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Original poster

Giving up on hopes of moving - WWYD?

38 replies

NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:32

It's been a whole year since we had agents round to value our house and chose on to go with. Almost a year since we accepted the offer from our first buyers. They waited 6 months while we searched in earnest. We have viewed in excess of 60 houses now. Have offered 8-10% over asking and keep losing out to people offering more or with nothing to sell. Our latest buyer was secured before Christmas after the previous ones (understandably) moved on to another purchase.
I'm worn down and mentally exhausted.
We have loads of equity and good savings and salaries so can afford a decent purchase amount and still can't find anywhere. We're stuck in a house that's two small for our family our 4 and just doesn't suit our lifestyle. We need a usable garage for sports storage, a proper utility space, space to accommodate family who live hours away and visit often and possible home gym / office space, bigger bedrooms for our kids and more living space with separate rooms ideally. We have no extension or conversion option due to the style of house and size of plot (1960s, low pitch roof semi, narrow side access, 1 decebt double, 1 small double and a very boxy box room) and already extended downstairs so garden is only just big enough still.)

Sick of the limbo. If we aren't moving there is plenty to do to update things here but there is also a ceiling price on these houses so I don't want to spend too much. Do we keep looking or try again in a couple of years and make some decorative changes meantime? But will my age (45 now) be an issue re: mortgages in a couple of years time?

All my friends are extending their houses and converting their garaged and lofts, because they can and I can't blame them. If we could, we would.

Aaaaaaghhhh!!!!!

OP posts:
imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 12:36

Could you move into a rental so you are chain free?

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:41

I won't consider moving into rented as with small children and working from home it's too stressful. Plus to rent similar to what we live in now would be about £1500 a month versus our mortgage of £400 a month and for who knows how long? We could be renting for a whole year at this rate and would still lose out to cash buyers who seem to ve everywhere.

OP posts:
Whinge · 18/04/2022 12:48

How many properties have you made an offer on since you started searching?

It sounds like you might not be able to afford what you want in the area you're looking. Is there any chance of increasing the search area?

imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 12:48

Not sure what to suggest then, stay put & make peace with it.

MabelMoo23 · 18/04/2022 12:49

@NoFitStateMum

I won't consider moving into rented as with small children and working from home it's too stressful. Plus to rent similar to what we live in now would be about £1500 a month versus our mortgage of £400 a month and for who knows how long? We could be renting for a whole year at this rate and would still lose out to cash buyers who seem to ve everywhere.
Same as us, am utterly despondent, we have 2 small children, 2 cats and a puppy and I work from home and we’ve sold and just can’t find anywhere but renting not an option for exact same reasons as you.

It’s thoroughly depressing. Am on verge of withdrawing. There is a new build estate in our town just waiting for the reserved matters planning to be approved and I think we just wait until they get released and go for one of those as they are in our desired school catchment area. Feel bad as it’s yet more houses being built on lovely countryside but not sure what else to do

imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 12:50

Everyone I know who is buying are either FTBs or have sold & in rented or with family. Sellers seem to want chain free.

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:54

We have offered 8-10% over asking price about 5 times.

OP posts:
imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 12:55

can you offer more?

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:55

We have no family locally to stay with.
Our buyer isn't a FTB or chain free but they are sold to a FTB.

OP posts:
Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:57

Honestly, not really. We're looking at stuff being marketed between £475k and £550k.

OP posts:
imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 12:57

as pp said expand the search area

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 12:59

MabelMoo23 it's depressing. My kids are older primary age and sharing a tiny double which means they have no option but to have bunk beds. The box room that the youngest had pre covid is a office now. But even before covid we had no space for visitors and as I said, with family all living hours away, that would be useful.

OP posts:
Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 13:00

Our search area is already pretty big as our catchment secondary covers a large area. We do need to be mindful of school catchment as I'm not willing to separate my kids from their friends as 95% go in to the same secondary.

OP posts:
imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 13:02

Do you have garden space to build a space to work/have guests?

froidIci · 18/04/2022 13:06

Hi OP

it seems a few things are fixed and decided -

  1. Search radius won’t be wider.
  2. Budget cannot be bigger.
  3. Children cannot move schools.
  4. Renting is out of the question.
  5. Further work on the house is impossible.

