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Original poster

Waiting for the 'perfect' property to come up

31 replies

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 08:43

Has anyone done that? How long did it take to get what you wanted? Are you happy with it now?

We're considering moving from our 'forever' home. We still like it very much but we've been here for a few years and our list of 'nice-to-haves' has grown.

OP posts:

Closetlibrarian · 04/06/2019 09:46

There's no such thing as a 'perfect' house! Unless you've got limitless ££, of course...

Blobby10 · 04/06/2019 09:48

My 'nice to have' list has changed considerably (and constantly) over the past 20 years so even if I had found my forever home then, it wouldn't be a forever home now - if that makes sense!! So for me, the perfect-for-ever property doesn't exist

fancynancyclancy · 04/06/2019 09:53

I’d need 3m to get my dream home & that would still probably involve comprises as I want location & good house.

My current home & garden is smaller than I would like but it’s beautiful & in terms of location perfect for me.

Flicketyflack · 04/06/2019 09:54

I think there is no such thing as your needs/must haves change with a property over the years.

I have just sold my house and am about to complete on our next home but it still is not perfect! DH and I spent ages on looking around, increasing our budget, widening our search and our 'perfect' was never found.

We have settled on a home that will give us flexibility to leave the house as it is or amend the internals or extend etc etc. It has options!

mum2015 · 04/06/2019 09:55

Almost two years and it hasn't come up. We even considered upping our budget to max loan possible for our salaries, which is fairly decent price range for our area but nothing came up.

fancynancyclancy · 04/06/2019 09:55

And i don’t have anything close to 3m!

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 12:02

@Mum2015, that’s what I’m worried about... and being on the lookout for years sounds like a tiring prospects.

So with the changing needs/wants, @Blobby10, how often have you moved?

OP posts:

DreamingofSunshine · 04/06/2019 12:12

No property is perfect, there's always some compromises.

We're moving and my non negotiable was having enough space - so a large 2 bed flat with plenty of storage over a very small 3 bed (this was what our budget could get us).

Are your nice to haves realistic for your budget in the area you like?

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 12:21

Budget isn’t a problem for us as we’d like to stay in the area and it’s relatively affordable around here. We don’t even need to sell the current house to move so would be chain free too.

OP posts:

fancynancyclancy · 04/06/2019 12:23

What’s on your nice to have list?

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 12:25

It just feels that since we agreed to keep an eye out for things popping up, our life has been a bit on hold. For example, we’ve got some ideas for the existing house but don’t want to spend £££ if we're going to move. I’m worried it might carry on for 2-3 years and then we’ll stay put anyway.

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mum2015 · 04/06/2019 12:30

It is exhausting. In these two years I worked on improving my current house to get what we need, did two sets of planning permission, drawings quotes etc too.

Then there came house which ticked many boxes ( not all), and we offered a sensible price. When you are looking around for 2 years, problem is you really know the price that is fair. But someone offered over asking and we decided to not go over it.

After couple of weeks we were about to commit to a builder for our house extension, agent called saying that house is available again, would you increase offer. After a bit of thought we increased the offer and are in process of buying. I truly know we are paying lot more than what we should and all this Brexit uncertainty, but life is too short and I now want to move on from house search to house decoration and gardening!!!

Whatthefoxgoingon · 04/06/2019 12:32

I agree there’s no way perfect house. Our current house has 6 bedrooms, which works very well when all kids are still at home, but I wouldn’t want this when it is only DH and I. We hope to be moving into a nice flat in zone 1 in retirement!

Blobby10 · 04/06/2019 12:33

@JoJoSM2 as a family, we moved 4 times (not including the short term rents or stays with parents in between houses!) and am now selling house 5 which I was almost forced to buy by exH so the kids would have enough space. They are all at uni/work so only need a bed rather than space so am downsizing again.

However, 20 years ago, all I wanted was an isolated big house with a big garden, preferably stables and ponies in the fields. As the children grew up, we wanted to live in a small village with a village social life, pub etc. Last house before divorce was in a beautiful village (with a pub!) surrounded with fields and lovely places to walk and run and it wasn't as good as I thought, especially with teenagers whose friends were in a nearby town and needed taking there and back - and the villagers were very cliquey so the social life was almost non-existent as I didn't fit into any cliques! Plus if we ran out of milk it was a 4 miles+ car ride!

Now I am very happy on the edges of a small town - I am overlooked, surrounded by other houses, have to walk over a mile to get to any open fields BUT I can walk a short distance into town for milk or an evening out . And even if I get a taxi back, it doesn't cost more than the night out! I still drive past the houses I used to crave but no longer want them.

