I'VE FOUND MY DREAM PROPERTY- how do I navigate the viewing/putting in an offer?

[dottypencilcase]

After looking for months and viewing over 57 houses (in random locations- we can work anywhere because of WFH), I've found my dream- ABSOLUTE DREAM- property!!! It's in an area I've been praying a house becomes available and it has!!! It was added on Rightmove today and I want to view it NOW! I've sent the EA an enquiry but want to know how I should navigate next steps? I want to offer without viewing but that's not an option so apart from dancing through the house when I'm there, what should I do? Should I share how excited I am and how much I want the house or should I play it cool? I don't want to be overpaying for the house but want it regardless. It's currently £55K under our max budget. Should I put in an offer on the spot or play it safe and do the overnight thinking thing? Please help me secure this house!

Fingers crossed for you!

Oh OP you remind me of me when I first saw our house listed. DH had to talk me out of offering full asking price unseen In the end we were the second to view it, and made a full asking price offer as soon as we got back to the car. We’ve lived here over a year now and I still can’t believe it’s ours. Sending you lots of luck 🍀

Did you get it? Still have my fingers crossed for you!! :D

No news yet I'm afraid... I know there's been a lot of interest in the house and the buyer is considering who best to go with... the wait is killing me.

I would call the EA and chase again. The vendor has had enough time now surely. We were in a similar position, just about to exchange on our dream house (the survey is being done today, so keeping my fingers crossed!) we had to go to best and finals so I hope you don’t have to go through that. As much as you clearly love the house, you don’t want to be messed around. It could be worth adding another 5-10k to the offer but say you need a decision today and for it to be taken off the market for that.
We ended up paying 80k over asking and are in rented. There was another chain free party that we went to best and finals with. Apparently there were another 6 offers on the table and 11 parties waiting to view! It’s brutal out there but you have to do what you have to do to get your place.
Good luck OP

There’s no such thing as a dream home, a house generally is what you make it (location aside). I don’t think an emotional approach is the best way to do property deals, it’s business really.

Stops you being too disappointed when it doesn’t go your way.

I hope you do get it OP! But if not there’ll be others along that are just as suitable.

This was us very recently. Turned out the agent didn't have the keys yet! I ended up calling daily for a week, then twice daily for a few days (the keys were always 'definitely coming in this afternoon'). Most other people had given up on calling so when they keys finally came in, I viewed an hour later and made a full asking price offer an hour later again, which was accepted! Still pinching myself tbh.

So, be persistent. I was honest in saying I was looking for a family home and not interested in messing about. In my email of offer I stated our position -our buyers (FTB) were in place, mortgage sorted (big deposit too so we don't have to worry about being downvalued), solicitors ready to instruct. If the offer was accepted then all further viewings were to be cancelled and house taken off market. Just sensible, very polite email showing I was very serious about the purchase.

Saying all that, we'd viewed one a few days before which I'd thought would be The One and wasn't at all! It was a gorgeous house but do wait to view before you've mentally moved in. Good luck!

Didn't RTFT before responding- hope it's a positive result for you soon!

Can we have a link I'd love to see it! Fingers crossed for you Op!

I disagree @JudyGemstone, I absolutely think that there’s such thing as a dream home.
There’s no such thing as a perfect house though…..
An emotional approach is not a bad thing when house hunting, you should buy your home with your heart. It’s going to be your home, and there’s nothing more personal. If you buy with just your head and it’s a detached business transaction then the chances are, you’ll never love it.
I know from experience. Our last house made good financial sense and we were lucky that it proved to be a good investment but I never loved it. This time, I approached it differently, I was determined to buy with my heart not my head. I love my new house so much, and I knew it was ‘the one’ when I almost cried on the viewing (embarrassing!)
Let us know how you get on OP. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Absolutely phone them! We have put an offer in our dream house for £19k over the asking price. Estate agent said that another offer had been received for £45k over but we are not sure that we believe them. We have a property to sell in central London which our estate thinks will sell quickly )again, not sure they are to believed) but then we will be cash buyers so hoping that our offer will then take the lead over the higher offer. However, goodness knows how long the chain will be. It's a nightmare. Our estate agent has spoken to the other one stating that they have people waiting to view.
Don't offer more than you can afford obviously, in these tough times.
Trying not to get too excited about it though. Good luck.

Update: our offer was accepted!!!!!! I'm over the moon! It's been a torturous wait but I don't care- it was worth it all things considered! We managed to get the house for just over asking price in the end- I can't thank the EA enough- he was a man of his word and really managed the situation well.

For those saying think with your head and not your heart- I was. In an ideal world, we'd have stayed in our current location and upsized to another house but we'd need another £250k more for that privilege, which we just don't have. This property is only a little bit bigger than our current flat but gives us an extra room (tiny though it is) and a small garden for the children to run around in. It's close to the station but also has a beautiful park at the end of the road. It also means the children can stay at their nurseries and not lose out on their existing friendships, etc. it's the perfect place for the next decade at least :) keeping my fingers and everything else crossed for everything else to fall into place.

A million thanks to @FitAt50 and @fourofwands- I had an email drafted and ready to go once we viewed the property. I've been told the vendors loved it and could see we were like them- a family with very young children- when they'd first bought the house and that's what swayed them. I was also very complimentary about the house- fully justified since the vendors had maintained the character of the building and had renovated it so beautifully. Thank you everyone else for your words of wisdom and solidarity!

I am so so delighted for you x

I searched for this thread today just to see if you got the house! So pleased for you

Congratulations!
Wonderful news. Thanks for the update.

So glad you got it!! Congrats!! :D

Brilliant news! So pleased for you OP

Congratulations

Excellent news! Congrats 🥳

If I was a vendor I’d just want the most solid swiftly proceedable bidder. So make your reliability known. It’s a well known tactic that buyers put in crazy high offers (on various places sometimes) purely to secure their interest but without genuine commitment to them, get the place taken off the market and then (if it happens at all) by the time the sale actually happens it’s a year or so later and they’ve lopped off 50-75k from the offer unreasonably and everyone’s absolutely miserable.

Didn’t read the update- congratulations!!