Thread 3: "Anyone not being picky - and STILL can't find anything?"

[RidingMyBike]

Thread 3 ready to go.
Link to thread 2:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4450168-Thread-2-Anyone-not-being-picky-and-STILL-cant-find-anything?pg=1

star dubya

Thank you.

It sounds mad, but I had to pull out. Vital legal information was withheld from the start. I think they were hoping a buyer would get too invested and continue. There are legal issues attached to the place that make a sale impossible unless it takes another six months maybe? At which point, I imagine they will ask for more money.

I feel such a fool because I saw their lack of clarity as being the confusion of selling a deceased parents' property.

I think there may also be issues with unpaid management bills. They have been covering up lack of answers to questions by blaming solicitors etc, but now I think they were just hoping to hide certain things till after exchange.

this is less than half of what I found out in Saturday.

There were several red flags and I have wasted my own time and money. Still,
I have to feel the full force of having been an idiot to be sure I don't make that mistake again.

But I don't think I will look. I will probably spend more time at mum's. I said on another thread about problems with anti social behaviour in my building. Hanging out at mum's can be hard, but she loves it when I'm there and it's a decent road with lovely neighbours, many of whom are elderly so I wind up doing a lot of errands! But I've known them since I was a kid and could do with that sense of security at the mo.

@EmmaH2022 i have an acquaintance who bought a flat from people with debts. The sellers were in some sort of agreement to pay off credit cards with the proceeds of the house, which turned out to be around the equal amount! They weren’t clear from the start and it caused a lot of delays (not sure why as you’d imagine they’d be keen to get cheat if it all) and it took ages and was very stressful. Anyway! Good luck to you and your mum 💐

As for two markets - I am in a large northern town and had no trouble getting viewings. There wasn’t much to view, of course, but we didn’t have to demonstrate our position etc when we booked them. I am originally from the south east and friends are saying London is difficult. Not sure about the northern cities, Manchester or Leeds etc. Seen progress on other large town chums too.

In my purchase news - I chased the vendor at the weekend after our solicitor said they’d not had responses to queries. Got a very unsatisfactory ‘Yes! What a coincidence you should ask! We are doing everything on Monday as a matter of fact! It’s a waiting game isn’t it!’ which was annoying as I’ve been waiting for them after being cc into emails from my solicitor to theirs dated 07/04/2022 😒

keen to get clear of it all*

Pulling out in your situation doesn't sound mad at all EmmaH; it sounds a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

My first flat, when I was young and green and had no-one advising me, the vendor told me the lease was 125 years; what they failed to mention was that 38 years had already expired. The vendor also advised me that were no service charge accounts as the freeholder was absentee...except they turned up the day after my purchase demanding yours of unpaid bills. I sold the place 6 years later for £14k less than I bought it for. A very expensive lesson learned.

You've escaped a potentially awful situation, although I appreciate it's down heartening not to have been able to move on as you would have liked at present.

@EmmaH2022 it sounds like it was a very sensible decision to pull out, and you've got a huge amount on your plate at the moment!

Waiting on mortgage valuation here…

Found out today that, although probate still hasn't been granted on vendor's onward purchase, he's decided to move into temporary accommodation so our purchase can proceed! We are awaiting a pack from the solicitor. Which he was going to send to us over a week ago!

@RidingMyBike , that's fab news. I'm still waiting for my vendor to find an onward purchase. It's been two months.

Are you still keeping an eye out to see if anything else that's more proceedable comes up @areyouhavingagiraffe?

Having had my first potential purchase collapse due to the vendor pulling out, I'm still looking at RM and Zoopla and all the agents websites in case the house I'm currently buying falls through. It's been 5 weeks since my offer was accepted.

@Starseeking , yup still got alerts on and having a look. Unless there's a chain free / no onward chain property, I could potentially be in the same boat. But yes am keeping an eye out. I know they are looking, and I'm staying with family (as I sold last summer) so I can wait.....but worried about the obvs pulling out!

