If this plopped through your door would you run a mile?

[narmada]

DP and I have been looking for ages for a house to buy. We're quite picky and have to consider school catchments as two small pre-school children. There is very little on the market in our chosen areas and and in our price bracket (we're in south west london/ Surrey) and having been gazumped a couple of times (yes, really) I am trying to think of alternative ways to find us what we need.

I wondered about doing a mail drop to houses in our chosen streets that might be within our price range if they were to come on the market. Just a printed sheet through the door with our details, our position (no chain, financially sorted) and encouragement to contact us if interested in selling.

If you got something like this through your door would you just bin it immediately?

Has anyone ever tried anything like this?

[narmada]

Thanks samsgoldilocks!

[SamsGoldilocks]

Fingers crossed for you

[narmada]

Just had our offer accepted on a house in our dream location, one of the ones I leafletted on the first day and one of the first I saw. In the end they went through an agent but it seems only to have someone else do the negotiating.

Hopefully the survey will all be OK and we can finally, finally have our own home!

[BabyReindeer]

We couldn't find what we wanted when we first got married, eventually I put an ad in the local paper "Wanted " columns. We got a wonderful 4 bedroomed Georgian house as a result, and strangely enough we knew the people who owned it. We sold it on when we moved a couple of years later to our nex door neighbours who wanted more space - avoiding the dreaded estate agents a second time.

[narmada]

ooh well done Goosey!

[GooseyLoosey]

We got our current house this way. We dropped a hand written note through the letter box so it was clear that it was not a mass mail-shot.

[narmada]

Oh, and I know how much commission they will pay because they told me! They are nice, genuine people.

[narmada]

piglet sorry, but you're wrong in our case. We intend to make the same offer through an agent that we would have made as private vendors. It will be a generous offer given the nature of the property and the condition it's in, because that's what it's worth to us. We are extremely picky about area and a number of features (e.g., size of garden) and that is why we have leafletted some likely houses. We also wanted to move quickly because we want to get a nursery place for our daughter in September.

Providing they accept our offer (which will be not far short of the asking price) the vendors will be approximately £8,000 worse off than had they sold to us privately taking into account commission. Not everyone is on the make, you know. The owners would have to get an offer of £2 grand under full asking price to equal what they'd have got from us privately - not likely given it's on for the same price as the one next door sold for in 2009, and that one's modernised and extended.

[PigletJohn]

If you get one of these through the door it will be someone hoping to get your house cheap.

Just as if you were selling a car, or if you were an old lady with valuable antiques or jewelry, putting it on the open market and getting the widest interest and the most offers is likely to get you the best price.

What I'm doing (I have a house that will be sold soon) is putting these letters aside and once it goes on sale, I will ask them to contact the estate agent.

[narmada]

sams cheeky! But I guess there were no other offers forthcoming that were higher than your friend's cheeky and I bet in the end everyone felt they got a good deal out of it so no harm done.

[narmada]

That should have read 'we had a very interesting chat where she said that.... Oh dear, early night needed....

[narmada]

I do hope so. I think they are decent people and sense they would be happier it going to a family rather than someone out to make a quick buck. Perhaps they want to test the market - who knows? Or maybe they are so uncomfortable talking about money that they'd rather pay someone £8 grand to do that for them (seems bonkers to me but there you go!). Anyway, they are fully within their rights and as I said they have apparently had trouble with a private sale before (just our luck, eh???!!). Let's hope it all comes out in the wash.

Sounds like your sale was a bit protracted and traumatic. You did well to see it through. Surely in cases like that the buyers could withold commission or claim breach of contract if they were in effect thwarting a sale?? But I bet the sellers and you just want it all t o be over!

I am a bit more than I would otherwise be as I have an acquaintance who works for a local agent.We had a very interesting chat who said that around here the best properties often never make it on to rightmove or even to the photos and floorplans stage - they are sold direct to developers by agents who have an 'a' list of ready and waiting cash buyers. Yes, even in this day and age. Nuts!

[SamsGoldilocks]

some friends of mine did this in exeter and got 6 responses over a 6 month period. I think soemone did actually mull it over and decide to contact them but because it was so long after they'd done it, my friends had already put on offer in on a house.

I also heard tell today of a friend who lives in the same area as you who found a 2 bed house, put in a cheeky offer, then got lots of her friends to go round and put in even cheekier offers so hers was the best offer on the table and was accepted.

