Anyone not being picky - and STILL can't find anything?

[PessimisticOptimist]

We've been on the hunt for 18 months. In that time, we've expanded our search area and budget. We've offered on four houses - three times we were outbid by developers and one time they decided not to sell. But nothing has come on for us to view in the last couple of months.

I guess I'm looking for a support group on here to commiserate with me 😂

Everyone we talk to says:

• The market is crazy right now
• It will settle down
• More will become available eventually
• Just be patient

But I worry about getting priced out of the market if we wait too long. How long do we wait for the "right" house?

My vendor doesn't have an email address - I am dreading the conveyancing stage. We also need him to apply for a certificate of lawfulness on an annexe he has built. Anyone know how long that takes?

@sleepyhoglet

My vendor doesn't have an email address - I am dreading the conveyancing stage. We also need him to apply for a certificate of lawfulness on an annexe he has built. Anyone know how long that takes?

Re email It might not be as bad as you think, every party involved in ours was good with post.

I don't know about the annexe though, sorry. Is it applying for planning permission retrospectively?

When you sold yours didn't it go on the market? As the market is moving so quickly would you allow a view before going on and if so would you sell to them or still want to put on to see what other interest there is?

@nowhheeeyyy

When you sold yours didn't it go on the market? As the market is moving so quickly would you allow a view before going on and if so would you sell to them or still want to put on to see what other interest there is?

is this the right thread?

[quote areyouhavingagiraffe]www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59488816[/quote]

I saw this, and was nodding along. This is absolutely the case in my area.

This time last year I was looking unseriously as I wasn't in a position to progress, and could have bagged something reasonable which needed a little bit of work for around £600k in my desired area.

By the time I'd readied the house for marketing in spring, and completed the sale in summer, prices had rocketed. I'm now supposed to be paying just over 10% more than where prices were in November 2020 for my new home.

If my purchase doesn't complete by the end of January, I'll have to consider renting, as I'll likely be priced out of my preferred area, which I won't compromise on, and me and my DC can't live with family forever. It'll probably take me 6-12 months to save the difference, but I would weep at the money I'd have to spend on rent instead of on my own mortgage!

Star I didn't realise you were living with family too.

the "guide price" property in the development we like ---
now has 7 viewings for Saturday.

It's also chain free. We are not schlepping about in the freezing cold, it will be snapped up by a cash buyer, the only question is how much over asking it will get. I genuinely think they've under priced it.

I have already got on to the mortgage broker to see if we can borrow more.

Even if the answer is yes, it might be time to have a rethink. I realise that potentially means being stuck for years but I suppose it's the devil you know - it seems better than taking financial risks, which to some might seem okay, but to me, the rising costs of everything, the importance of not working crazy hours in a job I hate....

I hate to be hippy about a financial transaction, but it's a "is the universe trying to tell us something" moment.

I agree with you Daisy. Absolutely yes to stretch as much as you are comfortable with, but there's stretching, and there's stretching.

I'm buying on my own due to a relationship breakdown, so I really don't want the added pressure of servicing a bigger mortgage than I've already been offered. It's as much risk as I'm willing to take on, and it's hefty as it is.

If this falls through the realistic option is to start renting, then look again in a year when I has more cash, and hopefully moved the market back within reach, so to speak.

How long have you been staying with family? And what's your Plan B?

oh Star sorry, I presented that badly

we aren't living with family
I meant "too" as in "in addition to other posters".

sorry, I may need more coffee.

Agree on "stretching". I am very frugal and the flat "we" are selling is mine - not married. I spent years of my life working in jobs that I hated, in spite of chronic illness, sometimes working so long I would feel nauseous en route home.

I got paid bonuses etc, I wouldn't change it if it meant less money - if anything, I wish I had earned more.

But I am not going back to it. Work yes, but not that kind.

Plan B is just stay here. It's easier to say in winter than summer because summer in a rough area with nothing nice in walking distance and the flat is literally an oven.... it's pretty grim and quite unfair on DC.

it sounds frivolous, I was thinking about the difference in prices between getting a property in areas that are getting pricier while London gets cheaper....and thinking more weekends away, starting using Ubers.....and might have to rent an office space or find a coworking space.

and the London exodus might stop? a bit like how prices went up again after world war 2 maybe?!

sorry, I realise listing those options we are not in bad spot and I shouldn't be moaning. I just so wanted to get out of here.

@DaisyNGO we saw a property with guide price £925k-£950k. Offered £969,950 and we were the 3rd highest offer so lost out.

Saw another one that was guide £875k -£900k offered £911,450 and had 6 offers above ours but they sold to a cash buyer who could turn the purchase around in 4-6 weeks. It's so hard to tell.

In other news after my buyer pulled out we will put my flat officially on the market after Xmas with an aim to complete end of spring.

DH flat is also on the market (and the basis of our being able to buy our house). The FTB wants to come round tomorrow for 1hr (It's only a 2bed flat 🤦🏾‍♀️) to measure things (we haven't exchanged). I've told the EA that this is the last time she can come pre completion and if she doesn't exchange pre-Xmas (we accepted the offer in September on the basis she could move quickly) I'm taking off the market and we'll relist both in the new year.

Goodness, I'm so such of this process.

wanna fingers crossed if she is measuring, she is cracking on with stuff.

Thanks for the info re prices. I can see it happening at that level but at our price level it seems really odd.

We are viewing a house that I’m quite excited about. It’s £10k over budget and I’ve just realised it also says guide price. Argh so could this mean they want more than that? I think it’s at least £10k overpriced as it is. Ughh. We had an offer accepted earlier in the year which was exactly at the “offers over” price with pretty much no quibble. So hard to know.

Offers over and guide price are very dependent on area. The offer we accepted was at the offers offer amount (so wasn't actually over it!) but there weren't any other buyers in the offing and we needed to get on with it.

