Page 2 | House searchers thread

Dinkler · 2023-05-18T09:35:07+00:00

Anyone out there searching and want to join me before my DH kills me for talking about the topic too much 😔how is everyone doing? We have a viewing on Saturday but we keep getting outbid or a builder buys the property. I'm in the SW, searching 6 months. How long has everyone else been at it?

mnahmnah · 22/05/2023 15:00

So we put a full asking price offer in on a house today. Apparently the owner wants to have all viewings done and offers in between now and next Tuesday before deciding! This will be a very long week

RoxieLoxy · 23/05/2023 13:58

That's exciting @mnahmnah. Let us know what happens.

Still very little going up for sale here. Saw a gorgeous house but it would mean a 9 mile commute to to school drop off every morning (although through some nice countryside). DH says it's too far so I don't think we're even going to view it.

Areyootakingthepish · 23/05/2023 14:07

@dreamersdown we have done exactly this! But unfortunately we’ve had no luck. It just seems so quiet at the moment!

a gorgeous house has come on but it’s over budget for us. Just doesn’t seem to be anything coming on in our price bracket,

Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 14:40

mnahmnah · 22/05/2023 15:00

So we put a full asking price offer in on a house today. Apparently the owner wants to have all viewings done and offers in between now and next Tuesday before deciding! This will be a very long week

Ugh we had that a few weeks ago, I found it really annoying as I got the feeling the vendor or EA was just using our offer to push others up. We were one of the first to view and offer asking and someone else got it. We were so gutted and even ended up offering way over as we loved it but still didn't get it. Hope it works out better for you. Can you tell I'm still annoyed ha.

How is everyone doing? One I love here where I am but really overpriced I feel even though it's lovely. Not much else on.

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mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 14:54

@Dinkler

Well that is exactly what had happened / another offer went much higher than ours and they are chain free. So that one’s gone.

Another came in the market we like on Saturday. But they’re not doing viewings until next Tuesday! Do people not want to sell their houses?!

Chanel05 · 23/05/2023 15:20

Finally sold our house last week and the downward chain was complete as of yesterday. Viewed a house on Saturday and one this morning but neither were for us!

The house we really like isn't doing viewings for another 11 days yet. A really desirable area too, just hoping that it is what we hope it to be and it can be ours.

Should we be instructing solicitors at this point?

Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 15:33

mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 14:54

@Dinkler

Well that is exactly what had happened / another offer went much higher than ours and they are chain free. So that one’s gone.

Another came in the market we like on Saturday. But they’re not doing viewings until next Tuesday! Do people not want to sell their houses?!

Really sorry, it's just rubbish isn't it. I want to put a deadline on any more offers because I'm so sick of it, especially when we like you are making decent asking price offers not even low ones. Even if they just countered I'd be happy.

I know we've been trying to arrange a viewing on one for 2 weeks, I gave up today.

Argh anyway at least we can vent here, sorry @mnahmnah

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Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 15:34

@Chanel05 Good luck!! :)

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mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 19:32

Interesting one today - I viewed a house in the perfect location, but in terrible condition. Riddled with damp. As I was leaving, a neighbour came out and told me another one on the street was going on the market and which estate agent it was with. I rang the estate agent and they told me they haven’t been instructed yet. I don’t know anything about it, other than the neighbour said it was elderly people who had lived there a long time and that it has the extension on the back that lots of them have done to make the kitchen bigger - the damp ridden one didn’t have this.

Would it be really cheeky to put a note through the door? Houses around there in good enough condition will get snapped up. It may be beyond our budget, but is it worth a shot? Just asking if they would be interested in selling privately? A bit of a sob story about really needing a garden for DC and a third bedroom etc?

poppym12 · 23/05/2023 21:29

I'm looking too, South west. Preferably a ground floor apartment with a courtyard. We saw one that ticked most of the boxes last week and found out an offer had been accepted when we rang back the next day.

I started looking feeling optimistic but after a few weeks I'm losing the will.

Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 21:43

mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 19:32

Interesting one today - I viewed a house in the perfect location, but in terrible condition. Riddled with damp. As I was leaving, a neighbour came out and told me another one on the street was going on the market and which estate agent it was with. I rang the estate agent and they told me they haven’t been instructed yet. I don’t know anything about it, other than the neighbour said it was elderly people who had lived there a long time and that it has the extension on the back that lots of them have done to make the kitchen bigger - the damp ridden one didn’t have this.

