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Original poster

Sellers roll call part 2. Who is still on this treadmill?

980 replies

MovingThisYearHopefully · 08/08/2018 14:50

I thought it was about time to start a new thread as this one is close to 1000 messages.

Who is still here & what is your story?

Heres me: I have been trying to move since April last year. Had a buyer, buyers lost their buyer in October & still haven't got a new one. We remarketed at a low price in November in order to continue buying the house we were at point of exchange with, but were unable to get enough to move on & lost the house in February.

Prices are definitely falling here in Surrey. Realistically we're looking to get 10% less than our original asking price, if we're lucky. Getting viewers has never been an issue, regardless of price. This process has been stressful beyond belief & almost split me & DH up. Surely our luck must change soon?

One thing that seems to be helping us get more interest than other properties is that we have now agreed to go chain free. Is this a possibility for any of you struggling? If offered significantly less than asking price then as far as I see it you are within your rights to say chain free was based on near to asking price & not affordable at a significant amount under! Worth considering perhaps?

OP posts:
flamingofridays · 01/09/2018 19:00

Were going round tomorrow so we will have to make a decision then. Im devastated to be honest.

Original poster
MovingThisYearHopefully · 01/09/2018 19:03

OMG! I'm so sorry about this Flamingo & Beautician. Is it worth asking if they'll be more lenient with those of you who have already got an agreement in principle under the old rules? Have you tried Kensington, who find lenders who will lend to those general lenders won't? It may cost more initially, but you can remortgage at a later date once your circumstances change! Everything crossed you both. Flowers

Personally I would of happily accepted an offer from a FTB Lolly. Being chain free is very valuable in whatever form. I would also agree with others that a chain free previous buyer would be preferable, as i'd assume things would go quicker, more smoothly. How much of a reduction a buyer accepts depends on how much they need & how realistic their initial price was. If they are already reduced a significant amount then they're unlikely to want to accept a further 10% drop. Also, some people are simply deluded about how much they think their house is worth.

In our case, we have ended up accepting the equivalent of 9.5% off of the original asking price, or 5% off of the reduced price. We couldn't have accepted another 10% off of the reduced price. I think they did quite well at the 5% tbh & we certainly can't afford to reduce it further after they have surveys etc, should anything come up. I don't see why you can't offer 10% off as a starting point, but its always worth checking out with the EA if they think it is priced to sell or if there have been any previous reductions. Or check out Zoopla if its listed on there as they list previous prices. Also check out all recent sales for actual selling prices!

OP posts:
flamingofridays · 01/09/2018 20:40

I have asked and they basically told me to get another agreement in principle.... no point as i know it will come back aroubd 40 grand. 137 grand less than my original one.

I think were going to have to pull out of sale and purchase, let everyone down and stay here until smallest ds is in school. Hes 2 and a half so not necessarily too long but still, weve got this far its taken months and weve fallen at the last hurdle.

twinkydink · 02/09/2018 07:28

@flamingo I am so sorry, it is so unfair! you can still afford the mortgage repayments but that just isn't taken into account. Thus is honestly one of the most frustrating and stressful experiences we have been through.

We have come off the market again because I just can't deal with all of this while being heavily pregnant!

twinkydink · 02/09/2018 07:32

also you aren't letting people down, you entered this in good faith and the parameters have been changed. It's nothing you have lied about or done wrong.

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 02/09/2018 07:44

Flamingo so sorry I had to give you the news I feel awful. I can't believe they changed the criteria all of a sudden. Are you sure there isn't any where else you can go. I was hoping we may still be able to get a mortgage Sad

flamingofridays · 02/09/2018 09:04

Im glad you did beautician rather than us getting a rejection letter and being baffled!

Like i say were going to have another look today i am also going to ring natwest and see if i get a more sympathetic advisor. Part of me thinks fuck it just lie and say we wont have childcare costs in 6 months how will they know but as ive said before i really hate lying and what happens if they do find out - its fraud really.

We don't earn loads 46 grand between us but we live in a cheap area im good with money and we save a chunk every month it just so bloody happens that weve thought fuck it and spent it all on 2 holidays! But even with a bigger mortgage wed still have surplus money and, in a year wed have hundreds more because ds will get 30 free hours at nursery. They dont care about that though.

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 02/09/2018 09:16

Flamingo I've read a lot over the internet that people lie about parents having the children. We are the same we get our 30 hours next July Hmm.

flamingofridays · 02/09/2018 11:08

They will look at bank statements tho wont they..

