Property buying support thread

[HinzKunz]

Anyone interested in a buying support thread? There’s a few selling ones but we’ve sold already but I’m finding the search process no easier than selling.
There’s not much coming to the market despite agents pretending there will be an autumn rush before Xmas. At the same time rates are going up which is scary.
if you’re hoping to buy how is it going?

Thank you @2longinthetooth youve give us the best laugh of the weekend re the folks sitting on a sofa outside their front door! We've been on an absolute rollercoaster ride of emotions. It was DHs turn to be in tears today. The thought of intensive housing as turned him into a wreck. We've been very lucky to be in an edge of village with plenty of elbow room and yesterday was just utterly depressing. Not a fag paper between the properties, these big developers are a disgrace.

we did have a bit of a lift today, as we found a small development of 20 houses about 6 miles from our village, but only 3 properties left, so very likely we won't be able to sell ours at this rate. We also found another development by the same company just this side of Gloucester, same style of properties, very sympathetically built and decent space between them. It's just too stressful for words thinking will we find someone in time, DH said we may as well just live in a tent, save all this stress!

I hope you can have some respite out of the madness for a few months, regroup and take a deep breathe over Christmas. Then see what the NY brings.

@GoldTieTbh ive registered with every estate agent no one has ever contacted me with an off market property, do they exist. Whenever I ring ask them to keep me in mind, ive sold etc We will be cash no chain. Nothing. Personally im not seeing the advantage of being cash, not saying people should be kissing our arse but I thought they might say we've got some properties coming on that have been valued etc. Not 1 so we are left with the portals. Its a waiting game for us. We have organised a view for a rental on weds and I know we will put in an application for it just to get settled.

@daisychain01aw love you, my dh looks washed out. If it was summer id seriously buy a cheap camper. As for the stress of looking when you are waiting a buyer, we missed a house by 2 weeks. It was a stunning property. Gone within 24hrs. Gutted. Then we had an offer. Its been awful 6 months but this yr strangely im looking forward to xmas.

You are not cash until your home is completed and the money is in the bank. A lot of people make this mistake. At the moment you are just someone going through a sale who may not need a mortgage if things proceed as expected.
To be cash, and for it to be a genuine influence, you need to be able to show the funds are sitting ready to be paid to a seller.
Once your house is occupied by a buyer and you can show the funds in your bank you will be taken more seriously. For now your just the same as any other transactor needing a sale to complete.

@drysherryif you’ve exchanged, as @2longinthetoothhas, then it’s understood as being almost as influential as cash, surely?

On the offmarket question maybe it’s more common in some areas? I’m in London. I bought my last house off-market, and when it was for sale it was off-market for the first week or so. Just a bog standard terrace house. Where I am buying, the EA has said that a third are sold off-market, so the ones making it to rightmove are only the ones that have been passed over by their existing pool of buyers.

@DrySherry Fair enough maybe that is the case, im past caring at the mo with all the stress of having to get out and im not actively looking now just lurking.

@GoldTieyes I can imagine in London that is the case. We are in a sleepy village in south wales, ive tapped the estate agent but she said there is genuinely nothing coming on. They have put out ads to encourage people to sell. So they cant hide what they dont have. Guess its just a waiting game. Crazy times

I think there were a few off market sales happening locally but they have dried up too now. We’ll be here until March now.

week 3 of no new houses on the market. One reduction of 5.5%. The house looks like a probate sale and has been on for 3 months. Could be lovely but needs a full refurb. Too small for us so we won’t view.

Aside from that area360 estimate it’ll sell for 13% less than the reduced asking price! I appreciate area360 isn’t infallible but the estimate is based on other local sales. So the price per square meter on this one is considerably higher than other houses despite it needing tons of work. Baffling!

Hi,
Also watching from the side lines at the moment. We're in the process of maybe going down the let to buy mortgage, so renting this one out as we've nearly paid it off to buy another property. I have to admit though there ain't many houses here either 😔

I’ve no viewings for the weekend yet, I usually have something to look at every week.

The EA was massively pushy about a house I loved last week and was keen to offer on. But when I considered some red flags I decided not to. I wasn’t impressed by the way she tried to bulldoze me past all that with replies that were either ignorant or lying, to try and get me to offer. Half of the process of house buying seems to be negotiating people’s lies and half-truths. I understand not offering up unasked for information (I’ve definitely done that myself) but I think I was outright lied to, as they know I’d have to do costly invasive testing to prove they are lying.

Anyway, moved on from that and tried to be bland and polite to the EA as they are one of the biggest agents where I am trying to buy.

We had a viewing on Monday and they're coming back tomorrow for a second look 🥳 last time that happened was the time we got our first offer so I'm hopeful we'll be sold by the end of the week!

@GoldTieThat is part and parcel of being an EA, they are sales people. They tried to make me feel bad for pulling an offer, I get they are pissed because they lose commission and its no fault of their own but its not their footing the bill. Its a massive purchase.

@TeddyBeansomg sending positive vibes for you. That's good news.

Fingers crossed @TeddyBeans

oh God! Anyone else worrying about their budget. BoE has just increased the rate to 4% with clear mention of further increases likely unless war in Iran ends.
bloody Trump! I knew it was coming but just feel deflated now tbh. No houses to view and essentially an ever decreasing purchase budget.

@HinzKunz I read that there are plans for 3 increases next yr.

Yes I heard this. I know it needs to happen but I find it all really sad. I had friends stuck in negative equity during the last crash who barely made it through. This could be worse and last longer.
its just adding to the pile of horse manure that is the process of selling/buying which in and of itself is rubbish.

Yes it happened to a colleague of mine, she was paying 1k a month and was so stressed of the threat of losing the house. We were talking to the removers about this very thing and they said they did loads of sad moves of people losing their homes. It was in the news today that things are going to get worse. Tough times ahead.

We've passed all the checks and now need to start looking for a house, but yes I am worried now with all the rises 🤦‍♀️

That’s really really sad! It’s easy to just think of it in a vacuum of prices having to come down, but it’s real people whose lives are affected.

I’ve got a viewing tomorrow, off-market and no photos. I’ve looked at photos from when it sold a few years ago and it looks really nice, though they’ve whacked a fair amount on to the sold price since then so I’m wondering what, if anything, they have done to improve it. I’m feeling a bit hopeful, I’ve done all my usual checks on it (flood risk etc) and I can’t see any major issues yet.

@GoldTieSounds hopeful. I dont know if it's me but every home I see now, im like whats wrong with it. I need to be a bit more positive.

@autumnvelvetwhisperThis is the problem. Things are changing so quickly. You think right ive this budget so look at houses within that. Then that goes out of the window. Even though we will be cash buyers we still need to live within our means. I was looking at predictions for next yr, its obv the rates are going to increase next yr but they predict a level off early 2028. Inflation is set to rise again so costs are going up,up,up. At this moment im not sure what to do.

I know, right. An agent showed me one yesterday on-line, who are looking for a new buyer as sale has fallen through, and all I could see was a huge issue that I don’t have the money to correct, with an old extension, so declined to view. I don’t want to piss the agents off so I’m going to be a bit more guarded with my comments when I view the one tomorrow.

What also really disturbed me is the Bank of England prediction that inflation is headed back up to 5% next year. So thats another painful round of cost of living increases in the pipeline for all of us. FFS...

Wait for prices to fall, its starting to look inevitable.