I have had 3 house viewings cancelled in a week

[PumpkinWitch]

This is more of a rant than an AIBU but I am getting divorced and trying to buy a house for me and DS. There is hardly anything for sale.

I booked 3 house viewings and all cancelled on the day as the house had just sold. WTF is going on? The prices have gone up so much in the last few months too.

I want to buy somewhere so I know where we are going to be living to get DS a school place as we need to apply next year. What would you do if you were me.

Just keep trying. Check Rightmove constantly and as soon as a house appears you want to view ring the agent immediately and get the first possible slot.

Get in there with agents so they call you as soon as they hear about houses going on the market

Make sure you are signed up directly with the agents and show them your agreement in principle so they know you are serious and prepared financially. Have you got an existing property you need to sell first?

Have a back up plan in terms of renting where you need to be in terms of schooling.

This is also happening to my DD

I would ask to look at the houses that are not selling so quickly and make a cheeky offer. Unless there are structural issues or the house is unmortageable, you have nothing to lose.

Solidarity here OP, I am registered with local agents and it doesn’t seem to make any difference!
Surely the market can’t continue to be so bonkers?

I am very keen to accept any offer from my ex if so that the divorce is over as soon as possible as it has dragged on too long. He wants to keep the house so will buy me out. It will just be a matter of transferring the mortgage into only his name ( he can easily afford it).

Do you think the situation is going to get any better? The stamp duty holiday thing is over now but it is still bonkers.

I don’t mind a house that needs some work.

Could you rent for a while? The housing market is still nutty.

Welcome to the housing market at the moment! It's been like this since last summer. It's an absolute nightmare. More than half of the viewings we've attempted to have have been cancelled in the past year and nearly all the houses have offers over guide price on the very first day they're listed. It's truly a nightmare. We had a purchase fall through last summer (vendors changed their mind about selling after COVID, have just re-listed - for offers over 200K more than the offer they accepted from us last year!! It will probably sell within a week. We have been trying to buy since Jan 2020 and have put our search on hold now until closer to Christmas time.

If there are any particular roads/blocks you think you could afford/would like to rent you could do worse than leaflet the area (especially if you are chain free).

It was a chance discussion with one of my "down the road a bit" neighbours and a family at toddler group/school that led to a property sale (should have asked for a finders fee!).

We were due to move just before end of June everything going ok . Then top of chain pulled out so it all fell apart . We are now out of pocket and house prices have rocketed . Where we live there is nothing in our price it’s a nightmare

Come join us over in property section! You are far from alone at the moment, sadly.

I will join you on the property section. It is good to know that it is not just me. The prices are getting out of my price range.

I could leaflet roads. It does need to be something like that if your not first in it is impossible.

So are you actually in a position to buy yet, or are you actually waiting on a divorce settlement of unknown size? Estate agents tend to prioritise buyers who are ready to go asap, so the hierarchy would be:

• preferred: cash buyer
• second: first time buyer with mortgage agreement in principle lined up
• third: chain buyer with sale of existing property agreed already and mortgage agreement in principle lined up
• last: buyers who have got a property to sell and no offers yet, no mortgage agreement in principle yet etc.

In reality if your budget is tight AND you are uncertain about what and when you will get the settlement from your ex the estate agents are not going to take you seriously in a sellers market.

Be prepared for speedy action.

Make sure you have all your finances, mortgage and lawyer lined up and ready to proceed as soon as you want to make an offer.

If you are a cash buyer, with no property to sell and no chain, make sure the seller and estate agent know that.

Your conveyance lawyer is required by money-laundering regulations, to obtain proofs of your ID, current address and funding source' so ask what documents s/he' s going to need and have i them ready.

BEFORE you go to a viewing, do all your homework (look at local schools/transport/facilities. Use google maps and satellite to suss out any nearby negatives that would put you off (next door to a pub/ noisy junction).

I bought in October OP and it was a miserable experience. Every house got sold straight away or I got outbid. I remember crying once as I thought it was never going to happen. One seller even took TWO months to come back to my offer.

You just have to keep going, put in your best offer as it’s a sellers market. Check rightmove multiple times a day and get alerts and do the viewing ASAP.

The stamp duty holiday really ramped things up, plus I’ve heard that after the first couple of lockdowns a lot of small flat owners wanted to upsize to houses or larger flats because they struggled with being in their property all the time, which also increased the demand. All you can really find around my area at the moment are the 1 bed compact flats which are only a few years old. Keep at it, try and build relationships with your local estate agents and be prepared to move fast. But yes it’s really tough at the moment and I feel for you.