas]

We were gazumped (and subsequently increased our offer) on a house. We got it, but it turned out to have a chronic rat infestation in the loft. Wish we'd missed out on the godforsaken place.

Second time around, we missed out on a house, and subsequently found one that was cheaper and in a MUCH better location.

So there you go

[Sweetpotatoaddict]

Twice I've breathed a sigh of relief looking back. Once buying my first flat fell completely in love with a beautiful big tenement, I was the highest bidder at closing date ( scotland) but the greedy seller put it back on the market. Six months later the property market crashed, the flat was finally sold for 30% less than I'd offered. I'd bought a cheap little flat which lost money in the crash but nothing like my dream one.
Second time looking for our dream family home found a home at the very max of our budget, missed out by £1000 ( despite being told our offer was lower by a substantial margin). Totally gutted but bought a cheap doer upper, which is much smaller but now done up, with a tiny mortgage on it. I'm about to have my second lot of 1 yr of mat leave since buying it, if we'd bought the bigger house there is no way I'd have managed such long mat leave and I'd much rather have the smaller house

[ThisOneSeemsNice]

We tried to buy the most gorgeous fixer upper cottage last year. Perfect for us. Missed out by only a couple of thousand quid and I was totally gutted.

But a month later we found something even better. Bigger garden, better parking, better transport links. And we managed to get £15k off the asking price too.

Moved in before Christmas and just love it.

Later found out that the successful bidders on the cottage had to pull out because they couldn't get a mortgage as it was deemed uninhabitable because of water and electricity supply issues. I looked recently and its still on the market.

Dodged a massive bullet there.

[dotdotdotmustdash]

We found a lovely house and made an offer which was accepted. We had to wait a few weeks for our own buyers to formalise and offer and our seller bailed on us on a Friday afternoon and relisted their house. We got our offer on the Monday morning and we phoned to re-offer but we were too late and someone had viewed over the weekend and phoned immediately. We were gutted but we found another house in the same street and secured it.

We got to know the family in 'our' original house really well. They split up after the first year, the house had lots of structural issues and their newborn baby died suddenly one morning in one of the bedrooms. I'm not superstitious but nothing positive ever happened to the family in that house.

We love our home and I'm so glad we ended up here instead.

[EarSlaps]

We put our house on the market as we'd seen one we really wanted for sale. Managed to get offers on ours, went to sealed bids on the house we wanted and we bid £25k over asking price. Our offer was rejected.

Decided to go ahead and try to find something else. Found this 1960s house that wasn't shifting (other house was a 1930s semi that are very popular around here). Offered £5k under asking and got it. Owners went into rented so no real chain as our buyers were in rented too.

I love our house, was £45k more than the other, but that would have required loads of work and a loft extension, and still wouldn't have had as much space as this one. And we have a playroom here- living the dream .

Plus this one has turned out to be catchment for a great high school, when the other one is in a catchment no man's land.

[FuzzyOwl]

We found our perfect home and our offer was accepted. Then we were gazumped. We increased our offer to be over the asking price but the other side were first time buyers whereas we were a chain (of two). The sellers chose the other people over us. We are now in an even better home, which is bigger and has good extension prospects for the future if we need it.

[DramaAlpaca]

We found our perfect house only to be gazumped after our offer had been accepted. We were so upset with both the seller and the people who'd put in a higher offer bastards. I was devastated, especially as I was newly pregnant with DC2 at the time and we were desperate to move.

A few months later, another house came up in the same street. It wasn't quite as big but had a much nicer garden, and this time we got it - just before DC2 was born. We had five happy years there.

[TheBitterBoy]

We had an offer accepted on a house we loved. A week later the sale of our flat fell through so we had to withdraw our offer. Two months later we had another buyer, so we contacted the estate agent of the house we loved, only to discover it had been taken off the market the previous day - gutted! But the the agent said they had just had the house next door come up for sale. It was perfect, better than the neighbours! Been here many happy years now. Your perfect place is out there.

[Wolfiefan]

We were relocating quite a few years ago. Put a £500 deposit on a lovely new build. I still remember the inside clearly. Lovely kitchen/diner and long garden. Massive lounge. Really lovely.
We couldn't complete due to issues in the chain.
Gutted.
Fast forward a few years. Turns out the area is a bit rough. The parking would have been a pain. Schools not great at all.
We have a nicer house. In a much nicer area. My kids are in great schools and my mum lives round the corner.