Listing, viewings and offers thread 3!

[Fortheloveofscience]

We filled up our old one, hoping I'm not posting out of turn by starting the next, it's the only thing keeping me from going nuts with the endless cycle of no viewings - viewings - feedback - no offer - no viewings - viewings etc!

Hope this is the thread where we all sell and get our dream houses. I'm working from home and doing 'backseat cleaning' - nagging my poor OH who has the day off to do everything for our second viewing this afternoon from the only couple to have shown serious interest.

Fialor that's so frustrating - really hope that you get some good news soon.

Glad to see that there has been some positive movement for others as well - wishing you all hassle free and smooth sales!

No news here, apart from finding out that the urgent survey request I'd asked for on Friday of last week, hadn't actually been passed to the lender until today. I'm so utterly fed up and pissed off with everyone we've dealt with. I'm sick of being lied to, manipulated and generally shat on!! I don't understand why people can't do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it? Why promise me you'll return my phone call when you have no intention of doing so? Why tell me an application has been sent when you know it hasn't?

Thank you Ladies - I am a lot better now :-)

Wishing everyone all the best and keeping fx for positive news for us all and sales/buys.
xx

Hello everyone,

Mind if I jump in?

We went on the market on Friday, 3 viewings lined up this week, had 2 viewings from a cash buyer just before we went on the market, they want to offer but are dragging their heels. We've got all our financial ducks in a row and have found our forever home so fingers crossed for an offer soon, although I'm naturally skeptical and can't believe we would sell that soon.

May I join? Been on the market for 10 days so not long really. Had 5 viewings so far with 2 more lined up for tomorrow. Feedback so far has been critical of things we can't change. Garden too small, in too quiet a street, want 4 bedrooms (why look round a 3 bed then???!), too nice (!). Apparently the 'too nice' people wanted something to do up and sell on at a profit but there's nothing to do! Luckily, we're not in a rush to move but we have seen a house we really like and don't want to miss out on.

See I have viewed houses where the garden has appeared much bigger in the pictures. The street if they don't know the area that's a fair comment. The three not four bed does make you wonder...

Too quiet a street? Bizarre.

We sold in less than a week. Exactly the sort of buyer we were expecting -someone wanting a cheap place close to their parents. Offer was a little low but we've seen too many houses here languish and rot then go for peanuts at auction.

So now we have viewings to do. Lots of houses we like have been and gone. There's two we really like but both heavily extended so will need to take our sonic screwdriver along and make sure our car would fit. The cheaper one has only a yars with a conservatory in it which is fine with two teens (and the rest of the house is perfect for them with 4 double bedrooms and 2 reception rooms, so they get the space they need to avoid each other -both ASD). DH was talking to colleagues and they were saying they wouldn't touch a house with hardly any garden. We could stay there forever, though, so I don't think it's an issue.

The other we like is less on the edge of town and up for 30k more. We could afford it but DH is less comfortable with the bigger mortgage. We're seeing that tonight along with 2 that are fine on paper but not so well located for public transport.

Glad solicitor is now in place BananaFrenchToast.

LazyDailyMailJournos - yes I hate it when people tell you they are going to do something by x date and then don't. It's so bloody frustrating.

Welcome LuLloyd - quick sales can happen so fingers crossed for you.

Watto - at least you are getting lots of viewings. That's usually a really good sign.

PickAChew - Good to hear you've sold quickly. I hope you manage to find a house that's right for you soon.

As for us, I'm feeling a bit despondent right now. We were told by 2 different EA's that shared ownership houses in the South East are really in demand as a lot of first-time buyers are struggling to get a big enough deposit together to buy outright due to high house prices around here, and that subsequently we were likely to get a lot of interest and a quick sale on our shared ownership house. We went on the market last Tuesday and so far we've only had two viewings booked in, and one of those viewers didn't even turn up! I guess I was just expecting a bit more interest and viewings booked in given what we were told to expect. Now I'm starting to think it was just EA bullshit and this could actually take a while.

Just wanted to join in and hopefully get some advice. House is sold stc and trying to get offer accepted on a house we really like and move by late October/early November (first baby due late November). Best and final offers are tomorrow. Our current offer is within the range they want, between midpoint and top end. We could go higher but really want to keep a certain amount of money back for baby things, some work on the house etc. Last week I think we were the only offer but there were apparently other 'interested parties'. I think we look good as buyers (selling to FTBs, large deposit, got mortgage agreement in principle) but worried about misjudging offer.

Pretty it's really hard to say without knowing how many other bidders there are and what their situation is, but in principle I think you've made the right call. You've made a serious offer which is towards the upper end of what the vendors are looking for and are in a strong position, but not over-stretching yourself or willing to offer more than you can realistically afford. Really that's the best you can do. I hope it goes well tomorrow. You must be very anxious right now.

I agree with kitkat - it's very easy to get carried away because of the stress and pressure you put on yourself (thinking 'we need to find somewhere'), but your offer sounds sensible. Remember that the market is slowing down, including in London and the SE.

Thanks KitKat. Definitely anxious, really like the house but also worried about how quickly they're going to take finding somewhere to buy. There's another cheaper house we like where the chain was complete but buyers dropped out, so that's another option that'll probably move quicker, but a lot smaller and will need to extend or move again in a few years (but both get us to area we want to live in).

Sorry you haven't had many viewings, hate it that estate agents bullshit rather than give you a more realistic idea.

It's good you have a 'back up' option in mind Pretty. I hope you do manage to get your first choice option tomorrow though.

