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

Riding - sorry, I wasn't clear because I'm hyper!

There's already two bedrooms and bathroom up there.

Oh you should be fine then!

@Momniscient thanks for setting this up!

we're making good headway with our purchase... mortgage approved and was valued today, survey is booked for next week, paperwork for our sale is complete so the solicitor can start drafting the contract, we're just wading our way through all the paperwork for the purchase then can instruct the searches... Then need to make sure everyone else in the chain is doing what they need to be!

Soooooo hoping nothing goes tits up now... I know its silly but mentally I've already decorated half the house. If it does I dont know what we'll do as there is no January boom to speak of in our area.

@EmmaH2022 hope the viewing goes well! Have you booked in a time yet?

@DanisEndo keeping everything crossed for you too - have you started making bets on when you might move in?

The reality of selling as really sunken in this week. I was so prepared to still be here for months and months, but then these viewers this week and a good offer... we might be out before Spring. And suddenly it feels like I'm not quite ready to go... but I am! What a rollercoaster indeed.

@Momniscient our vendor had said their ideal would be end of March/start of April. Mid April would actually be better for me as I work in finance and March/first week of April is our busiest time all year and I cant request any leave during that period because of tax year end. Its generally expected people take a couple of weeks off after TYE so that'd be ideal for me to get us all packed up!

I know how you feel, I am GAGGING for more space, have 100% outgrown our 1 bed flat. BUT. The second I think about it empty and actually leaving I genuinely get quite tearful... so many mixed emotions...

It's a standard reaction to change - I've heard it described as 'appreciation of the current state'! Always the hardest bit of a change IMO.

I'm glad we're not living in our house now, so if we ever sell it, we won't go through it quite as badly.

I did find it really difficult to leave our old house and head off, knowing we wouldn't see it again, probably - it was on the market when we left but as we were moving 200 miles it went onto a management contract with the EA. I had several wobbles as it was a lovely house, especially when the buyers turned out to be quite pushy.

I had actually quietly decided when I was south on a work trip to pop round with my key and just see it again but then the buyers brought forward the completion date and we were suddenly all WFH so my work trip was cancelled!

I did have to keep reminding myself of all the positives of moving and that that, lovely though it is, we'd outgrown it! I have brought cuttings from some of my favourite plants away with me.

Danis it seems soon, doesn't it?

mom thanks, managed to shift things so I can see it tomorrow. I have no idea if I've just inconvenienced myself for no reason (the work change mostly impacts me and I will have to take cabs) but I just thought, if this gets sold over the weekend like the other one in the same block, I will be so pissed off.

Re change...the first place I bought, I couldn't wait to get out for various reasons. I will be sorry to leave my current flat and that will be a whole different experience!

Managing the stress is a big factor. I have depression and anxiety generally though. I will have to keep reminding myself that the body can't differentiate between nerves and excitement!

@EmmaH2022 it does seem soon!! 11/12 weeks?? To be honest I have no idea if its a realistic timeframe or if late spring or early Summer is more likely.. When we bought our flat it was only two of us in the chain and only took 12 weeks from offer to completion whereas its a lot longer chain this time round!

@Doubleraspberry I really like the phrase appreciation of the current state ... its made me feel all sappy and reflective

@EmmaH2022 - best of luck with the viewing. I understand the 'gut feeling' you get when you find a place that seems perfect.

I was completely unsentimental about selling my flat even though I'd been there for over a decade and had some good memories. It was my first property, bought when I was in my 20s and it served a purpose then as it was close to central London, lots of bars and great nightlife. Fast forward a few years, I now have two DC and it was completely unsuitable. Factor in a dreadful anti-social neighbour and a Freeholder from hell - honestly I couldn't wait to get shot of it .

I booked a survey on the house I'm hopefully buying earlier this week and they managed to carry it out the next day. The report has just landed in my inbox so I'm going to have a read now. Fingers crossed...

Thanks for the new thread.

This week has been a rollercoaster.

The buyer pulled out on Wednesday for a ridiculous reason, but then, after a chat with the agent, she was mollified and is now seemingly back onboard. For how long we have no idea. Our solicitor says she is the most ridiculous client he has dealt with.

I had decided it was all too much hassle and got 2 builders lined up to knock walls down here.....

Now what? Do we carry on and walk the tightrope or pull the plug ourselves? All our friends who have heard the whole sorry saga are saying tell them to get lost.

How I hate this process.

Eastie quick turn around on the survey!!

So I've seen the flat in my lunch break. Second viewing Monday.

It's one of those split level flats where the two floors aren't in line with each other. Frankly I find that odd, but as the bedrooms are top floor, it doesn't really matter I guess. Certainly with flats, I don't think there's much point being too picky.

Good news - built in 2003, fooled me in looking a lot older! 😂

On a busy corner which will get busier but I can already see from floor plans, it's the max space I'd get for my money.

Seeing two other flats on Monday as well as the second view of this one. I also had a friend sell and buy in the area four Tube stations along, just before Xmas. I know how much her flat sold for and have seen the new flat she has (a big three bed for her, exciting). so I have a gauge of what's around - apart from the intensive study of Rightmove - and will have more after Monday, and I think this is a good fit for me, though I realise lack of bath will put future buyers off.

Also the eaves in the bedrooms would bother a tall person but this doesn't apply to me. So it's promising.

Cheltenham that's a tough one.

You mention knocking down walls...does that mean there's an option to stay? How long has this buyer been a pain?

My sister had a buyer who was a pain and I suggested she drop them. She didn't and they got their shit together. Weird.

