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?

Hi everyone! OP here. I've been following this thread for weeks, sending all my good vibes to you. We finally found a house, but the vendors are taking their sweet time. Going on week 17 since the offer was accepted, with no completion date in sight. Oy...

Just wanted you all to know how much you're in my thoughts. I started this thread as a support group, not knowing just how many people were in our same position! It's frustrating, soul-destroying, and defo caused me to pick up a cursing habit. I hope 2022 brings so much lucky house hunting fairy dust your way xx

@PessimisticOptimist

Hi everyone! OP here. I've been following this thread for weeks, sending all my good vibes to you. We finally found a house, but the vendors are taking their sweet time. Going on week 17 since the offer was accepted, with no completion date in sight. Oy...

Just wanted you all to know how much you're in my thoughts. I started this thread as a support group, not knowing just how many people were in our same position! It's frustrating, soul-destroying, and defo caused me to pick up a cursing habit. I hope 2022 brings so much lucky house hunting fairy dust your way xx

Thank You for starting this thread, it has really helped me these past months, good luck with your move i'll have some of that fairy dust please i need it

I will have some too, please!

Good luck everyone.

@Eastie77Returns thanks for that - it's really reassuring... we've done a couple of drive and walk bys and are already noticing the noise a lot less.

we've made an offer!!!! Then realised it's a bank holiday and we won't hear back until Wednesday 🤦🏻‍♀️  never mind, keep your fingers crossed for us!!

@PessimisticOptimist thanks for starting this thread, I've been lurking from the beginning while we've been trying to sell and it's given a lot of hope!

Sending so much luck to everyone x

First world problem but In my area there is a complete mismatch between the type of home best suited to modern life (with parking, garden and a downstairs loo) and what’s available on the market (predominantly two up, two down terraced houses with very small rooms, no parking, no garden. one combined bathroom toilet and pedestrian only access to a yard).

These houses used to be stater homes for FTBs with no children. They are now snapped up by families for way more than the asking price due to lack of available family homes.

The new owners then spend mega bucks on major refurbs to make them suitable for family life (e.g. adding a 3rd story to create two further bedrooms, building over the yard to create a downstairs loo, kitchen diner and a small outdoor garden).

Love the update @PessimisticOptimist ! Let's hope that 2022 has good things coming towards us.

@DanisEndo have you heard back about your offer today?

@LittleMissTake I understand your frustration. I suppose that's why there's still demand for new builds - not just because there are more people, but because the smaller houses get extended... but there's still a need for small houses so they need to make new ones

The only update from me is that I've started having calls from our EA about viewings here, so it has obviously picked up again. Hoping to still have some relaxing time of the rest of this week of leave... but matching that with also wanting to sell the house... a tricky conundrum. Ah well. Nice problem to have at this point.

@Momniscient EA has confirmed he's passed it on..... just waiting now!! Hoping the fact they're taking a while means they're considering it. They're asking for £460 but know they've turned down a couple of offers for £440 before. We've gone in at £450 on the condition they lay a driveway (which they offered) so fingers crossed. Realistically if they 100% won't budge on the asking we will offer that but it is a lot for what it is.

After a night when I dreamt about possibly adding an extension to the house we viewed last week (is this getting to me?!) I then read this review of Britain's most expensive houses which made me laugh!

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/29/britains-most-expensive-houses-review-a-comedy-of-feckless-estate-agents?utmterm=61cd3cd4ca76f6e6449694f2bd923155&utmmcampaign=GuardianTodayUK&utmsource=esp&utmmmedium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email

Still waiting to hear a decision on our offer - is taking this long a good or bad sign?!

@RidingMyBike

After a night when I dreamt about possibly adding an extension to the house we viewed last week (is this getting to me?!) I then read this review of Britain's most expensive houses which made me laugh!

[[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/29/britains-most-expensive-houses-review-a-comedy-of-feckless-estate-agents?utm]]term=61cd3cd4ca76f6e6449694f2bd923155&utmmcampaign=GuardianTodayUK&utmsource=esp&utmmmedium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email

That article made me laugh so much thank you. I’ve been trying to move since pre-pandemic (pandemic, newborn, sale fell through.. argh). Sold again this winter and we’re looking 100k under budget and still being out offered. One place we saw went 50k over its 375 asking.

Hey team,
What happened to the Boxing Day rush?! Ha ha. I had a few notification from RM, 10 new property available. Alas they were not new, just old ones hanging around still. There has been a handful of new properties but nothing that has got me excited.

Nothing new for us - a handful of new properties came on but all considerably smaller than we're looking for. In a way I'm quite glad as two of those had quite pushy stuff about the open day for viewings on Sunday (2 Jan) and we're away for NYE so wouldn't have been back in time.

I am still obsessively checking RM etc and hoping something will appear mid-Jan?

Fingers crossed for everyone - it has been nice knowing others are in same boat!

Glad you enjoyed it @BakeOffRewatch ! It did make me giggle - we haven't been looking for anywhere near as long as you but I don't think I'd realised how much I was worrying about it!

What is others' experience of EA and social distancing? I fed back yesterday to EA re our before Xmas viewing - I was enthusiastic but non-committal as who knows if anything better will come up? Plus I know from selling how frustrating it is when the feedback just says 'rooms too small' and wanted to provide something more useful to seller which also allows us to come back to it if necessary.