I'm a bit miffed our EA couldn't have just said that it would likely to take a while to sell our house if that is was they genuinely thought. I probably wouldn't have started looking at houses in which case, whereas now we have started looking I can see now that we're probably going to have to sit and watch lots of houses we've seen and liked sell to other buyers. Sigh.

Thanks KitKat, and you were right sales can happen fast, we have accepted and offer today for 2k below asking price and had our offer accepted on the house we want at 5k below asking price. I can't believe it!

Our buyers offer is subject to survey so fingered crossed that doesn't pull anything dodgy up, what sort of things should I anticipate with that? We don't believe there could be anything but We didn't have a survey (other than the mortgage survey) done when we bought the house we are in. I feel like I've just been thrown in the lions den

Lu it's just a waiting game really! Surveys will pull up all sorts of things but most of them are fairly standard and IME they tend to err on the side of caution. So unless the roof is in immaculate condition it's likely to advise that the roof may need some attention and possible replacement in years to come. There's a balance between negotiating with your buyers for reasonable work that needs doing - and not having the complete piss taken out of you for every tiny little detail.

We're waiting on our survey for the place we're buying and I'm on pins hoping that everything stacks up. I have three bottles of champagne that I've been saving for ages. The first is to be opened the day that we get the survey back and confirm that everything is OK (hopefully!). The second is to be opened the day we exchange contracts. The last one is for the day that we complete and actually move!

Great news LuLloyd! I'm not an expert but the Home Owners Alliance provide some information on surveys here.

hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/what-sort-of-survey-should-i-have/

As I understand it there are different 'levels' of survey and some go into more detail than others, but in the main they are looking for major issues that would be expensive to repair like damp, subsidence, the roof being in poor condition, or problems with the electrics. If your house is generally in good condition and you've never noticed any issues then it's unlikely that the survey is going to uncover much, fingers crossed.

Call from EA - no feedback on chasing from one viewer, another one (that they didn't tell us about) had a second viewing but feels it is overpriced. Same viewer said previously that the lack of garden was putting her off. And as we've just seen a v similar (same no of bedrooms but slightly larger floor area) house round the corner on for 289 whereas we have just reduced to OO 240, we are inclined to disagree.
Also, though we probably could reduce the price massively and get an offer (if you remember we had it on at 250 and our only offer so far was max 222) we would lose more money taking that offer than keeping it empty for about 10 years given the size of the mortgage.

I hope everything goes well for you Lazy!

Thanks for that info KitKat.

Our buyers have just pulled out of a sale before offering on ours because of roof problems on the property they wanted, so they're probably already err'ing on the side of caution anyway with previous experiences. Sit and wait and fingers crossed I guess. The property we are buying is 8 years old, not sure whether a survey on that would be 'wasted' money or do you think it's best to have one regardless?

It depends really. At 8 years old I'd expect it to still be under the NHBC warranty, although the coverage on this does taper in later years. Might be worth making some enquiries with the vendor's agent. The house we're buying is 13 years old and we're having a home buyer's survey done on it.

One we're viewing is 16 years old with a 13 year old extension and, if we go for that one, we'll most definitely have a home buyer's report on it.

We viewed 2 houses today with 10 year old extensions and renovations and you'd be surprised how neglected a house can look after that length of time, if not meticulously cared for. If it's like that on the surface, imagine what hidden horrors there might be that you hadn't considered (though, that said, IME homebuyer's reports do seem to be an exercise in stating the obvious. Your boiler is 8 years old and might need renewing soon. The carpet looks a bit worn in the hall.)

This @kitkat. Watch for estate agent bullshit. They conjured an opposing buyer out of thin air when we bought a BTL. We didn't raise our offer. We still bought the place. Happened again with another house we wanted with "increased offer" for someone who saw the place eons before us. They vendor wanted £10k more on a £1m house so we walked as he was flaky and likely to merely keep pulling the same trick.

Hope you get what you want. Don't overpay. There just isn't that much demand out there that suddenly the house you want is in a hot bidding war. Oh and the first house we tried to buy we lost out on for a tiny amount of money in retrospect. We are really glad we did as the one we ended up in was great for us, much better located, and that counts in the long run. There will always be something else.

LuLloyd I probably wouldn't pay out for a survey on a 8 year old house on balance, as I would have thought it is unlikely it would have major issues with the roof or foundations etc at that age, but it is a bit of a gamble. I 'd be more likely to pay for one if the house has been extended or majorly renovated though, as I'd want to be confident that the work had been done properly and not affected the integrity of the building in any way.

Thanks WiseDad but I think you may have confused me with Prettygirl, as she's the poster putting in a final bid today.

Oh and I'm sorry drspouse to hear that you haven't had much luck with your viewings yet.

drspouse how bloody annoying. You're put off by the lack of garden? Why are you viewing it for a second time then?! Price-wise you sound fine. It's so frustrating having to wait. Are you happy with what your agent is doing or is it worth looking at alternatives?

Still waiting for confirmation of the survey booking here. I'm not the world's most patient person under normal circumstances, so this hurry up and do nothing is really hard!

Thanks Wisedad.

Just aware we'd be asking for 12 weeks to complete at absolute latest (which still only gets us in 2 weeks before my due date) and I think they're offering on somewhere tomorrow. Hoping a generous offer and appeal to vendors will make it happen, but I think they'd prefer not to be rushed.

12 weeks should be doable as long as it's straight forward and everyone communicates well