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Property/DIY

Finally sold our flat and nothing to buy

38 replies

Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 08:17

After a year on the market we have finally sold our flat but the house we wanted to buy just hasn't happened. The vendors were happy with the price but wouldn't accept it formally until they had an offer accepted on something they wanted to buy. We had over a week of back and forth before it became apparent that they were expecting us to wait however long until they found a property whether that was weeks or
months. Tbh I really didn't trust them after all that not to then pull out even if they did find somewhere.

Our buyer is putting pressure on for us to commit to a date of exchange.

We've been to see everything else on the market and of the two potential houses we liked, one had such small bedrooms that we couldn't even fit a bed and bedside cabinets in the master let alone a wardrobe. The other one backs onto a main road and the garden is north facing although the house is actually great (hubby really doesn't want to buy it due to the main road).
We can't extend our search any further due to childcare so I think we're stuck with going for a middle house and moving again ??

Renting isn't really an option as we are planning to port our existing mortgage as its on a ridiculous interest rate and will save us hundreds of pounds a month but we can only do that for three months after we sell ours.

I feel completely trapped. Nothing is likely to come on the market at this time of year and we've been looking for 8 months for a property while trying to sell our flat. Looking for a detached house is so hard here as they so rarely come up.

I think I'm going to try canvassing. Has anyone done this before and how would you word things on the leaflet to let people know you're serious?

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Bearbehind · 29/10/2015 08:55

Just how ridiculous is your interest rate on your mortgage- is it really that much better than you could secure now?

Being tied into buying a house you don't really like in order to save a few quid on your mortgage seems absolute madness to me.

I'd rent rather than be forced into a purchase of a house I wasn't happy with.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 08:57

There isn't even anything to rent :-(

I feel like there are no options. I never realised just how stressful this would be.

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Bearbehind · 29/10/2015 09:02

Well if there really aren't any properties to rent (have you looked at everything available- renting is only short term so can you compromise on size/ location for a while?) then you don't have much choice than to pull out of your current sale.

Canvassing can work but it's not a quick fix- it's very unlikely someone will get a note from you 2 months before Christmas and think, I know, I'll sell my house immediately.

If they want to sell, it will be advertised.

Realistically you aren't going to complete on a property this year if you haven't even found one- will your buyers wait that long anyway.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 09:10

No way we can pull out of the sale as it's taken a year to get a purchaser. We're not planning on moving before Christmas as its not realistic time frame for everything to complete. Looking at end of January for moving out. We could potentially stay with one of our parents for a short time so that is an option but would have to try and limit that to weeks rather than months.

Just need to either hope something comes up or we need to curb our expectations of a property or be prepared to do a lot of work to one I guess.

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knittedslippersx2 · 29/10/2015 09:14

Definitely do a leaflet drop in the roads you are interested in. I know a couple of people it's worked for.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 09:17

Can't hurt eh! Will make one up tonight and do some leaflet dropping later. Wish hubby wasn't so fussy. X

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ThroughThickAndThin01 · 29/10/2015 09:18

Yes do a letter drop, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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BumWad · 29/10/2015 09:51

We bought in a rush last year after our flat sold after 3 years.

I wish we had gone into rented and waited, as this is not our forever home so will be spending to move again. We also ported our mortgage across however I wish we'd just gone into rented and paid the £5K exit fees.

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poocatcherchampion · 29/10/2015 09:55

I cant work out what was wrong with the first house except for timing? The timing seems immaterial now?

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 09:58

The issue is that they won't commit to it poo catcher. They wouldn't return the estate agent phone calls and were dodging questions and wouldn't accept the offer. They just seem altogether flaky and not really sure if they actually wanted to sell or not and their estate agent actually advised us to walk away as they were being so non commital. X

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QforCucumber · 29/10/2015 09:58

I'd take the move into parents for up to 3 months, it's what we plan on doing if we can't find something when ours comes to sell.
It's not the perfect situation but will stop you rushing into purchasing a house you don't like just for the sake of it.

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poocatcherchampion · 29/10/2015 10:20

OK fair enough.

I hope you find something. Remember you only need one house!

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specialsubject · 29/10/2015 10:27

rent, even though the minimum is six months and it may not be in the right place. Will still be much cheaper than buying and selling again.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 10:44

Thank you. Going back to do second viewings of a few houses we had discounted but going back with reviewed expectations and an open mind about renovations and knocking down walls lol.