I did commend the EA social distancing on the viewing - he mostly stayed outside or in the v large kitchen/diner. All windows and doors were open. All our conversation with him was outside. It felt much better than our previous viewing where the EA went with us into every room and there were viewings either side of ours. DH was on shielding list, we're triple jabbed but still cautious (although have DD at school which is a far higher risk than house viewings so trying to be realistic!).

No boxing day rush here Giraffe. I think about 5 new properties have popped up on my Rightmove search and a couple I already viewed which are now reduced.

Fingers crossed for you Danis!

I'm still waiting for the report my Solicitor was meant to send me after receiving Searches several weeks ago. She had promised it would be sent before the end of the year and then disappeared on annual leave.
Her assistant did send me an e-mail stating that she (assistant) was working on the report and would send it me this morning so maybe something will appear today.

Onwards and upwards...2022 will be OUR year everyone

@areyouhavingagiraffe there was definitely a boxing day rush in my search area (though it's very broad so I know I haven't missed any at all). 95 properties added boxing day, when normally it's maybe 5 a day. We still haven't sold, so I've cooled off the looking at other houses. Also the one we offered on at the end of November still hadn't sold either, so there's a faint hope there

@DanisEndo I suspect your vendors might have other viewings lined up this weekend and they're holding off just in case someone offers higher. Personally, I'd email the EA first thing Tuesday (so yours doesn't get buried under BH mail and is top of the inbox) if you don't hear back before then.

@Eastie77Returns did the assistant come through?

@RidingMyBike some EAs are abysmal (as if a mask means they don't need to worry at all) but most have kept their distance pretty well. I have noticed that they're no good at the whole "no mask, no viewing" policies. We have a smart doorbell, so I know less than half of our viewers have shown up with masks. Not all the EAs say anything about it.

@BakeOffRewatch I'm horrified that places are going for that much above asking price. How do you know how much places are going for? I'm presuming the Rightmove listing doesn't change?

I suspect it’s a tactic by some EAs, make people go wild. If it’s going for that much more at that price level (like a 550 going for 600 seems proportionate, 10%) then they’re just not pricing it right. That house had 2 full house days. When I told my EA (different area so no reason to bad mouth, as I’ve started looking anywhere commutable to find any house - ours is not fit for toddler it is tiny we’re desperate to move) they said that shows bad buyer filtering. They could have priced it at 425 and had appropriate viewers and offers.

How do I know, I always ask for feedback and ask targeted Qs. So I’ll know it went above what I offered, if they say there was a higher offer or if someone was in a better position (developer, ftb, no chain etc). For this one I said oh did it go for above xxx and they said way more but can’t say specific - so it could have been even more, who knows! It was the best house, perfect plot position and size so I can understand. I’m annoyed as it was well within our budget but we offered in proportion to the asking.

However I’m clearly a sucker and I’m going to drive 40min with my toddler to see another one on that road put up by that EA at a bargain price next weekend. Zoopla puts it about 70k more than the 300k. They’re really nice to be honest, I asked why they priced it low and they said it needs a complete refurb, new windows etc, same as the previous (but that was an amazing plot). It’s impossible to not get taken in.

@Momniscient oh god I hope you're not right! They're not actually on the market at the moment so I'll be annoyed if they're trying to get us in a bidding war... time will tell but we'll defo follow up on Tuesday, thanks

Hopefully now the Christmas break is over things will look up for us and things can start moving, more houses coming onto the market for us to see, solicitors going back to work after their Christmas break
good luck everyone for 2022

I just looked at the area with our unsellable house in to see how the market was looking post-Christmas. Not a single house added to the market in the last week. One three bedroom flat.

Dead as a dead thing.

I've just been looking around the area we're renting in - a couple of lovely cul de sacs with really nice houses but looking at the previously sold prices I think they'd be outside our budget. I got my hopes up as one went on sale just before we moved here at £100k under our budget (needed work!) but it also said it was underpinned, which I suspect is why the price is lower. I hadn't realised how much lower until today though!

Still nothing new on RM

House added in my search area but location doesn't really suit me. However, it is on for even more than houses were end of last year.... I am shocked, as other stuff being reduced. Will be interesting to see if it sells quickly

Reading with interest. We have been looking for about 3 years. Then covid hit and prices went silly stupid. Hoping 2022 is our year!

Good luck everyone!

Happy New Year everyone!

The report didn't materialise @Momniscient. The assistant sent me an e-mail late afternoon saying it was complete and she was "literally typing up the last bits" before being able to e-mail it to me and then...nothing

I wouldn't mind if my solicitor had just said at the beginning that she wouldn't be able to send it until the New Year but she kept saying it would be sent "before Christmas" which then became "by Christmas" and finally "before the end of the year"

I'd change solicitors but that would represent yet more sunken costs in this never ending attempt to buy a house.

Very, very little coming onto the market in my part of London. As I'm still not confident my temperamental vendor will actually complete, I was hoping to get some 'just in case' viewings lined up for next week when my kids are back at school but not a single suitable property has appeared. I'm trying to remain optimistic but it is hard. There was so much drama with my vendor last year (even her EA describes her as a nightmare) and I just keep waiting for the axe to fall when she changes her mind.

That said, I went to visit my lovely old Scottish neighbour last week who reminded me of expression "Whit's Fur Ye'll No Go By Ye" so I have to keep that in mind if this house falls through!

@Eastie77Returns, love that saying!