Yikesisthatmeinthemirror · 02/09/2018 11:20

Yes they may flamingo.

flamingofridays · 02/09/2018 20:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TokyoSushi · 02/09/2018 21:45

Let us know how you get on Flamingo! Wink

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 02/09/2018 21:54

Flamingo I hope you get on ok. We are trying to sort ours out but I've a feeling we may have to stay. Let us know. Fingers crossed.

flamingofridays · 03/09/2018 10:48

Ive removed the comment but basically yeah were going ahead with it and hoping for the best.... beautician I'll pm u x

Kattatty87 · 03/09/2018 11:38

Well our sellers have bought a property and their sellers have bought a chain free property so hopefully we can all get on with searches etc and have a moving date slowly appear in the distance ...

Our buyers want to move in 4 weeks when they haven't started searches. Confused

Spose we can all snuggle up as the evenings get colder Grin

jgm · 03/09/2018 11:59

Congrats to everyone with successful offers over these last few weeks :-) Who's left waiting to sell with me? Beautician I think you are, who else is still here? This weekend the market around here was flooded with new properties, its the most active I've seen it since we put ours up for sale in June.

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 03/09/2018 12:10

Jgm Yes we are still waiting to sell and have still only had one viewing Sad Today the last house cheaper than us, same amount of bedrooms (a lot smaller) sold. So we are currently the cheapest house of our size in the area by £15,000. There isn't much available in our area for us to move into though. There haven't been properties added for ages and only one we really, really want.

MamaOotie · 03/09/2018 13:22

Hi All, don’t know if anyone remembers me. We were on the market from June to mid august. Got fed up so took it off the market for a few weeks whilst we had a summer holiday. Put it back on the market 2 weeks ago at a lower price and happily we’ve just accepted a full price asking offer today.

I did the all viewings and the couple we’ve accepted the offer from said the thing that made a big impact on them was the adjustment in price, which automatically made us pop in their inbox as an alert, otherwise they wouldn’t have noticed because they don’t regularly check Rightmove. Not sure if that is helpful but thought it might be good feedback to pass on. Anyway, I suddenly feel more nervous now!

Auntpetunia2015 · 03/09/2018 22:56

jgm still here but have everything crossed as had a second viewing today from a lady who viewed on Friday and whoa first feedback was very positive told agent it was top of her list and she could see no negatives ! Hope today’s viewing didn’t show her any. Finger crossed for tomorrow’s news. Trying not to get my hopes up but..

jgm · 03/09/2018 23:16

Ooh fingers crossed Auntpetunia2015!

Original poster
MovingThisYearHopefully · 04/09/2018 01:58

DH & took a trip to the new build development at the weekend & snuck down to the edge of the site to catch a glimpse of our proposed new home. All looking good. Very exciting stuff! It's moving fast our end, but 2 weeks in & no valuation booked by our buyers yet who say they want to complete in October. They have applied for searches though.

One concern I do have is if things do move quickly & we need to find somewhere to rent, is cost. It is ridiculously expensive & unaffordable here unless you're on a huge wage. We can do it for 2 or 3 months, but apparently, short-term lets are not really a thing anymore. I can only hope that the buyers & their buyers transactions arent swift & the new build property completion is. Grin

OP posts:
PaintedHorizons · 04/09/2018 09:34

Lolly - I agree with Dickybow

I am currently under offer to FTB. Crap. They have no bloody idea. (Sorry but very frustrated. )

They seem to think that they have all the time in the world and keep "promising" things that they actually have no control over and saying sorry as if they've turned up late for a party. (When they actually lied about the money they had available!)

Some of it is not their fault - they just don't know what is involved - some of it is the attitude that buying a house is like buying a dress from a shop and that if it's got a mark on it you ask for a discount or take it back. We are now almost a year into the process - and of course as they are in rented it hasn't bothered them at all.

I'd rather to sell to someone who is familiar with the process. BUT - there is no guarantee. I sold to a FTB last time and he was brilliant - so easy.

What really counts is chain -free and ready to go, (money in place etc)

Auntpetunia2015 · 04/09/2018 14:29

So over 24 hours since lady had her second viewing and nothing no feedback at all. I’ve called agents last night and today. Both times they say they will call me back...argh!

Auntpetunia2015 · 04/09/2018 16:09

Well it’s a No go. Just been into agents as they never call back. She made an offer on another one of there’s late last night. I know which one and it was on cheaper but not as low as I’d take in an offer! .. more annoyed at agents as they knew last night and didn’t consider this to be “feedback!” Really I consider it vital feedback ..ie she doesn’t want your house! Grr

twinkydink · 04/09/2018 16:24

sorry to hear that @petunia and very frustrating from the agents not to be honest about it! Maybe they weren't accepting the offer to be accepted and then that she might offer on yours?