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Original poster

To hate the pressure of trying to find a property

21 replies

shit2020 · 16/12/2020 14:44

DH and I are hoping to move soon but can't face putting our property on the market.

In our chosen area there have been a small number of properties within our budget that have sold during the last 12 months that looked perfect for us and we would have snapped up.

However, there's been nothing that we really like the look of over the last couple of months and the market is noticeably slowing down now too in the run up to Christmas.

My worry is that if we put our house on the market now and it goes under offer, we'll be under pressure to choose something quickly to placate our buyer and I'm scared that we will have to make a massive compromise on our next home as a result.

We're looking to find a long-term home where we can stay for the rest of our lives hopefully, as we've moved around a lot. So that's even more added pressure!

Could the best solution be to rent so we can swoop in when the right house comes up? I really don't want to do that because of the massive upheaval, the fact we have pets and the wasted money, but I'm wondering if it's something we will have to consider.

OP posts:

Snowball2020 · 16/12/2020 15:16

I was going to suggest renting.
You really don’t want to end up purchasing a property and regretting it, I can’t imagine anything worse than moving and not actually liking much about the property.

Do you have family nearby who could possibly help (storing a few things)?

Wishing you the best

Bluntness100 · 16/12/2020 15:19

I really wouldn’t put my home on before Xmas. It’s only next week. Wait till January. Many others will be doing the same.

NotMeNoNo · 16/12/2020 15:25

Do you think your house will get an offer quickly?

Original poster

shit2020 · 16/12/2020 15:36

Do you think your house will get an offer quickly?

I think it might, only because four or five other properties have come onto the market on my street in the last few months and have all sold within a couple of weeks. Although that could be down to the stamp duty holiday?!

OP posts:

Puffthemagicdragongoestobed · 16/12/2020 16:22

We had the same predicament last year when we sold our house very quickly, and then had the pressure to look for a house to move to. Additionally, the bottom of the chain had set a deadline which gave us 4 months to find a new place and complete.

Luckily we did find something in that time. It was not the perfect house though but we are doing work to it, so eventually it will be perfect. We went for it because the fundamentals were right - school catchment, quiet road, big plot.

We did consider renting but the cost was really prohibitive. 1. We would have had a high penalty from our mortgage lender due to early repayment. 2. Rentals in the area are very expensive, probably more than mortgage payments. 3. It would have meant moving twice. 4. We are notoriously indecisive, so having the pressure of being in a chain actually helped to make a decision. 5. We had a mortgage offer in place, and you never know if your circumstances change and you no longer can get a mortgage.

How about you have a look at a few houses prior to putting your house on the market (Covid rules permitting) to get a feel for what is out there?

crimsonlake · 16/12/2020 18:32

To be honest unless you have sold your property most estate agents wont allow you to view any properties. They want to know what your position is..

Original poster

shit2020 · 16/12/2020 18:57

Do people think the market will pick up again in January and does it tend to be early January? I’m so impatient to see some new properties!

OP posts:

Original poster

shit2020 · 16/12/2020 18:58

To be honest unless you have sold your property most estate agents wont allow you to view any properties. They want to know what your position is..

There goes that idea then!

OP posts:

PolarnOPirate · 16/12/2020 19:00

Hmmm. Can you gets your house ready to go, find a house you like and then whack yours up on the market? Unconventional but worked for us. We weren’t planning to move, saw a house pop up, estate agent/vendor said if you can sell yours in 2 weeks then you can have the house. Estate agent did just that for us. That was in March this year, moved in July. So I’m just saying you don’t have to do things exactly as people think you do. Good luck!!

Lilmzsnowflake · 16/12/2020 19:04

Very few new properties will come on over the next few weeks as homes are generally decorated for Xmas and that means a lot of furniture being arranged, clutter, and additional stress on top of all the preparations for Christmas anyway. Once our decs came down we tidied up the paintwork and had a cleaning blitz prior to going up for sale, I think we had agents round by about the 14th Jan and officially listed on the 29th Jan. The same week I think there were about 10 other properties newly on in the area, which was loads!
It might differ due to the stamp duty holiday, I know things here have been moving very quickly and some properties that have been up since 2019 have finally sold this week.

