Demoralised House Hunters

Parchment

Has anyone words of wisdom or advice for me? Has anyone a success story that might give me hope?

Long story short - my partner and I are searching for a house for about a year now.We live in one of the main cities - one of the cheaper ones though. We have mortgage approval, deposit (and more) ready to go. We are fussy about what we want as its a huge commitment for us (as it is for anyone). Not many houses that interest us are coming onto the market and the ones we go to see are not suitable for one reason or another (i believe we are very reasonable but practical). We did go sale agreed on the most amazing house after the highest bidder pulled out (we were the underbidder) but it turned out there was a dodgy boundary issue and our solicitor advised us to walk from it. We did and the house is still on the market months later.

A house has come onto the market that we both like in a location we love - its in our budget - asking price 215k. We are viewing it tomorrow but i am already defeated - i know that we will lose out to someone with more money. I know thats how it works.....but i am totally deflated from this search. We want a home, not just a house but it just seems we cant get a break.

....

4ensic15

Parchment wrote: »

Has anyone words of wisdom or advice for me? Has anyone a success story that might give me hope?

Long story short - my partner and I are searching for a house for about a year now.We live in one of the main cities - one of the cheaper ones though. We have mortgage approval, deposit (and more) ready to go. We are fussy about what we want as its a huge commitment for us (as it is for anyone). Not many houses that interest us are coming onto the market and the ones we go to see are not suitable for one reason or another (i believe we are very reasonable but practical). We did go sale agreed on the most amazing house after the highest bidder pulled out (we were the underbidder) but it turned out there was a dodgy boundary issue and our solicitor advised us to walk from it. We did and the house is still on the market months later.

A house has come onto the market that we both like in a location we love - its in our budget - asking price 215k. We are viewing it tomorrow but i am already defeated - i know that we will lose out to someone with more money. I know thats how it works.....but i am totally deflated from this search. We want a home, not just a house but it just seems we cant get a break.

....

I was looking for two years before finding my current house. deals breaking down, negotiations going nowhere, structural problems, title problems, its all part of the process. As you get to know values you will improve as a negotiator. What I had to do in the end was pretend to the estate agent that i had a house to sell. That pushed me to the top of the queue.

Hombre Lobo

I can understand what you're going through OP.
I've been looking since about 2013, cash buyer. For me it was a case of paying what I thought the property was worth while also ticking a fair few personal preferences and if it went above that I walked away. I think I'm at the point now where I'm just going to buy even if I think it's a little more than its worth. I currently have an offer in on a property and it's one I like.

I'm just at the point now where I'm fed up of checking the property sites daily and noticing how they are all creeping up in price while the number of available properties has diminished. In my area I think the number of properties when I started my search was close to 2000 back in 2012 and is roughly 25% of that now. At the same time my budget back then was lower and has increased since.

Parchment

Hombre Lobo wrote: »

I can understand what you're going through OP.
I've been looking since about 2013, cash buyer. For me it was a case of paying what I thought the property was worth while also ticking a fair few personal preferences and if it went above that I walked away. I think I'm at the point now where I'm just going to buy even if I think it's a little more than its worth. I currently have an offer in on a property and it's one I like.

I'm just at the point now where I'm fed up of checking the property sites daily and noticing how they are all creeping up in price while the number of available properties has diminished. In my area I think the number of properties when I started my search was close to 2000 back in 2012 and is roughly 25% of that now. At the same time my budget back then was lower and has increased since.

You just said everything I am thinking in relation to property these days. I feel like throwing money at the problem and just going above the odds for a suitable house that we like.

I wish you all the best with your current offer. I really hope it works out for you.

Parchment

4ensic15 wrote: »

I was looking for two years before finding my current house. deals breaking down, negotiations going nowhere, structural problems, title problems, its all part of the process. As you get to know values you will improve as a negotiator. What I had to do in the end was pretend to the estate agent that i had a house to sell. That pushed me to the top of the queue.

So you implied you had a house to sell and would go with that estate agent to sell your house? Wow - smart!

MarkAnthony

Obviously you should always follow the advice of the solicitor but if taken at it's worst a boundary issue would result in losing the associated land and it's still a go for you sometimes it's wise to seek a second opinion. I've bought a house with a boundary issue, not the easiest process in the world with a mortgage but not impossible either.

Make sure you're not skimping on the price of a decent solicitor if your dream home comes with strings. I'm delighted with what I got in the end.

screamer

Be wary of paying over the odds believe me as someone who bought at peak prices and paid too much, it's better to be a demoralised home hunter than a demoralised home owner.

SarahMollie

Parchment wrote: »

A house has come onto the market that we both like in a location we love - its in our budget - asking price 215k. We are viewing it tomorrow but i am already defeated - i know that we will lose out to someone with more money. I know thats how it works.....but i am totally deflated from this search. We want a home, not just a house but it just seems we cant get a break.

....

No, you don't know anything yet because it hasn't happened.

You can't predict the future. Sure, if you think its a great house then its reasonable that someone else might think so too. Is that person in the market right now, who knows?

