Dream house

[bgwti22]

Hi.

We are a family of 4 and currently looking to move house as kids have gotten bigger & we need more space.
We started looking back in July 2020 & found 3 houses we loved. 1st was rented out for another year but we can’t wait that long. 2nd we were 50/50 on, just needed doing up but the area was terrible, so that was an automatic no. 3rd, we fell in love with but our offer got rejected.
Recently got a call from our mortgage broker who now tells us that we cannot get a mortgage of more than £175k whilst we were looking for houses up to £450k mark, thinking we would put half cash deposit (around £180k) & remaining would be covered up by mortgage. Bascially, in short we are now nearly 100k short from what we were looking at. Everything is a total fail right now.
Been looking at a few houses under £300k, with potential to redo however there’s no space which could allow us to do so.
Right now, I went from 90% hope to around about 5%.
Going to keep looking for another 6 months as we wish to have a new house by Christmas next year.

How long did it take for you to find your dream home & did you encounter any problems?

Your broker is crap if they allowed you to believe you could afford houses above your budget, anyhow.

Yiu need to. Prioritise what you can afford in an acceptable area. Prioritise needs over wants.

I’ve moved several times. I have never been able to find/afford a ‘dream’ home and have always had to compromise. Still been happy in them, though.

You need to decide what’s more important: moving to somewhere good enough in order to gain the space, or holding out for something nearly perfect, possibly beyond your chosen deadline.

And yes, our house ticks about 85% of our boxes. 100% is unachievable, it turns out, but near enough would have been double our budget.

You need a new broker. He should not have been 100k out on his calculations. Have you tried going direct to the lenders?
Sorry, your hopes of your dream home have been dashed. Perhaps look in a different area - or look at something that is in need of renovation?
Due to low income we have always had to do this and tbh in the long term it has worked out well for us.

Just adding that your dream home may be more than one move away. Don't pin your hopes on doing it this time round. Keep going and you will get there eventually

Do you have to move now? Can you extend your current home to get the space you need? Are your finances and borrowing ability likely to change significantly? I agree with pp that maybe right now isn't time for your dream home, either wait or plan to move more than once.
If you have to move now I think you need to go right back to square one and work out your absolute musts and your best areas to compromise and go from there.

Haven't found my dream home - I'd need a few more million because my dream location is in Central London.
Buying a home is about what you must have and what you will compromise on. I compromised on being on a busy street, but turns out I barely hear the traffic and the livingroom, kitchen and my bedroom is at the back anyway. But for someone else that would be a deal breaker.
Looks like you will have to compromise on location if size is a must have.