Is it time to give up?

Ladyof · 2021-04-06T21:41:19+00:00

We are really struggling to find a house, we have put good offers in for 5 houses now and not got any. We have sold and have AIP, we have offered some under, some asking and 1 over asking. It is so stressful and I wonder if we will ever find anything suitable and get it. I really want a detached, I'm not bothered if it's done up well or needs work. My budget is high enough for the area but not much coming up and when it does we dont get it. 1 house I loved and offered 5k over asking but it sold for 30k over asking. I just dont know whether to keep trying or give up. It is really now or never as I'm mid 40 and dont want to get a bigger mort much later. We have been looking since last sept. Is this normal or am I not meant to move?

Changingwiththetimes · 06/04/2021 22:44

If you've offered on five and not got any then you are not reading the market right. Either up your budget and offer more or look at cheaper properties. Obviously your offers have not been good enough!

mamaduckbone · 06/04/2021 22:50

We've sold our house twice, buyers have now pulled out as we couldn't find anything to buy. All that's for sale around us are new builds which we hate, any period properties are either vastly overpriced, need completely renovating or get snapped up within 24 hours of coming to market. We're on the verge of giving up and just spending some money on updating our house but it's really not big enough and like you we're mid 40s and want to move before the dcs grow up and leave home!
So no advice but lots of sympathy.

Sim7 · 06/04/2021 22:52

We were in same boat eventually realised that we were being out priced of the areas we liked due to pandemic and had to compromise On a different area not ideal but after 16 months of living with family something had to give.

Original poster

Ladyof · 06/04/2021 22:56

To be honest 4 of the 5 I wasnt fully committed to, I just made do and decided to offer but my heart wasnt fully innit. Then we saw one we loved top of our budget, pushed yourself to offer about 15k more than we wanted but lost out as 30k was accepted and we sadly couldn't compete with that.

I've added a bigger search area, trimmed down my must have list and still struggling as I dont want to go to a rubbish area and the good areas as just snapped up sometimes before they hit rightmove. It is awful.

Looks like I'm not alone, good luck let's hope spring is good to is all!

OP posts:

Original poster

Ladyof · 06/04/2021 22:57

To be honest 4 of the 5 I wasnt fully committed to, I just made do and decided to offer but my heart wasnt fully innit. Then we saw one we loved top of our budget, pushed yourself to offer about 15k more than we wanted but lost out as 30k was accepted and we sadly couldn't compete with that.

I've added a bigger search area, trimmed down my must have list and still struggling as I dont want to go to a rubbish area and the good areas as just snapped up sometimes before they hit rightmove. It is awful.

Looks like I'm not alone, good luck let's hope spring is good to is all!

OP posts:

dontcare85 · 06/04/2021 23:03

The housing market is absolutely insane at the moment. where we lived you would offer under now all the houses are selling for asking price or loads over. I am wanting to move but there isn't anything and the ones we went to see needed loads doing and they were getting silly high offers for them.
I'd wait a year as I think things will start to slow down once the stamp duty holiday has finished.

Grumpycatsmum · 06/04/2021 23:07

I'm with you OP. Saw one today that we loved but would mean over 3 hours commuting for me twice a week. I have health condition that would make it difficult and would also have to taxi kids about as nothing nearby. But am still seriously considering it...

yessun · 06/04/2021 23:24

I'd expect lots more houses to be added now we are into spring. Have you been asking the agent to keep you updated on offers so you can match or go higher etc?
Let local agents know you're serious and they'll let you know anything that's about to be added to the market.

Hidinginstaircupboard · 06/04/2021 23:25

There's not much in the housing market at the moment, anything decent in goes very quickly

I'd be patient if I were you if you haven't found house for you yet, as in 6 months time the housing market will normalise

Sweetmelody72 · 07/04/2021 08:01

Oh OP - I could have written your post! We are gradually upping our budget but, given our ages there is a limit on this. We will have to move into rented from the end of the June regardless whether we find a property now or not. A house that we love has come back on to the market 15 months after it was first marketed. We first ruled it out as too expensive and proceeded with the purchase of something else significantly cheaper but with compromises. That purchase fell through. When we heard the vendors of the more expensive house might consider selling again we offered what they last ‘sold’ at, but they rejected it and have now put it on the market at ‘offers over’ - the price is £60k more than our offer and we have to consider it. For what it’s worth, the price they are marketing they had to reduce from in order to get their last (two!) sales, so they clearly believe the market is increasing for this type of house.

We don’t want to ‘rent and see’ because we want to get on with our lives in a final home. But it’s hard knowing that you are buying during a market high...

linerforlife · 07/04/2021 08:04

Genuinely the market is nuts at the minute. We sold end of last year for what we thought was a good price and yet an identical house sixty seconds walk down the road sold last month for £30k more. Mental.

stickygotstuck · 07/04/2021 08:17

We're on the same boat here.

Very little coming up other than ridiculously overpriced, shoddy, crammed new builds. Everything is snapped up and goes way over the asking price, sometimes without even any viewings!

Especially hard as we had a house fall through last October at the last minute months after our offer was accepted, and now anything vaguely equivalent costs 40-50 k more, which we simply can't afford.

I think we've been priced out of the market now, after years of saving, planning and waiting for the right moment for us and DC to move.

