Struggling to find a home I like to buy, but suitable ones up for rent

[rosierose1]

So I've been looking for a property to buy for months now (FTB) and there's just nothing I like enough to even go and look at, there's always something big that puts me off. I'm on rightmove everyday looking in the area I want to buy and the surrounding areas but no luck. Just had a look to see what sort of properties are up for rent (will never rent again just curious) and there's some lovely houses exactly in the area I want and nice layout/style. Is it worth asking EA if landlord would be willing to sell? Any advice/experience on this? I can't imagine they would have difficulty renting them out as they're nice properties.

Also, excuse my ignorance but have house prices got a lot more expensive in the last few years? E.g a friend bought a lovely nice 3 bed semi for 125 in 2017 and now similar properties in same area are now around 150/160? Seem to have got more expensive as I'm looking.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but usually if you can't find what you want and you've been looking for a while, then your expectations of what you will get for your budget are unrealistic. Even if you like the houses up for rent and you found a landlord willing to sell, they will probably still want to sell it for more than what you can afford.

You will probably have to compromise on something. Think about what of your criteria are essential and what are desirable. Accept that you probably won't get all of your desirable criteria, or that they property will meet of your criteria but have an undesirable aspect to it (e.g, next to a railway line etc).

@KitKat1985 We (my partner and I) have quite a generous budget for the area we live in (north east, where house prices are quite low compared to other parts of the country) knowing friends and family who have bought nice houses in the couple of years for a lot less than our budget is getting me fed up. My mum joked that we will probably be to buy the house out right by time we find something. Feeling the pressure as parents kindly let suggested we give up our rented house and move in with them to save for mortgage and it's been 18 months now and I'm just desperately wanting our own home now.

The trouble is that those perfect cheaper FTB houses are also the houses that landlords want to buy. Hence driving the prices up and snapping them up as soon as they come on to the market. I did it

The thing about being a FTB (and I don't mean this to sound patronising) but it's easy to fall into the trap of looking for a home that's 'perfect'. In reality no home is perfect, and they all have their flaws. It's like finding a romantic partner in a way, you choose someone who you really like but they probably still have some annoying habits that irritate you!

It sounds like you are only looking online and not in person as well. I think you need to go and do some 'real' viewings. I've viewed places in person that look much better in real life than on Rightmove, (and vice versa)!

It could be worth asking EAs if the owners would want to sell as sometimes houses are rented out because selling hasn't worked out. That's not always the case though so don't be surprised if that approach doesn't work.
You need to make a list of what would be essential in a house and what you would prefer that isn't essential.
What sort of things are putting you off? Obviously if you want to be somewhere quiet and the house is on a busy road you can't alter that. But there are many things e.g. style of kitchen, decoration, carpets that could be changed.

Ideally what we're looking for is a 3 bed semi with nice kitchen and bathroom, also low maintenance gardens but can compromise on that, not on a main road. After mortgage desposit, fees and furniture/decor etc it would take us ages to save up to be able to get a new kitchen/bathroom which is why I would like somewhere where they are already modern. There has been houses up for sale that tick all/most boxes within our budget but they've sold straight away before we were able to view, hence why I'm on rightmove everyday like a crazy lady incase I miss any!

Have you considered buying something under budget that needs work, so you can afford to do up the kitchen etc?

If suitable places are going before you have a chance to view, then have you thought about leaving your details with a few local estate agents and asking them to call you if anything suitable comes on their books? It's not uncommon for places to sell before they even hit Rightmove if it's a desirable property in the right area.

I live in a high rental area and in the end I bought the house I was renting. I did ask other landlords if they were willing to sell. No harm in asking. They can only say no.

You should ask the landlords. The worst that can happen is that they say no but then again you may get lucky.

We have thought about that as I heard you used to be able to get a mortgage for more than the you were buying the house so that you could fit new kitchen bathroom etc but apparently you can't do that anymore? We would be putting down 10% deposit So say even if we bought a house for 120 that needed refurbished, we wouldn't have spare 12-15k cash needed for that if you get what I'm saying, unless there's other ways of doing it, it's all really new to me to a lot to get my head round!

Mortgage providers vary in what they offer. Have you spoken to a proper mortgage broker who should be able to advise you on what companies are likely to be willing to loan you money for improvements etc. A lot mortgage companies will be happy to spend money to improve the value of a home as obviously the home is their security for the mortgage, so the more valuable that security is the better for them if you see what I mean? Companies will vary a lot in terms of how much they will loan you as well.

Yes we have seen have seen a mortgage advisor and got a decision in principle for quite a bit over the amount that we would actually buy for, so that might help, but never spoke to her specifically about mortgages to cover refurbishing as didn't think you could do that anymore and as it wasn't what we were planning on doing originally, but might be something we will have to consider so will look into that and see what she advises.

You need to sign up with some local Estate agents and get on their mailing lists. Sometimes you get advanced notice of properties just before they are listed on sites such as rightmove so you can book your viewings early.
I would also go to a few DIY chains and do a bit of research into how much they charge for replacing a kitchen etc.

I was also told that I couldn't get a mortgage for anymore than I needed. As I also wanted to do some work on my house. That was through a broker.

If you put your budget up by 25 or 50k, do you start seeing the houses that you have seen as rental? ie are you not seeing what you want because it is out of the price bracket you are looking in?

I am a landlord and have been helping a FTB look for a property (successfully)
1/ You must view the houses that you are looking at on Rightmove. You will learn so much and might change your priorities.
2/ The properties you are seeing to rent could well have had money spent on them by the current landlords. It makes sense to buy cheap and renovate if you are a landlord.
3/ I doubt landlords are looking to sell if the properties are for rental.
4/ You can improve a property slowly and yourself. It can be done.