Please help - fed up of estate agents!

[SvetlanaThompson1]

Hello everyone, any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated here. We are in need of a house to buy in the Barnehurst (Kent) area, as we'd like to send our son to Bursted Woods School.... but we are fed up of the Estate Agents in the area, they don't seem to want to help us! We are close to exchange on our place but still haven't found anywhere to buy (4 months searching)

What can we do?

Thanks all!

Svetlana

[FarFromAnyRoad]

Print some leaflets and pay some teenagers to drop them through letterboxes in your chosen area?

[Middleagedmotheroftwo]

Look for somewhere to rent in the interim, and take your time over finding a house to buy.

[Lottie5]

If you're sold stc you are a proceedable buyer and therefore should be given priority for viewings etc because you are in a position to proceed. The only possible reason you wouldn't be is if your criteria is too restrictive in your requirements or if there just aren't that many houses available in the area for the price you're looking at. It's really easy for estate agents to match proceedable buyers to properties and essential for their income to do so.

[Bowlersarm]

Is what you are looking for realistic? You don't want a 6 bedroom house with land for £100,000 do you? Estate agents will want to help you if you are in a position to proceed-they want to make money.

[LoofahVanDross]

Get a short term let, and swoop as soon as something you like comes up. Or widen your search by a few miles?

[SvetlanaThompson1]

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.... you'd have thought it would be really easy for estate agents to prioritize us, but either they say there are first time buyers that vendors prefer (no chain) or they always try and get us to increase the offer (above the asking).

Renting is something to look at though, as is leafleting - thanks!

Svetlana

[SvetlanaThompson1]

We have a budget of £280k, with a 55% deposit...

[Bowlersarm]

Well that does make some sense. Most sellers would prefer to go with a first time buyer as there are less links in a chain to go wrong. And if they are coming back and asking for more than the asking price then it must be a hotspot and sales are exceeding expectation.

I second renting; you'll be there on the spot to look at properties as they come on the market, and you aren't relying on a chain behind you.