About to put our house up for sale...anyone else? Part Two!

[InTheCludgie]

Hi everyone here is the new thread for those of us who are about to, or are currently trying to, sell our homes!

So we are now back on the market and have a viewing tomorrow morning, plus one for early next week. This week is a bit tricky as it's DS's birthday so have had to say no to a couple of suggested times for viewings.

How is everyone else getting on?

@123deepbreath , great news, well done !
@ecochiroptera I think you might possibly be near where we have moved from. Market definitively slowed if so.

Other house sale I am involved in (inherited a small share) isn’t getting anywhere currently . Flew off the shelf in May, only offer now is 45k less. My Uncle is having none of it and there are problems with probate so we aren’t really in position to accept an offer in my view but when we are he is going to have he a bit more realistic. Interest rate increase won’t help.

Cleaners in old house today, courier coming for keys and all being well completion on Thursday.

@123deepbreath , great news, well done !
@ecochiroptera I think you might possibly be near where we have moved from. Market definitively slowed if so.

Other house sale I am involved in (inherited a small share) isn’t getting anywhere currently . Flew off the shelf in May, only offer now is 45k less. My Uncle is having none of it and there are problems with probate so we aren’t really in position to accept an offer in my view but when we are he is going to have he a bit more realistic. Interest rate increase won’t help.

Cleaners in old house today, courier coming for keys and all being well completion on Thursday.

@ecochiroptera that sounds very frustrating.
We are in east London looking to move to another part of east London. Our little pocket is a bit unusual - it has a lot going for it but hasn’t gentrified at the rate other areas have and is not really fashionable with middle class families.

So my neighbour just called me to let me know that a couple walked up our drive, round the back and let themselves in our garden to have a look around. Our neighbour asked them what they were doing and apparently they were "doing a drive by". Didn't know a drive by now included walking into other peoples' properties. Trying to keep my calm but seriously, who does that? Got two more viewings tomorrow and now I'm wondering if one of them is these people.

@ecochiroptera 😮 What is wrong with people?!

@ecochiroptera what a flipping nerve! Good luck for the viewings tomorrow and to anyone else with viewings really.

I've got my buyer coming for a After Sales Review << which sounded a bit scary when the EA told me that. But basically they just want to see it again after their offer was accepted. So back to tidying and hiding general signs of our existence!

Still not had the Memorandum of sale a good week after accepting offer. Not that I suppose it matters too much.

DD was despatched to London at the weekend, well that's to say we dropped her there so one less to clear up after.

(To Uni that is) we didn't just dump her lol!

So 2hrs later than agreed our buyers surveyor finally arrived. I had an appointment so had to leave them unsupervised (DH was wfh in a video call) - arrived home to see sofas moved, cupboards opened. Naively I thought they weren't allowed to do that.

Oh well, fingers crossed everything pushes forward. Still waiting for their mortgage to be approved (FTB with a gifted deposit) and searches completed. My solicitor has handed over all the documents required so nothing I can do except badger the EA!

In the interim I'm conflicted. I put the property up for sale thinking Reno works on a purchased property would be starting. They still haven't (we were advised to go for PP even though all could be completed under PD) as awaiting approval then need a party wall agreement for the attached side (first Reno so didn't realise).

Not sure whether to
A) hold off pushing EA to exchange asap so that we don't have to live in a Reno but risk sale falling through

B) push for exchange then have to live in a Reno potentially over Xmas with a DD <1 but happy knowing I've got all my money out of the sale to put into the Reno and savings

C) push for exchange then suck it up and move in with in laws for an extended period of time (the cost of renting would likely be more than my current mortgage on the property for sale plus not sure short term rentals at reasonable prices are a thing).

Hi, can I join in… had an offer today. 10k under the asking price but accepted as that seems to be the way the market’s going.

Looking for somewhere to move out to but the supply of houses on the market seems to be slowing and seems like I have to wait for conveyancing paperwork before I can put an offer on somewhere else. Find the whole process really daunting, my first time buying on my own after a divorce.

Welcome @Stayingstrongish and good luck with the house hunting...there's definitely a shortage of houses isn't there? Autumn usually sees a bit of a rush of new houses coming on but there's not been much yet.

That's quite tricky @sellinghomeswithmn , I guess it depends on how well you get on with the inlaws? Our new house needs work doing to it but kids are 12 and 7 so easier than a baby (though I say that now, when they start trying to 'help' us strip wallpaper I may think differently!).

A few days ago I took a walk round by the house we're supposed to be buying and had a closer look at the neighbours place (this is the neighbour we will be attached to). The building itself looks OK but their drive is overgrown and there's a rusty car sitting in the drive. The broken looking garage door has been open since we first viewed the house next door, back in July. From what our vendor said, I get the impression they don't live there full time. Would this put any of you off?
I feel like knocking on the door of the neighbour who lives on the other side and trying to get their opinion on them, would that be too forward though, what do you all think?

