“Sold our first home but missed out on the house we wanted… please tell me it all works out in the end 🥺❤️

[mrstobe123]

Finally sold our first home (yay!) but now there’s absolutely nothing on the market and I’m starting to feel really deflated 🥺
There was one house that if I’m honest I initially thought wasn’t good enough only to completely change my mind and realise how many boxes it ticked (apart from the small bedrooms) it could be perfect for our little family. Unfortunately by the time we accepted an offer on our property it had sold just a few days earlier. We never even got a chance to view it but I can’t stop thinking about it. It might be a case that it was the best one on the market atm and that's why I want it so much other than it actually being the perfect property for us but I am constantly refreshing rightmove hoping it's available again.
The house has sold to first time buyers and the house is also chain-free so realistically the chances of it falling through are probably quite slim. I know I need to let that house go and trust that the right one will come along but I'm really struggling and it's affecting me more than I'd like to admit.
I think I’m just looking for a bit of reassurance and some positive stories from people who’ve been in a similar situation and found that everything worked out in the end!🏡

It all works out.
Firstly, congratulations on finding a buyer for your home.
With the house that got away think of it as a friend. Consider it the house that helped you steady your nerve and get the sale of your current house done. It showed you that even though you didn’t think it was good enough, it might have worked.
There will be others which with small
compromises will also be perfect too. Just visit what is available and with a bit of luck, something soon will come up. Good luck.

@Fortysix thanks for your lovely comment and you are right! Sorry I should of made it clearer we have only accepted an offer so still a long way to go but hopefully something better comes up soon!

Have you made it clear to the agent of the property that you missed out on - that you are SSC and waiting in the wings if that property sale doesn't progress smoothly??
Its important to do that - because nearly half of all offers accepted dont fully progress into completion.

@DrySherry Yes when I saw it was SSTC online I emailed and they said they would let me know if anything changes but chances are unlikely as the mortgage has been approved so should be a straight forward sale for them! I'm just kicking myself for not being quick enough

I doubt that - if it only went ssc a few days ago. The buyer won't have anything other than a decision in principle. Plenty of hurdles to overcome yet.
Obviously you need to be focusing on looking for an alternative, but keep your fingers crossed.

@DrySherry Oh do you think? That is what the estate agent told me - the offered was accepted end of September and I enquired on 12th October (we accepted an offer on ours beginning of oct) so does seem quick to have it approved already. This is the first time we are buying and selling so I am very new to the whole process!

Something more suitable with larger bedrooms could come on the market tomorrow or even later today. My advice is to draw a search area on Rightmove, put in the number of bedrooms you need then flip the results from low to high. It just gives you an idea of what is out there.

I think there's some nerves at play here, it's a really stressful process. As someone else said, you'll find other properties with things to offer that maybe you hadn't considered a necessity and you'll compromise over something else.
There's no telling what may come on the market tomorrow. :)

We had rented a large 3 bed for 15 years but the landlord wouldnt fix anything so we needed to move badly. We where trying to buy for around 3 years, had 2 houses that took forever fall through (one the seller changed their mind after dragging their heels for over 6 months, the other was a probate and took nearly 2 years and the bank repossessed before the paperwork was sorted and wouldn't honor the sale) plus we got gazumped (although within a few days so before anything started). Most houses we viewed we got outbid on.

I was losing the will with the whole thing, we needed a 4 bed house in a certain area (didn't care about condition) where most houses are 2 beds so they don't come up often. We where planning to buy a large 3 bed and redo the layout or add a loft bedroom.

We where still reeling from the previous house we spent 2 years on falling through when a 4 bed popped up and we viewed instantly on day 1, didn't love it at all (a grey box, dated but not 'character') but out of desperation put in an offer quite a bit under asking and... it was accepted by that evening. Everything happened so fast from there that we owned it before we even really thought about it too much, we realized on the day of exchange we had only seen it once.

I was worried we would hate and regret it but honestly we haven't, its never felt like anything other than home. We all adapted instantly and now looking back this is by far the best house we could have got with the most minimal work needing doing, way bigger and better than the others we had offered on.

Things do work out in the end, it just might drive you mad getting there.

I've bought and sold more than ten times now and there's always a hiccup of this type. I can't think back to any occasion when I didn't either end up getting my first choice of house (I think a third of SSTCs don't make it to completion) or the house I finally ended up with was better than the initial choice. Often houses I'd liked but were out of my price range were reduced so I got a better house for my budget.

Stick with it. Something will come up. It ALWAYS does.

We're in exactly the same position. The "perfect" house had one drawback which made us dither then we decided to go ahead and offer, just to find it went SSTC the day before. Full price and vendors (and us) didn't get want to get into gazumping.
What made it more irritating is that a couple of days later, I worked out a minor tweak to the house that would have solved the drawback.
Still hoping the sale doesn't proceed but there's a skip outside now so the vendors are obviously having a big clear out in readiness to move.