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HeadDreamer · 29/10/2015 10:49

I think you have to rent. There's no way your buyer will wait given it took your a year to sell. It seems madness you go and buy something you don't want. What's your rate? I just got 0.99% so unless it's something even less than that.

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Bearbehind · 29/10/2015 11:17

If pulling out of this sale isn't a option you are going to have to rent (potentially somewhere you don't like) or move in with your parents for a while.

It's a really, really bad idea to buy a house you don't like just for the sake of finding somewhere to port your mortgage.

Stamp duty and moving costs alone will very likely more than wipe out any savings in your monthly mortgage costs if you don't stay in a new place for long.

If you have a plan B for when your sale completes it eill take the pressure off finding a house as you'll know you have somewhere to live in the short term.

It sounds to me like you're heaping all this pressure on yourself just to be able to port your mortgage which is madness.

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hereandtherex · 29/10/2015 11:23

You've not sold. Sold is when you have the money in your account.

You are stuck in a chain.

Getting chains to complete is harder and harder these days.

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hereandtherex · 29/10/2015 11:28

And the transaction costs of moving house are very high.

These days, banks seem to earn their money form money by rolling up all their profit into a chunky fee, paid at the start of mortgage.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 11:37

Erm thanks for that!

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hereandtherex · 29/10/2015 11:51

I'm trying not to be rude but I would help everyone if people where a bit more clear + exact about there position.

I've been through the whole house buying process where, after being assured a buyer had 'sold' their house, I found out that they were still in a chain and their 'sold' was nothing more than a vague, verbal agreement to buy there house from someone in a pub.

I could have swung for them and their stupid solicitor.

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 12:29

That sounds hellish!!

Our buyer is just waiting for the transcript of our valuation so they can get their mortgage offer out and then we'll be in a position to conclude missives so we're fairly far down the line but I know it's not ironclad til we conclude missives.

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mrlock69 · 29/10/2015 12:48

Hi
I am an estate agent and have been for 25 years, your plight is quite common right now due to the real lack of property for sale.
It is your estate agents job to protect you from being pressured, they should be telling your buyer that they can buy your flat; on the proviso they are prepared to wait for however long it takes for you to find the right property for you and your family.
You are sale agreed, so as soon as the right property comes to the market you are ready to proceed, so it puts you in a strong position. If your buyer pulls out due to finding elsewhere as they aren't prepared to wait...then your agent must find you another buyer.
Don't buy a property that does not suit your NEEDS, but also remember that the 'perfect property' is a very rare thing. Make a list of your needs (not your wants), place yourself with all estate agents in the area and check Rightmove / Zoopla EVERY evening. Keep in touch with local agents, make sure you are the 1st person they call when they list a property that would suit your needs. Good luck

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Scattymum101 · 29/10/2015 13:17

Thank you.
It is so hard to find somewhere. We're trying to look with an open mind at properties where it fits our needs and our wants could be incorporated if that makes sense. Like I'd consider a three bed if we had scope to convert a garage or put a conservatory on. I'd consider an unusual layout if we could knock a wall in somewhere to give it better flow.

We're registered with all the estate agents who I think now hate us lol. Check rightmove once an hour Blush plus all the local estate agent websites at least three times a day as sometimes they don't phone!!! Hubby also phones each one weekly to see if they have anything in the pipeline.

I heard a rumour someone in my mums street was thinking of selling so going to leaflet their house tonight lol. Can't hurt.

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HeadDreamer · 29/10/2015 13:54

scattymum many of us have been through this. I just completed and moved last month. It was hell. Tbh, there are still a lot of waiting after the mortgage valuation from my buyer's bank. It really depends on who it was how fast they can go. (Mine was HSBC and it was ready in just over a week).

We had a lot of problems with properties further up the chain. However since there are so few properties to buy (what mrlock says), us and our buyer were willing to wait it out. It all depends on how desirable your area is. We are in a very popular area. Our estate agent said they've not had a property on for more than 3 weeks! Therefore we were very certain we won't lose our buyer. It's the same thing for us when we finally got our offer accepted on the house we are in now.

Good luck and all the best. It's very very stressful this buying and selling thing.

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Bearbehind · 29/10/2015 14:05

Are you in Scotland OP? I noticed you using the word 'missives'.

If so I'm a bit confused about the house you originally wanted to buy- you can't back out of a sale in Scotland at the last minute in the same way as you can in England and Wales so you don't need to get the sale as far down the line before its assured.

Is there no chance of this happening?

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