AIBU to approach owners about a house no longer for sale?

[NoMoreStairs]

How best to approach trying to buy a house that isn't currently for sale?

As an avid RightMove Browser, I have seen houses come and go. Some under offer, some sit there for 2 years, others just vanish.
18 months ago there was a house on the market locally that was perfect but we didn't need / want to move. Circumstances have changed - we need to move and I can't stop thinking about this house. It never was listed as Under Offer, it just vanished. It's not listed on Land Registry as sold.
either

1. It's sold. Land Registry is very slow.
2. It didn't sell as vendors decided to stay
3. It didn't sell as no one wanted it (at that price), but vendors are stuck there.
4. It didn't sell, buyers needed to move so now it's rented out.

All the details are still available to see on House Prices section of RightMove, but not the details of the agent who handled the marketing.

How do I handle finding out if the previous vendors might be open to an approach?

I’d put a letter through the door- saying you saw it was listed for sale but never sstc, if it didn’t sell and their still interested here are your details, position and offer and would they reach out.

Just be aware when mine was listed for sale I had the estate agent remove it from all the property portals rather than mark it SSTC so it may well have sold- just not been put on line as such

Put a note through their door.
My parents house was on the market for a while and they were fed up so pulled it off to relax for a while. As soon as they put it back on there was a buyer who had been gutted it had been taken off, her house wasnt in a position to proceed when the house was first listed.
The right buyers are always out there somewhere so this one could be the one for you!
Pop a note through asking you had seen house had been on market you were interested then has it sold or changed mind for selling with your number for reply!

When I was in a similar situation (house I wanted suddenly disappeared from Rightmove when I was finally in a position to buy) I sent a handwritten letter to the house saying I'd liked the house and wondered if it had been sold? If not, I'd be interested in purchasing, and put my email and phone number on the letter.

The owners contacted me to let me know the house had already been sold by private sale, so at least I knew. However, I would have always kicked myself if I'd done nothing and missed out on a great house because of it.

So I'd say write the owners a letter and politely ask. They can only say no.

Put a note through the door. Good luck!

Put a note through the door! The same happened to me a few years ago when looking for my first house, fell in love with a house on rightmove but by the time I had my deposit it had gone. Popped a note through and the lady dropped me a text to say unfortunately her DP was made redundant so they were no longer in a position to move but would let me know if that changed. I never did hear from them again (and never seen it listed again) but was so glad I checked so that it was out of my mind.

Thanks for your suggestions.
What if it is now rented? If I was a tenant I wouldn't want my landlord to sell up so might "lose" such a note.
I thought about knocking and asking neighbours but that's a bit stalkerish.
I could ring round all the local agents (no more than 8 I would guess) to see what they know?

If they lose the note you’re in no worse position.

Can you not contact the agent who was marketing it for sale and ask if it sold?

Rightmove doesn't tell me that. I could ring every agent in the area which isn't dozens

Why would you do that when you could just pop a note through the door? They may not have used a local agent, it could have been Purple Bricks or one of the other online estate agents.

If it's rented, the tenants can bin the note, so all's good.

If you look up the house on Zoopla under Prices it shows you the history of a property including previous Right Move listings and the estate agent. Just checked this for our home that we bought last year.

If you are in the UK Zoopla should tell you if it has been sold. There is a delay, but 18 months ago will be more than enough time. They usually also have archived listings even if it didnt sell so you click on it and it should take you to the archive and you can see who marketed it. You need an account but you just register and its free. Just gooogle Zoopla sold prices.

Knock on the door, confirm they are the owners, apologise for disturbing them, hand them a letter with what you want to say and your contact details.

My friend did this and bought a large side garden and built her home on it.

You have nothing to lose by doing it once you are respectful.

Thank you @Angrybird76 and @Ches71 . I didn't realise that Zoopla provided agent details in Archive as RightMove doesn't. And despite me thinking no one in this area uses Purple Bricks, that was the agent so @IamSmarticus was right!
Which could also explain why it didn't sell.

We have just done this. Huge change in personal circumstances means we needed to move. Looking for a house with annex. Friend had viewed one two years ago. Hadn’t sold. It was a business so I just called them. They were over the moon, we move in end of July.

They said they were absolutely sick of living in a show home, being there for viewings, being messed about. We have agreed all the terms between us, contents, dates, just sat down with a cuppa. Saved months of paperwork.