Ours are cash buyers and we've just been given a completion date the week before Xmas - it will have taken just over 5 weeks for the sale to go through! Hopefully that will then mean we can jump on something if loads of properties come on the market in the New Year.

So, I have three viewings booked for tomorrow. Call from EA earlier today, on House 1. Vendor has had 20 viewinfs already (what, but you told me viewing started tomorrow...hmm), and had offer at £460K, house on market for £425K. Asked me whether I would be prepared to offer more. The fact I couldn't remember the house kinda spoke volumes to me, ha ha. I told him "My budget is £600K, so it is entirely up to the vendor whether they want to continue. I will not offer more at the moment, on the basis I have not seen the property". He said he will speak to the vendor about whether they wish to continue viewings. After the call I decided to relook at the RM listing. No wayyyyy would I offer any more than £450K on that, even though I have the budget. I called him back and said I was withdrawing from the viewing on the basis that I am not prepared to offer any more. Ha ha ha ha. Idiots.
I think it was listed at a very low price to begin with. At least I know what I am up against now. I didn't think they were allowed to tell you other offers.

That's not fun, still, one less house to walk through pointlessly..... House may well be down valued anyway, seems it's happening more as the banks start to get twitchy. Does sound dicey about being told the bid, I suppose it saves them any extra work though, doesn't it?

House I like still hasn't been reduced. On for over three weeks now.

I just wish that estate agents wouldn't keep geeing vendors on with unrealistic expectations. Means lots of vendors probably go sailing around looking at houses they won't be able to afford when valuations on their own homes come back and don't match the original figures. It's getting to the point where I wonder if I'm ever going to get what I'd like. Could have afforded it comfortably 10 months ago, but with all these fairytale prices, fear I'm just living a nightmare. This last 18 months has been a real eye opener.

On the plus side, house price growth next year is supposed to be a more modest 5% most places outside of London, 7% in Yorkshire if I've read the figures right.Now to find work with that sort of payrise....Maybe time to buy a Lottery ticket (Do I have to buy in cash, as lenders don't like gambling?).

@DaisyNGO I know what you mean about it being easier to stick to Plan B and stay where you are in Winter vs Summer. I really dislike where we are currently renting and somehow the nice weather in the summer months made me feel worse. In the Winter I can close the curtains early, everything is dark most of the time and I just block out my surroundings and try to pretend I'm not 'here'.

Well, miracles of miracles. My solicitor has finally received contract paperwork from the vendor and is able to commence Searches. I'm still not getting my hopes up but have tentatively started looking through back issues of my Kitchens, Bedrooms and Bathrooms magazines (mainly at refurbs I can't afford . Let's see. Still not 100% confident the unpredictable vendor won't throw another curve ball my way.

My local market is completely dead right now, not that I'm inclined to do any more viewings this year.

@areyouhavingagiraffe

So, I have three viewings booked for tomorrow. Call from EA earlier today, on House 1. Vendor has had 20 viewinfs already (what, but you told me viewing started tomorrow...hmm), and had offer at £460K, house on market for £425K. Asked me whether I would be prepared to offer more. The fact I couldn't remember the house kinda spoke volumes to me, ha ha. I told him "My budget is £600K, so it is entirely up to the vendor whether they want to continue. I will not offer more at the moment, on the basis I have not seen the property". He said he will speak to the vendor about whether they wish to continue viewings. After the call I decided to relook at the RM listing. No wayyyyy would I offer any more than £450K on that, even though I have the budget. I called him back and said I was withdrawing from the viewing on the basis that I am not prepared to offer any more. Ha ha ha ha. Idiots. I think it was listed at a very low price to begin with. At least I know what I am up against now. I didn't think they were allowed to tell you other offers.

@areyouhavingagiraffe - that's nuts. They've had 20 viewings when viewings were meant to start tomorrow? How does that even work??

I know some EA's around here value properties on the 'lower' side in order to start a bidding war. I now know that any properties that I see at £500k in my target areas are priced at that point in order to generate as much interest as possible and then the EAs start their strategy of "we've had an offer of £520, oh now one at £540.." .

I spent an exhausting two days fielding bidding calls from one EA for a tiny wreck of a house a few months back. In normal circumstances that house would not be worth a penny more than about £425k. I got feverishly caught up in all the madness/hype though and think I went up to £550k. I don't know what I was doing, I just lost all sense of reason. Thank god I lost out in the end.

@areyouhavingagiraffe best of luck for the viewings that do go ahead!

@Eastie77Returns, no idea how that works! Also, on RM, the house is not SSTC, but "no longer on the market". Hmmmmm. What does that even mean?!

I am going to do the 2 viewings tomorrow and call it a day for the rest of the year. I just want some respite now. Have xmas drinks with girlfriends after the viewings; all day drinking in Covent Garden. Going to enjoy and try and stop worrying about this mess.

I’ve just offered £10k under asking / guide price. Wish me luck!

Good luck Paddington!

I’m also really curious about “No longer on the market”. If a property is no longer for sale why wouldn’t the EA just remove it..

They’ve had an offer already over guide price so that’s that 😆 mind you the sellers wants to stay until next summer which I can’t see a lot of people going for

@Eastie77Returns @Paddingtonthebear I've seen a few of those. Means the seller has pulled the listing. Usually you only still see it because you have favourited it. If you went in on a different account you wouldn't see the listing.

Ooooo @wannabeamummysobad, I wonder if the EA was just bullshitting me earlier then. Interesting. Glad I didn't waste my time

Presumably if they agreed a sale even privately if would say sstc as the EA would want to advertise they were successful

You can pull a listing without going SSTC. A property we love was pulled because the seller decided to rent it out for a year instead.