In this combination of circumstances there really is nothing Else to be done other than to stay where you are and put up with it. If any of these factors could change then of course it’s a different picture, but it sounds like these factors are fixed so a different outcome isn’t possible perhaps.

M0RVEN · 18/04/2022 13:11

@froidIci

Hi OP

it seems a few things are fixed and decided -

  1. Search radius won’t be wider.
  2. Budget cannot be bigger.
  3. Children cannot move schools.
  4. Renting is out of the question.
  5. Further work on the house is impossible.

In this combination of circumstances there really is nothing Else to be done other than to stay where you are and put up with it. If any of these factors could change then of course it’s a different picture, but it sounds like these factors are fixed so a different outcome isn’t possible perhaps.

This.

Either be flexible and change some of your criteria or stay put.

But please stop messing about the unfortunate people who have bought your house at leases twice. You are wasting their time and money.

JurasicPerks · 18/04/2022 13:25

You need to start looking at houses 400-450k, and offering more than 10% over, if your current offers aren't high enough.

AmberLynn1536 · 18/04/2022 13:37

@JurasicPerks

You need to start looking at houses 400-450k, and offering more than 10% over, if your current offers aren't high enough.
Agreed, you can’t afford the houses you are offering on, you need to look at lower priced houses or stay put.
imaeasteregg · 18/04/2022 13:38

If you have lots of equity, savings & good salaries can you not borrow more?

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 13:50

M0RVEN so you think I should take on unacceptable debt or move somewhere I don't want to live just to get out for my buyers? My buyers were both told up front that we would not move into rented or be rushed. They offered on that basis. The current buyer offered asking price only and not a penny more as our asking price was their max budget . They won't find a comparable house elsewhere and only want to live in our very precise area to be v close to family and for schools. So I'm not messing anyone about. If my buyers want to buy somewhere else they can, albeit something needing work for less money.

OP posts:
starstarstarlight · 18/04/2022 13:55

Can you find somewhere cheaper that you could potentially do a loft conversion or extension to?

PinkPlantCase · 18/04/2022 13:57

OP could you move to a house a similar size to yours but one that has potential to extend?

Sounds like your only option really

Original poster
NoFitStateMum · 18/04/2022 14:06

I'm willing to buy something needing one major bit of work but lots we've seen have needed a loft plus extension and often other things, or compete renovation including rewiring which is just too much, and I don't know how we would finance all that on top of a purchase price around £450/475k anyway.

I think as a previous poster said, we're stuck for now. Just a very frustrating situation especially as we never expected to be in this current house even 5 years when we bought it and we've now been there for 10.

OP posts:
HopelesslydevotedtoGu · 18/04/2022 14:09

It's a difficult market to be trying to buy a house in. Lots of cash buyers, lots of offering well over asking price. I viewed a house recently that had eight cash buyer offers and growing. Hard to stand out there if you can't offer well over asking.

If you don't need to move I'd probably stay put and make the best of where you are. Could you get a garden office or work in a hot desking space, so the box room can be a bedroom again? Do you need a whole room for the office space, if you work off a laptop could you have a fold out desk in a different room (bedroom?) and put it away when not working? Could you move the wall to make the box room bigger? Could your kids continue sharing?

Other options I'd consider are

  • look at cheaper houses so you can afford to offer 10-15% over, if it would still be worthwhile moving into one of them
  • find a house that doesn't appeal to other buyers so much. There's one near here that has been sat on market for ages whilst everything else sells quickly. It has some factors that are putting buyers off, but I think it would be a perfectly lovely family home
  • would any relatives be kind enough to gift you money to be able to spend more? A kind of early inheritance?

I'd not move into rented right now with kids, securing a decent rental just as challenging as buying a house round here.

Big question is whether things will calm down and you'd be better to wait a year or two. Without crystal ball I can't say though.

LairyMcClairy · 18/04/2022 14:17

It’s really tricky. We were under offer for around a year and tried hard to find the right thing. Our budget of around 1.2M once would have bought us pretty much our dream house (albeit a semi-D) became not enough and we didn’t want to put ourselves under pressure to find the extra 200k or compromise on space.
Decided to stay put.