It's bonkers, and I veer between sadness and bitterness whenever I think about it. Which is often.

OP, to answer your question - we're thinking of giving up for our own mental wellbeing now

TinyGlassOwl · 07/04/2021 08:24

We are in the same boat OP. It's horrible. We are FTBs in our 40s, good deposit, ready to go. We have to leave our current house in July. Keep being outbid even when we offer over asking price. It's so depressing and it really does feel as if we will never find anything.

Currently waiting to find out if our offer has been accepted on a property. We were the first to view last week and offered full asking price. The vendors have had several other viewings since then but no further offers. EA called us yesterday to say 'you're still the only offer on the table but vendors may come back and ask for more money, we'll let you know'.

We too have adjusted our expectations, lowered our requirements and just want to get on with our lives. The last year has been hideous enough as it is without the added stress of not knowing where we will even be living in the next few months.

mrstea301 · 07/04/2021 08:41

It's crazy just now, one of my friends has just had their offer on a house accepted but they've been actively searching since just after Christmas, think they've put bids in on 8-10 closing dates with no success! The one that they've secured is one that they managed to view before it went on the open market and came to an agreement with the sellers so it's not actually went on the market at all - seems to be the only reasonable way to secure a property just now unless you have money to burn. It's such a shame though - a long stressful process!!

UCOinaUCG · 07/04/2021 08:44

My DD and her DP had to offer 30k over asking to secure a house recently. They are moving out of London to a cheaper city so they can afford more for their money but still had to offer well over.

Candleabra · 07/04/2021 08:48

Are there any new build estates nearby?

Didicat · 07/04/2021 09:00

Have you tried writing a letters and dropping them through the doors of houses you are interested in but not on the market, to try and beat them to market and avoiding estate agent costs?

Original poster

Ladyof · 07/04/2021 09:13

Wow it really is crazy. I've posted about 50 letters, I might try some more on a different estate this week tho as like you say I think it is the only way to beat them!

I dont like new builds so have ruled them out.

When will if calm down! The lack of properties is awful.

OP posts:

flashbac · 07/04/2021 09:43

An agent on Twitter has likened the frenzy in the market to the toilet roll buying frenzy of March 2020. The stamp duty holiday should not have been extended for those with multiple properties. It's sickening what the market is doing. Estate agents are on steroids and multiple home owners get richer and richer all at the expense of the Exchequer (i.e. US - the taxpayers) and people unable to get on the ladder.

HappyGoPlucky · 07/04/2021 10:09

Property stock in this country is very poor and the fewer of a type of property there is the higher the price. Sometimes you need to compromise or at least make a list of things you can live with and things that are non-negotiable.

We were in our late 30s when we bought our first (tiny) house and in our early 40s when we bought our current house. We wanted a lovely period house with high ceilings and original features. We got a big 70s detached with low ceilings and a beautiful garden. In my area, the beautiful period houses either have yards or gardens on the other side of a lane. You can rarely have both, even if you have the money to pay for it.

Consequently we don't plan to live in this house forever but, at present, it meets our needs and we're paying into a property which we can sell one day to buy our dream home. We may be in our 50s by the time that happens! But we have the dream and this house is growing on me. It's big and the back garden is stunning. There's lots of scope to add value.

Should you revisit your non-negotiables and compromise? Or see this next house as a stepping stone to the dream house? The one thing you can't change is the property market. It's f**ked unfortunately!

AfternoonToffee · 07/04/2021 11:41

How frustrating OP. We were looking three years ago and it was difficult then.

However what I will say is the house we are in is pretty much totally outside my original search criteria, but I absolutely love it and on paper it was a surefire rejection. Can you get a property that isn't right as it stands but has the potential to be so for example?

EggyBread4me · 07/04/2021 12:17

I feel for you. I very stressful time to be buying 😟 We decided to sell and move in September 2019. We found a buyer easily, but couldn't find anything for us. Lockdown one hit and everything stalled. Our buyers were desperate to move in, so we exchanged and moved into rented in June last year. Still here 😭 Offered full asking price for something on Saturday, been rejected today due to higher offer. It's really starting to stress me out now 🙁

mklanch · 07/04/2021 14:11

we are in the same boat. we started looking just before the first lockdown and the market went insane! houses that had been on for over a year were flying of over their asking price. i also find that estate agents dont even care to get back to you about properties because they are practically selling themselves. i wonder if this crazy will calm down once furlough finished, stamp duty finishes and people start going back to work and living normal life?

Bluntness100 · 07/04/2021 14:15

There is a lot of pent up demand and as lock down eases more and more properties will come up for sale. Don’t offer on properties hou don’t want, but do recognise that potentially you don’t have the budget if you’re being outbid,

mamaduckbone · 11/04/2021 16:02

@EggyBread4me

I feel for you. I very stressful time to be buying 😟 We decided to sell and move in September 2019. We found a buyer easily, but couldn't find anything for us. Lockdown one hit and everything stalled. Our buyers were desperate to move in, so we exchanged and moved into rented in June last year. Still here 😭 Offered full asking price for something on Saturday, been rejected today due to higher offer. It's really starting to stress me out now 🙁

We were in exactly the same position at the same time as you but didn't want to move into rented. Now we're still at square one 18 months later. It's ridiculous.