Original poster

shit2020 · 16/12/2020 19:27

Haha funnily enough that’s exactly what my brother did @PolarnOPirate and it worked for him too! I guess the only issue would be if it’s a hot property and the vendor has a couple of buyers interested. Then they would (understandably) be likely to go with the buyer in an already proceedable position rather than one whose property isn’t yet on the market. If I was selling a property that had been on the market for some time though I would definitely give someone a chance to secure a quick sale!

OP posts:

NotMeNoNo · 16/12/2020 20:19

Have you spoken to any estate agents yet? If you are moving locally try the ones who had the houses you liked,they may market your house too.

PowerslidePanda · 16/12/2020 23:17

As PP have said - in the current climate, you most likely need to have accepted an offer on your house to even view something - never mind offer on it, so unfortunately the pressure of trying to find somewhere is something you just have to deal with.

You're right about all the drawbacks of renting, but the advantage is that it puts you in a good position when you do find a house you like. We've been house hunting for 6 weeks and have offered on 4 houses in that time. Missed out on the first 3 because the competition for decent stuff is immense at the moment! Got the 4th one partially because we're prepared to rent in between to break the chain (buyer was getting impatient).

FlumpetCrumpet · 16/12/2020 23:29

To be honest unless you have sold your property most estate agents wont allow you to view any properties. They want to know what your position is..

I think this depends on the local market, all the houses we viewed were before we had an offer or before we'd even got ours on the market, viewed maybe 10 - 15 in total, never once were told we couldn't view a house due to our position and we were always honest!

Myshinynewname · 17/12/2020 00:27

We didn't allow viewers unless they were sold on our EA advice.

PowerslidePanda · 17/12/2020 08:50

How recent was that? Used to be the case here too, but changed a few months ago due to the combination of covid restrictions and surge in demand from the stamp duty holiday.

NotMeNoNo · 17/12/2020 11:05

I expect if you were on the market and realisticaly priced, you can at least be talking to estate agents even if you aren't actually visiting properties. Then you can let them know if you get an offer and be a good prospect for any properties they have coming up.

sosotired1 · 17/12/2020 21:17

It won't be wasted money if the market begins to drop after you sell... which I think is very likely (although ultimately will recover I expect). It is also much less stressful taking your time to buy and being in a strong position when you come to offer on something. We rented somewhere pretty small and very cheap and kept most our furniture in storage so the moving in and out wasn't that painful.

However, it is hard to find a rental which will accept pets which might be the sticking point.

NewYearNewPlumbing · 18/12/2020 06:38

In London Houses have been flying off the shelves in the last few weeks as people were racing to beat the Stamp Duty deadline.

It will now calm considerably as only the FTB of a chain- free property will now make it. The solicitors are swamped, surveyor lists long....

It will calm down soon and EAs will have time to talk to buyers who are not yet under offer. But I think COVID has deterred them from viewings unless the buyer’s house is under offer.

pilates · 18/12/2020 06:43

I would get it on now.

PowerslidePanda · 18/12/2020 08:51

@NewYearNewPlumbing

In London Houses have been flying off the shelves in the last few weeks as people were racing to beat the Stamp Duty deadline.

It will now calm considerably as only the FTB of a chain- free property will now make it. The solicitors are swamped, surveyor lists long....

It will calm down soon and EAs will have time to talk to buyers who are not yet under offer. But I think COVID has deterred them from viewings unless the buyer’s house is under offer.

It's not just that though - there are incomplete chains all over the place; people who've got buyers, but not houses to move to. They still need a home, even if they're not going to meet the deadline. So there's still a lot more demand than (decent) houses.

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