[angel1976]

narmada Uh... I couldn't tell you yet as we only exchanged and will complete in a couple of weeks! LOL! It's a bummer though that they couldn't trust you though I don't really see how going through an agent will help... House sales fall through all the time, agent or not. I won't tell you my long saga (on another thread) but we actually put a note through the door of the house we are buying as basically, we were getting nowhere negotiating with the agent. And we managed to do something the agent couldn't, which was to agree on a price! Honestly, I don't think the agent will care if you have been in touch with the owners before privately. All they will care about is that whoever they sell to, they will get their commission. Fingers crossed for you that it works out though. Hopefully, because you have been in touch with them and the vendors know you are keen, they might choose you over other parties when it comes down to it...

[narmada]

Angel glad you got your house! Was it worth the wait and wrangling and eating gruel??!

Well, we have spoken to our intended vendors and said we will be putting an offer in no matter how they sell (via agent or private sale) as we think it's the right house for us. Offered to provide evidence of finances which are as sound as they can be in this day and age. We really didn't want to put the pressure on them to do it privately because they have previously had a bad experience with a private buyer being a timewaster and holding them up for months (different property, but once bitten and all that....).

Alas....they still intend to market it through an agent :( :( :( :(. If a cash buyer comes along we are dead in the water. Cash buyers in our area are ten a penny unfortunately and houses in good positions are in very short supply. Can't blame them for doing what they are doing but oh how my heart sank when they told me they were going with an agent.

At least I am on said agent's books as a potential buyer but it's going to be a difficult conversation to have with them: "hello, I understand you have a house coming on the market in XX, we know the sellers, --we tried to buy the house privately from them and therefore deny you your commission-". Hmmmmm.

[JumpJockey]

I did this, leafleted over 100 houses on three streets we like where houses never seem to make it to the open market. No bites at all, alas, but at least we tried!

[angel1976]

narmada It's so hard isn't it? We started looking for 3-bedroom houses in a particular area, then realised that honestly with 2 boys (and lots of overseas family), we really need 4 bedrooms if we want to stay put for a while (really not liking this moving lark AT ALL!) so we then had to stretch our budget to look at 4-bedroom houses. Thankfully, my parents are giving us a no-interest loan. And the house we just bought is right at the top of our budget. It's hard and we literally will have less than £10k by the time we pay for everything but really hoping this is the last time we move for a LONG time. Ideally, I would have liked more as a buffer but the bloody sale/purchase has dragged on so long that thankfully DH is due his bonus soon but we will probably put that towards paying off our mortgage!

[narmada]

Thanks angel. DP and I have just gone through our finances and we were rather peeved to learn they are about £10,000 less rosy than we thought. Oh dear. Off to the mortgage brokers again on monday, still hoping things will work out - we only need about 50% Loan to value FFS!

[angel1976]

narmada Fingers (and toes) crossed! :)

[narmada]

Oooh, saw one of the letter-drop houses again today and we both really love it. The owners are planning to put it on the open market with an agent this week and I was very gently trying to sell her the advantages of doing it privately while trying not to come across as a crazed desperate loon. Hope they come round because I have a big suspicion that if it goes on the open market it will go to a developer paying cash - it's that kind of house and that kind of location :(. We need a mortgage for it, got one agreed in principle but still....we're going to make them a really good offer, not trying to fleece them at all, I just hope that came across.

Owner is going to consult with her brothers (it's an executors sale) and get back to me in next few days. We've been looking on and off for nearly a year and a half (we're quite, erm, particular, but unfortunately don't have the money to go with it!). My nerves are shot, I need .

[narmada]

Actually, I take that back. House number 2 (built in the 40s) did have something that looked like it might be a possible subsidence-related crack (it was diagonal) on one of the bedroom walls. Obv, a full structural survey would be needed.

[narmada]

tyler ooh yes, do investigate those. You can look up who owns them by paying the land registry £4 for the deeds, and then using trusty old google to track them down. You might have better luck tracing the owner that way if they're not in residence at the properties themselves.

chippingin DH hasn't seen either of the houses, but I've seen them both. Couldn't see any major probs with either, well, apart from the fact that house 1 was way too expensive for us!

[tyler80]

I think you might have inspired me to do something similar

There are two houses opposite that have stood empty for years. I keep thinking maybe I should put a note through the door/try and contact the owners and then I think if they wanted to sell they would have done so already so do nothing.

Time to get writing I think, location is perfect for us and the houses themselves are identical to the one we're currently renting so we know the space works for us.

[ChippingIn]

Have you and DH been able to look around the house?

[narmada]

Ach, no, sadly, no more action over the weekend.

Nevertheless, I think the second house I saw is probably worth waiting for - the people I met seemed very straight and explained that it would take a few weeks for them to get the place valued and that they couldn't legally enter into a contract of sale until probate was granted anyway. We are going to keep looking in the meantime but I am hoping that we get somewhere with that one. A big bonus is that we'd not have to move again in 7 years time in order to be near enough to a secondary school for our kids.