I bought last year after 3 years of searching. I had 3 sale agreed's fall through for various reasons, viewed maybe 50 properties and made offers on at least 12 over the 3 year period. Money wasted on surveys, valuations, legal work, you name it. To say I was sick to my back teeth of the whole process would be an understatement, but I knew what I wanted so I didn't give up.

I know its hard, but a defeatist attitude will get you nowhere. Plenty have been through much worse than you. True, you might not get this property even if you give it your all. But if you just do nothing and say "ah sure nothing goes my way so I won't bother", then it DEFINITELY won't go your way.

Graham

4ensic15 wrote: »

What I had to do in the end was pretend to the estate agent that i had a house to sell. That pushed me to the top of the queue.

Isn't that just as likely to get you pushed to the bottom of the queue if the vendor thinks there may be similar offers from someone without a chain?

RandomAccess

Values are very unpredictable out there.
In Dublin executor sales are keeping the market alive at the lower end, without them it would be practically frozen. At least from what I can see.

It's not a very healthy market right now.

whiskeyman

I guess for many it can be a wet slap after the euphoria of going through the mortgage approval stage to finally get out into the market and see how tough it is at the moment.
You think a home of your own is within reach, but then reality sets in and you know you need more time etc...
I'm coming to accept what I thought may take a 'couple of months' may now take a year or so.

Parchment

whiskeyman wrote: »

I guess for many it can be a wet slap after the euphoria of going through the mortgage approval stage to finally get out into the market and see how tough it is at the moment.
You think a home of your own is within reach, but then reality sets in and you know you need more time etc...
I'm coming to accept what I thought may take a 'couple of months' may now take a year or so.

I think a year reasonable. I think some of the time spent searching is helpful - it helps you work out what you hate and what you love. We know that side access to the house is essential to us, house needs to have a bathroom downstairs, we are not that pushed about a large garden etc. You find out these things as you search so its not a total waste of time. But personally I find dealing with estate agents is soul destroying and it just saps your energy for searching.

Good luck to you!

SarahMollie

Parchment wrote: »

I have been through a serious illness in the past few years so I consider that something that contributes to my defeatist attitude, we just want something to go right for us.

OK, I've obviously gotten your back up, but I was simply trying to give you some perspective.

While on a personal level, I can feel sorry for you, your illness won't have any impact on your property search. A vendor won't somehow know that you're needing a bit of luck to go your way. You'll either have the best offer on the table or you won't, and if bids are equal, its cash buyer first, then mortgaged buyer but no chain, and then a person in a chain. Those are the only factors a seller will be looking at. They won't know you and your personal circumstances won't matter.

I'm simply trying to tell you that you have to be dispassionate about the process, because it is long, it is awkward, and it is also often disappointing and seemingly unfair.

Even if you do manage to go sale agreed on this property, try to park your emotions until you have the keys in your hand.

I was put through the ringer by sellers, their banks, builders etc and yes it was painful at the time, but once its over and you've moved in, you'll feel better about the whole thing.

4ensic15

Graham wrote: »

Isn't that just as likely to get you pushed to the bottom of the queue if the vendor thinks there may be similar offers from someone without a chain?

The agent always wants another house to sell. I told the agent i had finance to cover the purchase and would be selling afterwards.

Parchment

4ensic15 wrote: »

The agent always wants another house to sell. I told the agent i had finance to cover the purchase and would be selling afterwards.

Very smart! i love it. i dont think i would be convincing enough to pull it off.

Hombre Lobo

<mod snip>

I'm in the west of Ireland so I don't agree that properties have bounced back that hard here yet. They are rising but it hasn't gone crazy, maybe excluding Galway.

One essential box I need ticked when buying is access to high speed broadband and you'd be surprised how limited that is here once you go a kilometre outside a main town.

Sure, I could have purchased any of the properties I looked at but I would have been throwing more cash at it than I thought it was worth and ultimately I wouldn't have been happy with the property. I'm not looking to buy a house to own but a home to live in for years to come.

Gerry T

Most people selling will undervalue to attract people and hook them. In my day that was about 10 to 15%. So if you have 200k then look at properties in the 160 to 180 bracket. It's not a buyers market anymore.

pwurple

Hang in there. It took us 3 years, several moves while renting, muliple sale agreed falling through until we eventually got ours. It's worth it. Love our place, love our area, delighted with it.

The only thing I wish I had known at the start is to build a relationship with the agents in the area. When they know your budget (which they will anyway after several sale agreed) , and what you are looking for, they start to phone you with matching properties before they are advertised.

Parchment

pwurple wrote: »

Hang in there. It took us 3 years, several moves while renting, muliple sale agreed falling through until we eventually got ours. It's worth it. Love our place, love our area, delighted with it.

The only thing I wish I had known at the start is to build a relationship with the agents in the area. When they know your budget (which they will anyway after several sale agreed) , and what you are looking for, they start to phone you with matching properties before they are advertised.

Congrats on getting your place! Stories like that give me some home.

Funny you mention building a relationship with the agents, we actually met an agent yesterday that we had dealt with before and she remembered our names - it made her more approachable.

Hombre Lobo

So many stories of people going Sale agreed multiple times only for it to fall through.
I haven't even got to my first sale agreed yet and I'm not getting my hopes up.