Under offer for 7 weeks, cant find next house

sequin123

Hi

We put out house on the market early Jan (in West Sussex), we had 4 viewings in first 4 days and 3 offers, one of which was the asking price - Great we thought!

Now we are just so frustrated as there is just nothing coming up in our price range, plenty above (350,000+) and plenty below (270,000-), I would probably say we are quite fussy on where we want to live but having said that the house that we viewed and discounted when we first went under offer are all still on the market so cant be that fussy! We havent viewed any house for about 3 weeks now, the ones that do come up are in tatty areas.

I am now getting disheartened, is there anything more we could do? I have asked the agent we sold with about leaflet dropping our preffered roads but they said they are actively canvassing.

Our buyers are FTB's have said they will not put any pressure on us but 7 weeks down the line and sure that will come to an end at some point.

Just wondered if anyone had any bright ideas or if anyone else was in a similar situation.

Thanks

googler

Make up your own leaflets and drop your preferred roads?

Jowo_2

Put your belongings into storage and find short-term accommodation or live with relatives for a bit so you can take your time to find a new property and not lose this sale during a slow market where it could be impossible to get a replacement buyer if this one falls through.

avenida

I agree with Jowo, is there any land for sale that you could built and stay in rented accommodation?

First time buyers these days are hard to get!

Just wondering the houses that are outside your price range, check with propertybee to see how long they have been on the market, could be they are not worth what they are on for, view the property and put in an offer of what you and your agent believe it is worth, you are in a strong position and if the vendors are keen to sell you never know your luck.

At the end of the day its all relative so if you buy a house for less than the asking price the vendors of that property could do that on the property they want to buy!

ILW

You say all the properties you like are above your price range. Could it be that you are just being a little unrealistic as to what you can afford?

Sammy85_2

I would agree with the other posters, go into rented. Eventually "the one" will come along and you will be in the perfect position to buy.

MichL

We are in the same situation. We have decided though that it's too risky to mess our FTBs around so we've agreed a move in date with them and are having to make short term arrangements meantime - renting and temporarily storing our belongings. It's stressful but it's also giving us a bit of breathing space and taking the pressure off - we don't want to regret the next move as it would be even more stressful [and expensive] to move again if we buy the wrong place in a hurry! Good luck, hope your dream house finds you soon xx

sequin123

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have thought about going into rented however we have a 2 year old so dont think it would be fair to uproot him.

Guess we will just have to keep looking and at the end of the day. I might try a leaflet drop.

I also might look at the ones slightly above our price range that have been on for a while. If we are looking to pay around 310k max, what price would you view up to? Everyone keeps say offer 7-10% off asking but the nice houses in our area just seem to be going for virtually asking price so would feel abit of a lemon offering a silly amount.

Sammy85_2

If you dont ask, you dont get.

I would look upto £330-340k with a budget of £310k.

sunshinetours

sequin123 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have thought about going into rented however we have a 2 year old so dont think it would be fair to uproot him.

Guess we will just have to keep looking and at the end of the day. I might try a leaflet drop.

I also might look at the ones slightly above our price range that have been on for a while. If we are looking to pay around 310k max, what price would you view up to? Everyone keeps say offer 7-10% off asking but the nice houses in our area just seem to be going for virtually asking price so would feel abit of a lemon offering a silly amount.

Depends on how much you want to actually sell. Your 2 year old I am sure will adapt just fine to a short term rental (caravan or something maybe?) especially if you make it seem like an adventure

You say you "might" try a leaflet drop - no offence but you don't sound that keen on getting this sorted. Prepare a simple leaflet explaining you may be interested and have sold STC and target the houses you know are likely to be in your sort of range

There is clearly a shortage of decent property on the market at the moment and in Essex locally we have a similar lack of family property in similar price range you mention. Keep on at all the local agents (you arent just speaking to the one you have sold through are you??) so you are the first one they call if something comes to the market.

Also if you find the right house then you don't need to offer a "silly price", just offer a fair price for you. If this is a forever type house then a few grand over the next 20/30 years is really neither here nor there for the right hosue despite this being MSE

Cannon_Fodder

A 2yr-old knows little about their surroundings, other than being fed, cleaned, played with, and generally loved.

Take the equity, put it in the bank and relax, instead of stressing over finding "the one" in the next two weeks.

Your 2yr old is probably just as likely to suffer in picking up the stress in the house, as in a rental.