We were downsizing from a different part of the UK in 2024 (so whilst it was closer to family, the new location wasn't somewhere we could easily pop back to regularly for viewings and we had to do them in blocks over long weekends) and had quite a specific wish list. It was also a more expensive location than where we were selling. Additionally, we were mortgage free.

After accepting an offer on ours we viewed the perfect house (period cottage on a pretty square, two minutes walk from the sea, in need of restoration). It was unfortunately a bit over budget which wouldn't have been a problem had we not needed to accept a lower offer on our own.

We offered what we could afford on the understanding we'd not have a survey and that we could exchange quickly. Our offer was rejected out of hand.

Around the corner (not on the pretty square, but still two minutes walk from the sea) was a smaller (three bed, the other had four) cottage of a similar age, but quite ugly externally and internally. DH persuaded me to buy it as it was well within budget. There was absolutely nothing else similar coming to market and despite knowing I hated the cottage we went ahead.

Two years on the other one is still for sale - the elderly owner who's never lived there, did a scrappy, basic renovation that has actually removed the remaining original features devaluing it in the process. It's had one sale fall through since we offered, after the buyers had a survey done. It's now 100k more, but I'd still move there in a heartbeat.

However, whilst less bedrooms and smaller square meterage, the one we did buy has larger rooms and better layout overall (we have reconfigured which you couldn't do with the nicer cottage). We're gradually making it home and I no longer hate it, but I walk past the other one daily and do still harbour regret as I think if we'd had a survey we'd have been in a better position to renegotiate.

Keep watching it @mrstobe123 , the sale might fall through as many are at the moment...good luck!

We saw a house that we liked back in December and booked a viewing. Estate agent cancelled our viewing as they had so much interest. It ended up going to sealed bids and went for around £25k over asking. We were absolutely gutted.

We then saw another house in July, bigger than the other house, lovely private garden and slightly better location. We ended up getting it for the same price the other one sold for.

I am a believer that everything works out how it's supposed to. If the house is the right one for you, it'll fall through and you'll get it. If not, a better one will come along, you may just have to be a bit patient!

I’m also hoping that things happen for a reason. I saw a house I fell in love with which was off market as had failed to sell at a higher price so seller was taking a break.

Unfortunately my husband didn’t love it as much as me for a couple of reasons - it was too of our budget and would need a new bathroom and he wasn’t as keen on the location. We put an offer in for what we could afford, it was rejected and seller put it back on market and sold within a week.

Wasnt the right timing for us as we hadn’t got ours listed at the time but thought we’d have time as it was off market. We then saw a house we both loved after we had listed ours but again timing wise wasn’t to be as it had multiple offers and we hadn’t sold. I’m still hoping it might come back on - who knows.

we haven’t sold ours yet although have had a few viewings that are looking promising. So for now I’m keeping my eye on the market but not getting my hopes up about anything because it feels so disappointing to find something you feel is perfect but can’t make an offer.

I am sure everything happens for a reason and things will work out

I viewed a house and absolutely fell in love with it but someone else offered over the asking price which I couldn’t afford. I was gutted. I cried for a week and was devastated (first world problems I know) but it felt real at the time, however 2 months later I found the cottage I’m in now and I love it. I’m so pleased the first house didn’t work out. I still drive by the house I didn’t get and I feel nothing. It all worked out for the best in the end.

Are your buyers happy to wait a little until you find somewhere? Usually loads come onto the market from Christmas Day onwards.

We put our house on the market over summer with the intention of buying a particular house which had been for sale for a year previously with a different agent. We just missed out on that one, but found a much bigger house in a better location not longer after. It's slightly more expensive, but feels like much better value than the house we'd originally wanted to buy. It feels like we can add more value to it in the long term than the first house which was very rural and on an unadopted road. The gardens on the house we're buying are absolutely stunning and mature as well, whereas the first house was basically depressing tarmac.

The worst situation is to find your dream home - offer too much to secure it and then let yours go cheaper to move the chain - huge financial mistake that you will live with for decades. I am currently not looking until mine is under offer. Well I’m keeping a close eye on the market dynamics but not viewing. I know what I want it’s very specific and I will rent if necessary. We are ‘downsizing’ for retirement (house size not price) - but constrained by commited, school catchments etc. Selling up a 6 bed detached in Home Counties for a 2 bed flat in zone 1. Same price.

You couldn't have been much quicker by the sound of it, and if you'd offered at around the same time as the first time buyers, they would have been more attractive buyers than you.
You will find somewhere just as lovely, honest.