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Original poster

Why can't we find a house to buy?

39 replies

AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 10:18

i was told there would be a flood of houses coming on to the market. but it's the same old tripe week in. week out. Will I ever find a house? Anyone else in the same boat. i'm so bloody impatient

OP posts:
Twinkie1 · 26/04/2006 10:19

We want to move Allie but we want a specific kind of house and aren't willing to put ours on the market and end up with something just to live in that we don't LOVE!!!!

And no I havenlt seen the flood yet log on to right move about 10 times a day and nothing changes!!!

Tutter · 26/04/2006 10:20

tell me about it.

i'm on findaproperty and primelocation more than i'm on mumsnet.

thought the market was supposed to be more of a buyer's one now, but i can't see it.

hope you're not looking for the same as me in the same place - hands off! Wink

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 10:21

i am obsessed with right move, i get an e-mail every day at 10.21 with a update!

OP posts:
teacakes · 26/04/2006 10:39

Allie,
we were looking for house back in June 2005 whilst i was heavily pregnant. it was surprising to find that our place was offered on in a week and it took until Dec before we found a place (we almost loved). i think we saw around 80+ houses. whatever the market says it is never either a seller or a buyers market!

awayfromhome · 26/04/2006 10:53

Same story here, we need to buy a house as we are coming back to the UK. I have been searching from overseas for the last 6 months and nothing suitable ever seeems to come onto the market, or if it does it goes within about 3 nano seconds..

I get weekely updates and the same old houses are there time and time again..

CHICagoMUM · 26/04/2006 10:54

Ditto, have been scouring properties since december.

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 10:58

"oh piss" is all I can say. We sold within a week, but they let the house of our dreams go the day before we accepted the offer. I keep trying to forget about it but keep scouring, and finding myself considering places I know I son't want to buy...

OP posts:
awayfromhome · 26/04/2006 11:00

Absolutely - I am currently sending my dh around two houses at the weekend (he is in the UK) I don't really want either of them but we have to live in something!!

Carmenere · 26/04/2006 11:02

Can I just say that we got the house we really wanted because I scoured the property websites everyday. We viewed our new house last summer but lost it as our finances wern't yet in place. But the buyers pulled out at the last minute and I just happened to spot it 2 days after it had been readvertised so keep looking and good luck!!!

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 11:04

I get myself so stressed about it too. Silly cow that I am ! I'll know if the dream house falls through. It belongs to the estate agents Nan!

OP posts:
LIZS · 26/04/2006 11:17

agree, we've been looking since January and although a few possibles have passed us by, not having sold yet ourselves, currently can't find anywhere which grabs us.

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 11:27

that must be all the more annoying LIZ x

OP posts:
teacakes · 26/04/2006 11:44

if you do find a buyer have you thought of renting / moving in with famiy whilst you look for your new home? we were lucky enough to move in with family for 3mths during the christmas period.

Jbck · 26/04/2006 15:12

You could all offer to buy mine. Please [begging emoticon]

expatinscotland · 26/04/2006 15:14

I'm glad we're out of this loop! There's no way we can afford to buy anything in this lifetime, so we get to kick back and watch everyone else get stressed out over it.

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 16:35

thanks for your support expat Grin i'm going to go shopping tomorrow and spend what we'd saved for the increased mortgage payment this month!

OP posts:
stripey · 26/04/2006 16:54

I have now been looking for 2.5 years but I am very fussy and so far have only seen 2 properties I liked. Both were taken off the market as the vendors couldn't find anything. Its not easy but good luck

cece · 26/04/2006 17:14

We have taken about 13 months to find soemthing. We sold last Oct and have been renting in the meantime. Hope to exchnage on Friday. It has been Ok and would consider doing the same thing again.

Original poster
AllieBongo · 26/04/2006 19:17

i just know that rent would be double my mortgage!! thats the only prob

OP posts:
booge · 26/04/2006 19:25

We're in the same boat, sold ours for the asking price and can't find a sausage. I have told our buyers though that we've only accepted their offer subject to us finding something suitable. If they start hassling us to move they can look elsewhere as I don't want to get the wrong place.

Leakypeg · 26/04/2006 19:27

we're in the same boat - have been looking since last may half-heartedly, and seriously looking since October. we exchange on our house any day now. it's so frustrating. (I refresh the Rightmove page at least 10 times a day!). House prices are shooting up where we're looking to buy too.

MissChief · 26/04/2006 19:34

well, those of you who have sold, congrats - and you're welcome to ours!

alp · 26/04/2006 20:23

or you can buy mine.........mine is lovely fab next to a park/river/nature resevre even has a massive M&S 2 mins up the road.....anyone.....patience is not my thing and it is driving me crazy. Other than my house I don't think there is anything else decent to buy either Grin

shrub · 26/04/2006 20:51

Someone once told me to always go for the 'worst house on the best street'. If you can see past awful decor/bad layout, you can hopefully save some money, renovate it as you want it and then there should be a good return if you sell in future. If you really know where you want to live I would write a hundred+ notes (handwritten to look genuine) and post to each house, state 'no chain, mortgage ready, if you are thinking of selling in the near future please contact...' etc, and see what happens. We did this and got 4 replies out of 130 houses. Hopefully people thinking of selling will save on estate agents fees too.
Good luck, remember how bloomin awful it is

shrub · 26/04/2006 20:52

meant 'I remember how bloomin awful it is'
Blush

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