Help... need some wise words/calming down (house buying problems, bit long...)

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Aargh I am getting really stressed now and can't see a "good" way out, can anyone suggest any ideas or just chill me out a bit?

We put our house on the market recently, it's a nice house but we wanted a bit more space and practicality (for more DCs). It sold very quickly to another couple.

Since then we've been househunting like mad, but all the houses we liked and that ticked the most important boxes had either already sold when we saw them, or were right at the top of our budget. When we first started thinking about things, they were still taking offers so we could probably have got one of these - but in the last couple of months things have picked up in our area, and most good places are going for very close to asking price - so we can no longer afford them as other people are offering more than we can.

Trouble is, our buyers are expecting a baby v. soon and naturally want us out... but we have a toddler and I am now also pg, so not keen to move in with MIL or rent temporarily unless we KNEW it would only be for a short time (e.g. if we have already exchanged contracts on somewhere). Also, our mortgage situation means that if we didn't buy somewhere else within 6 months we could lose out a lot on the mortgage, as well as if prices increased more.

So it seems the only options are:

• Lose the sale (and let down the nice pg couple at short notice, which I would feel bad about)
• Move in with PIL or rent, but risk losing lots of money and still being stuck there months later if we can't get a purchase through soon (NB I like PIL but would go mad if had to live there for months, mainly for practical reasons e.g. location and space etc, especially when increasingly pregnant!)
• Settle for somewhere we don't really like and then kick ourselves for years or have to move again (with all the related expense).
• Win the lottery and get one of the nice places (I wish!).

Is there another option that I'm missing? Or any other wise words to help me get less stressed about this?

Things always go quiet over the summer, I think you will find it a lot less frenzied in the weeks to come. I am firmly of persuasion that house prices will continue to slide and you should rent and take your time.

I think you are in danger of doing option three and that really would be the worst of all worlds. Take a deep breath, take your time, and be chain-free which will mean you are able to pounce quickly if you see a house you like and give you "preferred buyer" status if there is more than one bid on it.

You have my empathy - we sold in May & a couple of weeks later saw a house & made an asking price offer, but sadly didn't get it as the OP were in rented so in a better postion than us (ours are 1st time buyers). We are desperately searching butt o no avail as there is not a lot on the market in my area & you pay a premium for family houses too. We were going to try for baby #2 but have decided to wait until our hosue situation is sorted as I can not face the stress of it all whilst pregnant (I have high BP). Ugh I hate it & feel like my life has been put on hold. We too have been looking at all options & I know I am leaning towards settling for something that is not what we want....am trying to pull back the reign. Good luck hun!!!

I could have written your post - pregnant with a toddler, sold to a pregnant couple, under pressure to find somewhere, etc.

I have just been through a very stressful 2 months over it all. We decided that we were lucky to have good buyers and we should keep the sale as we really do want to move. We were facing renting and I had just got my head around this and got lots of encouragement from MNers. I think lala is right fwiw. By a twist of fate for us, I was walking into the agents to sign up on a rental agreement when one of the staff saw me and told me about a house that was coming onto the market with them, did I want to view it as it was in the road we like etc. We are now buying it, all going through and we don't have to rent after all. The moral of the story is...you never know what is round the corner so try not to stress too much. Go for rented, and you will be in a good position when the right house comes up. Rent is generally much cheaper than mortgage payments at the moment too.

I definitely agree with beanstalk.

This time last week I was despairing that we couldn't find a house we liked and would never be able to start TTC, let alone afford a house as prices in our area are going up slightly and interest rates have just gone up.

On Monday, the house we wanted (cheaper but needed work) was put back on the market as the cash buyer changed her mind.

Currently in the middle of solicitors and mortgage people.

Don't buy somewhere that's not right-I nearly got to that stage and it would have been awful. All that stress for 'making do'. Rent if you need to, know interest rates are going up but TBH, it won't pick up amazingly til the end of the year at least (so my friend who sues for unpaid mortgages for a living told me)....

Good luck!

I am moaning on countless threads about my situation but despite being fed up with it renting is not that bad. We were forced as our buyer was selling his house to first time buyers who had stupidly given notice to landlord before exchange. I wanted out of London and we moved into rental (it took one day to find the house and I think now it would be even easier as lots of rentals out there). We are saving money as rents here in the Midlands are lower and we are lucky we didn't buy here as we decided it's not for us. So we are looking somewhere else. From last summer to now prices have fallen, even in pricy areas but DP reckons they will fall further. So it's frustrating as my stuff is stored in garage and I want to move into our house but we are saving money.

Thank you, you have made me feel a bit better. Also talked to the agents today and at least they didn't scold me like I half thought they might . I am still hoping to get lucky and find something at the last minute like some of you did!

We have thought about renting but thing is, around here prices actually seem to be going UP at the moment(!). Also, we have a really good existing mortgage (0.75% above base rate, although it's collared...), but we can only keep it if we buy somewhere else within 6 months.
So the risk with renting is that a) prices will go up before we find somewhere and b) if it takes more than 6 months we will lose the good mortgage and have to take out a new one instead, which could cost us thousands.

Prices are going up around us, too, but we're going through with our sale (at 21% drop from 2007 prices) and moving into rental: dh, and even our EA, are firmly convinced this is a temporary price rise and won't last beyond September or so.

Its always a bit of a gamble, I suppose...but I wouldn't avoid renting on the basis of a market recovery alone. The mortgage offer is something else, of course.

Good luck deciding, hope something comes up for you!

The boon won't last. DP is a financial consultant for companies and has been out of work for a while. He laughs when the news mention recovery or green shoots. If it were true, he'd be the first to know as he'd get busy again. He estimated the dip beforehand and we sold on time - when we cautioned friends they didn't believe us. It took months for things to look pearshaped enough for them to acknowledge things were not peachy anymore. Sorry for fruit puns!

To be honest I'm fed up of hearing doom and gloom (and hearing financial forecasts from DP). I just want to buy a house!