Thread 2: "Anyone not being picky - and STILL can't find anything?"

[Momniscient]

Just spotted the first one is full so have set up thread two so we can keep talking with minimal delay. Hoping that tagging works regardless ...

RightMove addicts, and serial refreshers of other property websites, share your troubles!

Posters from last two pages in the thread and OP:
@PessimisticOptimist
@Eastie77Returns
@RidingMyBike
@beguilingeyes
@DanisEndo
@EmmaH2022
@dubyalass
@BennyBean
@ByeByeMissAmericanPie
@areyouhavingagiraffe
@CheltenhamLady
@doubleraspberry
@YukoandHiro
@TulipsfromAmsterdam
@MummyJ12
@starseeking
@GoinSouth
@MiracleBaby2022

Original thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4346330-Anyone-not-being-picky-and-STILL-cant-find-anything

Good luck everyone on best and final offers!

@Paddingtonthebear I'm surprised they're happy to take best and final offers over the phone. Seems odd to not want proof of everything - isn't that what the "best" part implies? That people could put forward identical offers but the one with the better paperwork would win overall?

God knows. That was two days ago, emailed our final figure across (nothing else) as soon as they asked us for it and the vendors still haven’t made a decision 48 hours later 🙄

@dubyalass

Eastie that’s what I’m hoping, that they want it to go to someone who actually wants to live in it, but I suspect it’s a standard box on this particular agent’s form (rather than something they’re using to decide who to choose) and the vendor will go for the highest and most proceedable offer because it’s a probate sale.

Ah, fingers crossed it’s the former rather than the latter. When I sold my flat I had an offer significantly above asking from a cash buyer. The EA said he felt he was planning to let it out and had no plans to live there. I eventually sold to a FTB who offered a bit less but was proceedable and the EA also forwarded me an email from her in which she explained why she wanted to live in the flat and what loved about it and the area. I actually thought it was quite a nice touch and wanted to try and ensure the other residents had a nice new neighbour (obviously I have no idea how nice she is!) rather than someone who would let it out to a succession of tenants as we’d experienced problems with a flat in the building that had turned into a BTL with antisocial tenants.

Emma sorry about the noise. We once had a horrendous issue with Thames Water carrying out works 11pm-4am over several nights. Literally kept an entire street awake.

Dubya seems a mad question to ask. What if you said "imma party like it's 1999"? 😂

I wish I had now! Although it's pretty much retirementville around there so that might not have gone down well. Anyway, offer in, deadline on Friday. I went up a smidgen but not by much. If I have bid against myself then so be it, I am happy paying that amount for it regardless. We shall see! I am not getting my hopes up, I expect it will go to cash buyers who are downsizing.

We might be lucky. I've just seen that 2 properties I lost on last year are no longer SSTC and back on the market. Potentially the market realises that house prices are increasing far too quickly?
We've got another viewing tomorrow this time a doer upper so fingers crossed

Well it turns out that my vendors solicitor has only just sent her the contract to sign this evening🙄 Spoke to the EA who is fuming as he was under the impression this was all done some time ago. Now unclear if we can exchange this week.

The vendor is the one who has been making a fuss about absolutely having to exchange and complete by a certain date due to her removals issue etc so I would have thought she would have been chasing her solicitor but hey ho.

Eastie that is mad. Hopefully vendor can have then signed and with solicitor tomorrow?

Update on our full & final offer ((Monday). Vendors had an open house for viewings, got three offers on day one so asked for full and final offers asap and still haven’t decided on the offers 3 days later as apparently one of them is away for a few days (just a hundred miles way or so) and they can’t discuss it properly until they are back. . Decision on Friday apparently.

Paddington
Fingers crossed 🤞

I keep coming across articles like this one and thinking 'Yay, more houses on the market soon'. I hope it'll be true...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/best-month-to-sell/?utmsource=uknewsletter&utmmmedium=email&utmcampaign=newsletterfeb322&utmmcontent=marchtimetosell

Hope you get good news tomorrow Paddington. I can't understand why it would take the sellers so long to decide, even if one is away they don't need to be in the same room to make a decision.