@EmmaH2022 it sounds like a larger version of my first flat, which I adored. If the shower is big enough to be replaced by a bath then a buyer can always put one in. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue to sell on. Just make sure that the loft conversion is fire compliant.

The eaves mention has reminded me of my most ridiculous estate agent counter of my life so far. I got someone in to value my old flat and the eaves thing obviously made her think/feel it was smaller than it was. She gave me a value and then explained it, saying it was worth less than I might think because it didn’t have an eat-in kitchen. I pointed out she was sitting at the kitchen table as we spoke.

Good luck all those who are proceeding. Still nothing in my area.

I keep being told that the stamp duty holiday and "race for space" brought a lot of activity forward, so there's now limited stock on the market. Surely that means a lot of buyers brought activity forward too, so there should be less buyers competing for what's available?

[quote Doubleraspberry]@EmmaH2022 it sounds like a larger version of my first flat, which I adored. If the shower is big enough to be replaced by a bath then a buyer can always put one in. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue to sell on. Just make sure that the loft conversion is fire compliant.[/quote]
It's purpose built flats so they built the attic bit. Maybe attic is the wrong word. I don't really get why purpose built have sloping eaves but I've seen loads online.

That EA sounds mad! 😂

Quite. There was also a staggered movement in it all before that. For a while in 2020 there wasn't much happening at all - my Mum put her house on the market in Feb 2020 and it just sat there for months as people weren't viewing due to all the uncertainty about what was going to happen, state of economy etc even though moving house was still allowed. So it kind of hit 'pause' for a while. Then the stamp duty holiday and the easing of restrictions and people reassessing how much space they need happened so a lot of activity happened in a short space of time. We ended up booking our removals in August for an October move just to be sure of getting them!

The stamp duty holiday ended as the market was heading towards what is usually a quiet time of year anyway (this is when our house went on market!).

And there must still be a lot of people who don't know precisely what their work situation will be yet - my employer is running a hybrid working experiment until the end of this year but it isn't contractual so I'd be really stupid to choose a house miles from work, then suddenly find in December I'm expected on site every day. I doubt that would happen but there are no guarantees.

Oh, the house we viewed on Thurs turned out to be another elderly person downsizing because they couldn't cope with the stairs/garden any longer - this or probate seems to be the case for everything we've seen so far. The properties on the market because they have to be.

Re: "Appreciation of the current state" ... I think what I'm feeling at the moment can be boiled down to the fact I have been so happy here and moving seems somehow like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. As if somehow having been happy here will make up for lack of space inside and outside. Things are shifting. In some ways, it feels like the selling process is not fast enough because I rather want to rip off the bandages and get over with. And then I think about leaving here for the last time and never coming back... hmmn... reality check due, I think!

I've been trying to think of myself as a custodian of the house rather than the owner... and that's easier, in some ways. But then sometimes I worry whether it'd my job to ensure the next set of people will also "look after the house properly" and that sort of thing. When it definitely isn't.

In more balanced moments I'm able to think about the things I'm looking forward to once we've moved on, which we can't do/have here. That's helping. And I bought my first ever scented candle today which is flickering away nicely. Bit of a ramble, but that's all I have today!

I love a scented candle Momniscient!

There has been a bit of an uptick in the parts of London where I’ve been looking (East London suburbs/Essex borders) but the vast majority of properties seem to be coming up in surrounding areas to the North such as Enfield, Palmers Green, Edmonton. A lot seem to be “in need of a bit of TLC” but offer a “great opportunity to put your stamp on the property” which translates into they are in a completely awful state.

So I’ve read through the surveyors report which arrived yesterday and I’m a bit..conflicted. The good news is there do not appear to be any major issues apart from minor updates required that I already knew about. My main concern was the roof as but that came back with a clean bill of health. On the other hand, the report seems a bit basic and I’m not sure what I’ve spent my money on. I went for the Homebuyers rather than the full structural on the company’s advice so I wasn’t expecting a massively detailed report. Just a bit disappointed as there are multiple areas the surveyor couldn’t comment on because there was “furniture in the way” or the area is being used as storage although the EA has helped the vendor clear out a lot of stuff to facilitate access for this appointment. I had specially asked about Japanese Knotweed and the feedback was the garden is very big and overgrown and since it’s not Summer the surveyor can’t comment?

A few random pictures and helpful text such as “there is a fireplace in the living room” and suggestions that I decorate the bathroom and buy new kitchen units…

She has sent me a text message to say I can call her any time to discuss so I’ll give her a call tomorrow to clarify a few bits. I haven’t had one of these reports before so I’m perhaps expecting too much!

Eastie

I was under the impression Homebuyers report doesn’t really say anything

Is it for a house?

Every Homebuyer’s Report we’ve had has been like that: we’ve laughed at them before. I wish it was clearer how unhelpful they are.

My tip would be to commission your own full survey. Apart from anything else, anything you buy through the mortgage company belongs to them, so if you encounter issues and want to sue the surveyor, the mortgage company has to agree to it. And they won’t unless the issues will cost them (rather than you) money. This is a lesson learned very expensively.

@lemonyfox We’re in Manchester (new to this thread), in a very popular area that was booming in the summer. The market here is pretty dead now and even the houses that do come on the market don’t seem to be selling, where a few months ago any house at any price would get snapped up and probably go for over asking price.

Now we've accepted an offer I'm looking forward to the end of the letters from other EAs asking if we'd like to change agents. I initially shredded them all, but started to keep them after a bit just to see how they changed. We had 17 letters since mid-December, from 7 different estate agents and 2 home buying schemes. Bonkers.