Househunting - how long?

[London7]

Hi, how long did it take you to find your new house/flat? Have been looking for months but still no suitable property that would tick most boxes...Not giving up but perhaps I should lower my expectations?

Erm think it depends on how high your expectations are?

We spent a month looking but changed our expectations rather than lowered them. We looked in a different village to where we'd planned, thus we got a bigger house for less. But we were on the verge of despair as we'd looked at all the other available houses in a 5-10 mile radius.

And, we've just worked out it'll cost us £10k more to do the work we'd like done. I think we've just got into the real world rather than the ideal one.

We spent 2 weeks looking for this house. We accepted an offer on our old house and started making appointments to view the next day. We looked at 11 properties over the 2 weeks.

Although we moved locally and knew which area we wanted to be in so it was a narrow search!

Been looking for over a year, although only put our house on the market this year & sold mid May. Made an offer on a house a couple of weeks later but didn't get it as the OP were in rented so no chain (our chain is tiny as our buyers are in rented). Haven't seen anything suitabel since, had a 2nd viewing on a house this morning but it is not for us as we would be making too many compromises. In my area decent 3/4 bedroom houses get snapped up & at a premium too. Am totally fed up

DH and I are having weekly rows conversations about this. He's reached the point where he'll buy anything and accuses me of being too picky and not being able to afford what I want.

But there is nothing on the market and i'm praying more things will start to come on in the autumn.

It's a hard time if you are looking now as the supply is so unusually low. It won't last though - definitely don't buy somewhere that is too much of a compromise just because you're fed up of it taking so long. You will really regret it.

Jimmy, you have become my property muse ever since you posted that 'suckers rally' graph.

If house prices keep rising and we end up in a 1 bed flat I'm blaming you

We have been properly and intensively looking for 5 years but the bubble in house prices means we never offer enough to satisfy anyone. Sellers at the moment are still asking far too much and will not even consider cash offers if they have a half promise of more from someone else who still needs to sell.

We did actually manage to offer on a house in Guernsey about five years ago which was rejected and then the owner sold for £10k less about 4 weeks later. We also offered more than was eventually accepted on another house in the UK but we were rejected on that and again and the house did not sell for a year and they then sold it for less than we originally offered without even coming back to us.

That is the closest we got so we just rented a fully renovated period house instead from a developer that cannot sell and we will look again in two years time when prices will be even lower than today. We may even emigrate.

No probs, fruitstick . You can come round to our shed/cardboard box and tell me all about it.

We have been around all the counties commutable to London, our search started a year ago but despite looking everywhere we still haven't found a house. We are 'third-time buyers' so we want a decent house. We have been outbidded twice in different cities, had our offers laughed at and then estate agents came back when we weren't interested anymore... I think the main problem is the lack of decent four bed houses that don't cost the earth. I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how much money you got, the stock available is poor and as soon as a decent house comes up for sale, things turn ugly!

We started seriously looking end of March/beginning April and made an offer two weeks later. Offer (£5K under asking price) was accepted immediately.

However, first mortgage application rejected so that set it back 3 weeks, then we were ready to exchange end of May only to find that the vendor had lied about his ability to provide vacant possesion. Suffice to say that with all the hold ups (vendor's side) we only moved on Monday - so beware that even with supposed "no chain" and vacant possession you can be set back loads!

Hope you find somewhere you like.

We have been looking for about 10 months now and have changed location (all within a 10 mile radius) 4 times now, mainly due to (lack of) school places for our DC. Bought a house (got kids in primary) which then fell through! DC have places at the local school so hunt is on but not much on although have now found the house that ticks all the boxes. BUT its not in catchment for secondary.

Found other house (in catchment) but it will do but wont love it IYSWIM.

20 months and counting. Its so draining

10 months, cash buyers in rented. Getting bored now.

DH has officially thrown in the towel and told me to let him know when I have found a house I like

we've been in rented accom for a few months now after selling up and relocating...same story, nothing exciting coming on, if anything looks good, its snapped up (we're in north wilts).

dw a bit keen to buy, but i'm fine with it....mainly because we've got a nice rental. paying for it, mind, but would rather pay more and enjoy than have gone for cheaper options and endure.

affects our ability to save in the meantime of course, but am happy with the choice for now.

may grow weary of paying someone else's mortgage after a year or so of it...i mean it's not even as if the money in the bank's earning any interest, is it?

but hey ho...

We want to relocate but nothing decent to buy so we might have to rent again, which I dread, as I've been renting for nearly a year now. I really want to have my own garden and grow more plants...

My DP is more difficult to please than myself but I'm trying to agree with him as the last thing we need is a desperate purchase. I'm a bit fed up but resigned, we have already moved so many times, luckily we mostly use same movers who are reasonably priced.