@Stayingstrongish Welcome to the thread!

@sellinghomeswithmn Re the surveyor. Yes that was also my impression that they couldn't do that. It's in the RICS guidelines, at least that's what I have been told before by my surveyor. That they can only move stuff with explicit consent. Surely at least put it back the way it was?

@InTheCludgie Oh difficult one. My parents live in a semi where next door lives abroad half of the year. But they have someone who comes and looks after the house regularly. I'm thinking at least they'll be quiet neighbours if they're not around much. On the other hand, if they're not looking after the house, that could affect yours I suppose. Although overgrown gardens and not well maintained houses can also happen when your neighbour lives there full-time. I think it would be important to establish how often do they visit and for how long. And how easy is it to contact them or family if there is an emergency like say a burst pipe. I think asking the other neighbours is fine but I'd also ask the vendor. Don't think they have a reason to lie/downplay the situation.

Welcome @Stayingstrongish and congratulations on your offer. It sounds like a good one given increasingly difficult conditions.

@InTheCludgie I agree with asking the vendor about the neighbours. The couple who made us an offer asked for more information about our neighbour because his house does look run down. We were able to reassure them that he is a genuinely good neighbour, very quiet, helpful and takes care of anything that could affect us eg gutters. (Mind you his house is going to be a massive reno job for someone else one day!).

Feeling a bit more positive here as we have a viewing booked for Saturday and our EA said that with a stamp duty cut likely to be announced on Friday, we'd be crazy to drop the price just now. On the other hand, I am going away this weekend with a friend, leaving DH to both look after DC and get the house viewing-ready. I think I will have to leave instructions as his standards are not the same as mine!

Hope I can join in?
In Scotland, if that makes any difference!
We are in the selling and buying process now. But it was a grind getting our house sold. Estate Agent full of patter, house would fly off the market and we would get 20% over value no problem. Badly advised about when to go on the market, combined with complete lack of effort from EA meant we had 5 viewings in 8 weeks. 2 were absolute timewasters but I think EA sent them as we threatened to leave and go with a different EA.

Anyway, we have accepted an offer for value, and our offer on a house has been accepted. Just a case of getting everything through the process. Simple.

I'm not sleeping well, stressed to the max and basically trying to remind myself of various Stoic principles as a means of not spiralling into a panic.

Good luck to everyone - off to read the thread now!

Morning all.
Not a great deal to report here. The survey on our proposed purchase came back yesterday...a few "older house" bits but thankfully nothing too scary. Stiff front door lock... I've enquired from the seller if there's a magic method of using it, as I wake in the night worrying we'll get there on completion day and not be able to get in!

My solicitor is chasing the slow one ( our buyers)

We might get a couple of removal companies round to quote, but I'm trying not to get too excited yet.

Trip to the tip tomorrow on the way to the hairdressers!

Thanks everyone for your encouragement about my house offer. Back to earth today as got a call to say our buyer has pulled out. I'd had a bad feeling when they'd wanted a second viewing with their ex-partner, who took one look at the garden and said it wasn't big enough for their young child. I have two young children myself but will admit it's not the most child-friendly garden.

Feeling pretty devastated as had just seen a house I really wanted, and there's not many around right now that I can afford. But now can't go ahead and put an offer on without a buyer.

This process is brutal isn't it? Hope your days are going a bit better.

@Stayingstrongish I'm so sorry -- what a disappointment. It is brutal. But somebody liked the house enough to make an offer, so someone else will too. And maybe they won't be so picky about the garden!

Do we think this stamp duty cut will be brought out in Scotland too? I know the last one wasn't, but I live in hope! Would save us £££ if our move did happen.

I'm not sure @InTheCludgie but I hope so! NS has made a few statements about doing what she can for people in terms of cost of living, but I don't know if the land & property tax will fall under that. Saying that, if a cut is going to happen in England, it would be a vote loser if she didn't announce similar.

Would be amazing if it kicked in for our sale and purchase, last time we bought it was the month after the stamp duty cut ended so we got hit with it.

Stamp Duty cut should come in as soon as it's announced, so this week. If they delay any cut like that, everyone currently conveyancing grinds to a halt to wait for it and the market seizes up, so they need to act immediately.

@Stayingstrongish sorry to hear that. If the sounds of sdlt cuts are true hopefully you'll get another buyer before long.

Our sale seems to be progressing 🤞
Surveys all back. Just waiting for enquiries - but the estate agent was suprised we hadn't heard anything yet.

Thanks, fingers crossed :)

Worth checking this. Ours sat unanswered for a month as the buyers’ solicitor had sent them to the wrong email address (com rather than Co.Uk) and our agent did not chasing at all.

We have completed 😀Will still be here if that’s ok as have the other one I have a small share in to get across the line still.

YAY Volterra. Congratulations....you give us all hope.