LoveTheLakes40 · 04/06/2019 12:35

My perfect house 20 years ago was a 2 bed city centre flat with parking. Found it (there are lots of them in Manchester!). Lived there for 15 years.

My perfect house now is a 3 bed semi, with parking, good area with good schools and importantly - options. We would like to convert the attic into a 3rd double bedroom with shower room and will do next year when the mortgage comes up for renewal. Longer term I’d like to build a full width extension at the back and have a lovely, light kitchen/dining room, I’d also like to convert the garage into an office/summer house - these are years off though!

Grasspigeons · 04/06/2019 12:35

you can only buy what's available in your budget. So perfect doesn't exist. Even people with millions have to compromise - there perfect house might not be up for sale.

We did spend about 3 years finding a home that had as many of our main wants as possible though and it was worth it. I suppose I'd say focus on things that are hard to change about a property so its never going to move location, or gain a garden but you might be able to extend or buy better furniture to make the most of the space or change the windows.

PickAChew · 04/06/2019 12:36

Several perfect properties came up while we were looking, but they were over twice our budget, so hey ho!

LoveTheLakes40 · 04/06/2019 12:37

It’s currently a 2 double plus box room and 1 bathroom. My advice would be to make sure there are options to extend, further down the line (as moving house is a pain and expensive) and to try and avoid compromising on the area (bad neighbours can make living in even the loveliest house hell).

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 13:55

@grasspigeons It’s my worry that it could take 3 years... Did you get frustrated waiting for the place to come up?

@Blobby10 we’re in a similar location to you (ie close to amenities and a longer walk to the countryside). We did contemplate moving to a village but decided against it for the same as yours.

We already live in a very large house in a location that we think is spot on. The things that we can’t change but could find in another house would be a bigger garage and a vast garden to accommodate an orchard (DH fancies making own cider), a playground, pool house, space for children etc. So nice-to-haves but nothing that crucial.

OP posts:

Closetlibrarian · 04/06/2019 14:00

If you have a very specific idea of what you want us buying land and having a house built an option?

Blobby10 · 04/06/2019 14:03

@JoJoSM2 we were lucky that when our children were young enough, we could easily walk to the open fields and play there. My parents also had a big field and a barn which the kids loved to play in.

As far as them needing space goes, with hindsight - the more space they have, the more space there is to be messed up! We tended to have us all downstairs anyway and it wasn't until they were teens that they spent any time in their rooms and even then, because I was the nasty evil parent who wouldn't let them have TVs or games consoles or computers in their rooms (it was 15 years ago!!) they had to be downstairs to use any of those things which made us interact more.

As far as the orchard goes - I wouldn't move for that! My ex wanted to leave a full time secure job to be a landscape gardener so when we moved to a new build (whilst he still had said job), he excitedly planned it and dug it out. two weeks later he didn't want to be a landscape gardener any more . Your DH might be the same with his cider!! But a big garden is always nice for kids unless you are likely to worry about them getting dirty or scratched or falling out of a tree!!

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 14:17

@Closetlibrarian We’re in outer London so big plots don’t tend to come up. However, we’d probably be open to a small property on a big plot to demolish and re-build.

OP posts:

EmmaStone · 04/06/2019 14:19

We're in a similar situation. Our house is lovely, nothing is pushing us at all, but we'd like a bigger garden, and I'd like something with a bit of period character.

We found somewhere last year, but they wouldn't even entertain our (asking price) offer as we hadn't put ours on the market.

Now, a year later, we've found somewhere else (we are only looking in our current village), have offered, and have put our house on the market, hoping no-one else proceedable gets there before we do. If they do, then we'll take ours back off the market.

But we've already had 3 viewings and it's not yet on Rightmove, so fingers crossed

mum2015 · 04/06/2019 14:30

Not sure what size garden is in your mind, but properties or plot with large garden/land never reach mere mortals in London! Firstly, agents won't list or let you view, secondly whatever you offer there is always a buyer with better position and higher offer , ... You won't even see land registry price after months and someday find a planning application with multiple house or mansion on council website if you are still wondering what happened...

Original poster

JoJoSM2 · 04/06/2019 14:52

@EmmaStone Fingers crossed! That sounds very promising and I hope it works out for you.

@mum2015 It isn’t like that in our bit of zone 5. Some properties won’t make it to Rightmove but all you need to do is be registered with the agents that tend to market these larger properties. Vast majority do go to Rightmove. The plots are up to 1-1.5 acres.

OP posts:

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