My vendor's solicitor has now moved completion to March 2nd but no date mentioned for exchange. I'm now thinking this isn't going to happen at all. Just all seems a bit ominous that earlier in the week the vendor absolutely had to move by February 26th and now suddenly doesn't and there's been no explanation. The normally chatty EA who messages me all the time on WhatsApp has gone silent.

I may be overthinking. To be honest I'm so drained by months of uncertainty I'm beginning to stop caring. So fed up with constantly chasing and getting crumbs of information

I’m not sure we will get it, we have offered £10k over asking but won’t be offering any more.

Good news anyway though, spoke to our mortgage broker and we can borrow more than we could when we got the MIP last year, and at a better rate than last year. So if this house doesn’t come off we can increase our budget by a fair bit and still have similar repayments

A few properties have come up in the area I am looking, however for some reason they are all 4 bedrooms (usually with a converted loft), meaning they are quite far out of reach.

The difference between 3 beds and 4 beds is £60-£100k in this area, dependent on condition, so as I'm maxed out already, bridging the gap is too much of a challenge.

Here's hoping March brings us some fresh stock!

To be honest I'm so drained by months of uncertainty I'm beginning to stop caring. So fed up with constantly chasing and getting crumbs of information

That is exactly how I feel too.

Eastie what a nuisance! I had a colleague who had a delay simply because her solicitor was away...fine, except no one bothered to tell her and surely someone else should be able to oversee?

Star I didn't realise the price of an extra bedroom was that much. I tend to think in terms of square footage but I expect it's a lot different looking at flats than houses.

Paddington good re mortgage.

My area seems to have a real dearth of reasonably priced smallish three-beds. Plenty of cramped two-bed period terraces, plenty of big Victorian gentleman's residences but nothing in between. I don't want an executive detached, or a large retirement bungalow, I just want a moderately sized but functional three-bed or large two-bed with potential to extend. Sigh.

dubya I had to google that and I'm not sure I'm any the wiser 😂

Once upon a time, a classic six in New York would be my idea of a gentleman's residence. Or a large mansion block flat in London.

Aarrgghhh I need to swop areas with some of you - there seems to be vast quantities of 3 bed semis coming on here but hardly anything bigger, which is what we're after!

@CheltenhamLady sorry you find yourself in the same sorry situation as me. What is the latest with your buyer and the missing deeds? It sounded as if that was the final issue before you were able to complete?

Plenty of 3 bed semis here although they tend to be 2 decent rooms and a basically large walk in closet/cupboard masquerading as a 3rd bedroom so most people extend into the loft.

The 3 bed I’m buying is relatively small but that suits me as I’ve never wanted to live in a large property. I mean in my head I sometimes picture myself gliding around in a Downton Abbey type residence but I think I’d hate the reality of a massive house!

@Eastie77Returns, we are still waiting to see if they can be found....

Not sure what will happen if they don't turn up.

It is the final issue, but one of many in a long line, we solve one and another pops up.

EmmaH2022, yes in my area the gap between the price depending on number of bedrooms is really widening.

3 beds 1930's semi (if you can get them), go for £675-750k, more if it's a (tiny) Victorian cottage.

4 bed 1930's semi, £730-800k, again the Victorians with dormer loft conversion go for more.

5 bed 1930's semi, £800-£1.2m, and in this category Victorian cottages are around the same price, mainly because 5 beds mean they generally have 2 dormers and the rooms are small.

3 bedroom semi's are in such high demand here. You can get a 3 bedroom terrace (not Victorian) for less, but they don't attract as much competition.

I am now thinking about tomorrow’s impending storm, the fact my vendor refused to renew her buildings insurance which expired last year and that there are a couple of large trees in front of the property. A perfect storm indeed.

The gentlemen's residences around here were built for mining engineers and other folk high up in the industry - beautiful great places but enormous!

I don't want anything big either, it's just me, but I mostly WFH and have visitors to stay regularly, plus I love sewing etc so would like to keep the work desk and sewing gubbins in a separate room, if possible. There just isn't much available generally, even before the pandemic, but it's hopeless at the moment, everyone chasing the same houses.

Lawks Eastie. What a nightmare.