I still have all my alerts etc set up despite being 8 or 9? weeks now since offer accepted and with exchange possibly looming into sight. Haven't done any viewings but we're well aware what is on market, prices etc.

I think you can never know for sure what will happen, even if your seller is the nicest, most accommodating person ever. It isn't legally binding until exchange and even then not absolute (although they'd lose the 10%). We're buying from an elderly man and, whilst I hate to think it, if he was suddenly incapacitated or worse and unable to proceed to exchange, we'd probably need to look again. I've got an elderly relative whose health has declined at terrifying speed in the last six months. Fortunately we have POA set up and she was already in care, well looked after and house sold but we'd have ended up in limbo for months or even longer without that POA.

I viewed a house on Monday. Went to best and final. Mine was 2nd highest at 3% above asking. Declined as highest was so much higher than the other offers (3 offers in total). Agent phoned this morning to say that highest had withdrawn because couldn't get loan for that amount. Can I up my offer. I've added 5k on.

This is a suburb of a major city. It's a 3 bed terrace (a big terrace - big rooms).

I wonder if prices are starting to plateau because lenders are being more reserved?

My last vendor was an elderly lady who pulled out on the day of exchange, a week before completion, so I'd be a fool not to keep looking this time around @areyouhavingagiraffe** and @RidingMyBike.

It would have been good for Michael Gove to have announced reforming the house buying process in England, instead of his big new idea of neighbours being able to approve/reject planning permission!

They've accepted my offer. I'm so excited, help me celebrate. It's a hovel on a main road and it's really expensive. I think I'll be miserable living there and I'm worried about DD getting running over. But at least I've had an offer accepted.

Can I join in? Need other people to share this agonising pain with.

We've been looking for nearly a year, but due to our search area being 40 miles away we can only view on Saturdays so by the time that comes round places have gone. Things seem to be picking up a bit now though 🙏

We had 3 viewings last sat and none were quite right. 4 more lined up for this sat.

There's 1 we really like and think we're the first ones to view.

It's below our top budget so we can offer over asking if we need to.

If we really like it should we say then and there? We're FTB so quite clueless.

@TwinklingFairyLights Concrapulations 🥀

@Amichelle84 Make ‘Hmm’ noises while in the property, sleep on it then straight onto the estate agent to make the offer. Don’t offer to the sellers, if they’re the ones showing you around.

Thanks @CamoTeaLaLa

Feel like I should be celebrating. Couldn't even get a viewing a month ago. Got 5 viewings in the last week. Don't feel like celebrating tbh. This whole process has been draining.

So, just had a call from EA. My vendors have had an offer accepted on a vacant property. It's empty so the chain is complete, and short. In all my excitement, I didn't ask whether there was a probate situation, but I think I am just conjuring up problems. Good news is that they
have an onward and its end of chain.

@TwinklingFairyLights amazing news. I think the market is turning.....a little

It's overpriced and on a main road. I'll kick myself for compromising I think. Buyers remorse ahead.

@TwinklingFairyLights , well think about it. You can pull out. Or ask for second viewing to check out a few things. I did that on two places I offered on, and then pulled out.
Everything is overpriced. I'm sure the place I am buying is, although the lender valuation is pretty bang on (only £4k less). Anyway, I have been looking for so long and I realise there are always some compromises, and its finding a balance. I'm not preaching as I am sure you know this

Good points. I'm just a bit emotional today and not in a good way. I thought I'd be happy to get an offer accepted and I'm not.

Anyone else waiting on a mortgage valuation? Was hoping it would be back by now <impatient>

I'm waiting for a second opinion having received a £30k downvaluation on the first. If this valuation comes back lower again, I'll have to reduce my offer to match, and if the vendors won't accept, I'll have to walk away. Very scary times.

Did you offer over asking @Paddingtonthebear?