Would it be really cheeky to put a note through the door? Houses around there in good enough condition will get snapped up. It may be beyond our budget, but is it worth a shot? Just asking if they would be interested in selling privately? A bit of a sob story about really needing a garden for DC and a third bedroom etc?

How exciting, I think I would, or could you go and talk to the neighbour again?

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Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 21:44

poppym12 · 23/05/2023 21:29

I'm looking too, South west. Preferably a ground floor apartment with a courtyard. We saw one that ticked most of the boxes last week and found out an offer had been accepted when we rang back the next day.

I started looking feeling optimistic but after a few weeks I'm losing the will.

I'm SW too Poppy. We have definitely slowly lost the will with it.

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poppym12 · 23/05/2023 21:50

Are you looking for a house @dinkler?

Redlarge · 23/05/2023 21:52

Ive been gazumped today. Very upset

Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 21:54

@poppym12 Yes I am.

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Redlarge · 23/05/2023 21:54

mnahmnah · 22/05/2023 15:00

So we put a full asking price offer in on a house today. Apparently the owner wants to have all viewings done and offers in between now and next Tuesday before deciding! This will be a very long week

Just happened to me. Deadline was today. I was highest bidder but they went with FTB

Original poster

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 21:55

@Redlarge Oh no, so sorry, what stage where you at in the process, that's crap.

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mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 22:46

@Dinkler

Note written! DH will deliver it tomorrow. I’m at the ‘sod it’ stage!

Original poster

Dinkler · 24/05/2023 10:37

mnahmnah · 23/05/2023 22:46

@Dinkler

Note written! DH will deliver it tomorrow. I’m at the ‘sod it’ stage!

Good luck!!

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Redlarge · 24/05/2023 11:39

Dinkler · 23/05/2023 21:55

@Redlarge Oh no, so sorry, what stage where you at in the process, that's crap.

Offer on mine, i was first offer on a property... accepted. FTB offered 10k more than me. I counter offered £15more than her offer .. .. they still went with FTB. I wad devastated

KievLoverTwo · 24/05/2023 12:11

dreamersdown · 21/05/2023 13:23

When we were getting desperate we talked to a private property agent who specialises in finding off market properties to buy. Her main strategy was to write notes and put them through the doors of houses that fit the criteria. Quite a few of the local estate agents have said that now around 25% of sales don’t ever go onto Rightmove and my next door neighbour has just sold her house privately through an estate agent without it ever going on Rightmove (she wanted discretion). If we hadn’t found the house we are hopefully soon to exchange on we would definitely have done notes through the door.

If you don’t live in the area you are focused on, you can engage a local leaflet drop company to drop them through doors in specific postcodes for not that much money.

This sounds amazing. How do you go about finding a private property agent?

dreamersdown · 24/05/2023 12:23

Google! Search “property finding agent” and your area - there’s loads. That’s what Phil from Kirstie and Phil does!

Chypre · 24/05/2023 12:40

“Conceptually” we have started to plan in September: went to the area of interest and stayed there over the weekend just driving by the houses listed on Rightmove, exploring the streets/post codes. Then set up RM notifications for literally just 3 streets. Nothing came up until February, then it did and we put on an offer straight away (putting our house on the market simultaneously, was not listed before). Completing in June, moving to the new place in august - so taking almost a year really.

Beehavewillyou · 24/05/2023 13:54

We are under offer to cash buyers who are keen to move as are we. We’ve seen a house we really like and it’s on for £1.2m. The agent who we sold our house with valued the same house at 1.1m and didn’t get the instruction. Similar houses on that road sold for around £1m in summer 2021.

It is definitely overpriced given the market, but what would be a sensible offer?

mnahmnah · 27/05/2023 08:50

We’re now at the point of revisiting houses we had rejected! To be fair, one of them DH didn’t view it with me. So it was my rejection. It was also right at the start of our search and we’ve seen that many now, it would be good to see it with fresh eyes.

The other one we never really fully rejected. We’re just concerned about how much work might need doing. The cost, the stress. But it has the most space out of any we have seen. We could live there no problem from the start and do the work gradually. Upstairs is fine. It’s downstairs and the garden. Guttering and facias.