To those BUYING in these difficult times....

azkaban420

Congrats Caeler! :j

sonastin wrote: »

Congratulations Caeler!

I've still not heard anything from my vendors. If it wasn't a repossession I'd assume that they didn't really want to sell and were going to take it off the market. Given that they are obliged to sell it at some point, I'm at a complete loss as to what they are playing at!

It'll happen eventually sonastin, just keep thinking positive..I really hope you have some good news soon..

LilacPixie wrote: »

congratulations to all who have made progress. We got keys on the 10th. Few minor glitches and issues that really are not worht getting stressed about now but was very very stressfl at the time. Firstly completion time in missives was 11am, when we arrived at 11:30 they were still packing up, said movers had let them down with snow etc so they had to hire a van and do it themselves so OH gave them a hand with some of the boxes etc while our movers chomped at the bit to get unloaded and finished, they were out just before 1pm so 2 hours late but fair enough snow etc was bad however our movers had confirmed on the wednesday they would be fine for friday and we didn't have more snow, a breif call to warn us on the thursday would of been enough to just delay the chain a little but no.. We eventually got in to find they took lightbulbs from hallway and all 3 bedrooms plus some curtain rails ( that i hated and had bought replacments for anyway which annoyed me but my parents keep getting given energy saving bulbs so they nipped over with some of them before darkness fell, phone company/internet/tv couldn't activate our account because former owners had not told them they had left or given notice of moving and we had to get a copy of our solicitors letter confirming missives singed and date of entry so I was internetless for a week more than we thought. 2 days after we move in electricity died, turned out it was a key meter in an outside box. the meter we took readings from on entry inside was just a display of usage so much scrambling about in the dark with a torch and meter key found in a kitchen drawer to get the actual key fllowed by a mobile call to the utility supplier to find out if we could use that key to top up and when they would switch to a dry meter. Dry meter was installed today but oh so annoying when the home buyer pack thig clearly states utility supplier and that its a monthy DD costing £72 a month dual fuel. TBH I am annoyed with myself because we had alot on on move day so other than taking readings I thought I could put off calling the utility supplier until our phone line was in on the monday rather than a 0870 number from my mobile.

Still we are in, it still doesn't feel like out home but i'm sure it will in future once the boxes we still have are actually unpacked and things changed... with it being so close to christmas and my due date priority has just been getting actually moved in.

Congrats Lilacpixie, you're in now, and yes, even though there are some niggles in the house, make it your own and enjoy

liam_h wrote: »

Hi all.

Haven't posted on here but feel I need to vent.

When we agreed a price at the back end of November, we were told our vendors wanted a quick sale and wanted to be moved before Christmas. :j
Sadly it appears their vendors haven't had the same thoughts and according to our vendors solicitors, they are dragging their heels.

The thing that is annoying me though is our vendors solicitor isn't making much of an effort to get this sorted. They've apparantly had part of the contract back, but are still waiting for protocol forms so enquiries can be raised. :mad:

It looks like we're in for a bit of a wait, but I'm going to be pushing this after New Year if I don't hear anything by the end of the first week.

/Rant

Again, I really hope things speed up for you and that you get some good news soon.


We're no further with buying a house...placed offers on two houses, both times we went up to what the sellers said they'd accept and then they changed their minds and wanted more so we walked away. Silly, silly people, and just SO frustrating for us.

We're going to go back to see a house that we offered on a few months ago. Going to take brother with us who will be able to give us a more accurate idea of costs to re-dec the place, and possibly if he feels value is more, we may go higher, as it's one of those awkward ones priced at £290k that seller won't sell for £250k. Would love to stick to our guns, but it may well be that if the re-dec doesn't cost as much as we think, we may be able to go higher if the house is worth it.

Decisions decisions....

Az

jc808

beccad wrote: »

We're missing out on properties too that appear to come on the market as SSTC. We're constantly being chased by agents too, so I don't know how we're missing them?! Perhaps it's all just a con to get us to look at their other properties? They put up a carrot property (and they're all really lovely, exactly what we're looking for etc.) and then they go SSTC and the agent produces a whole pile of crap.

!!!!! - agents do this too me too. especially countrywide group ones

jc808

shupufski wrote: »

I think you should go in with your full and final offer, whatever that is.

The psychology of these things is critical - if vendors sniff that you are too keen or that your revised offer is just incremental then they will likely ask for more.

The key thing is to stop caring - power resides with the person who cares least. Accept that you will not be able to buy the property when making your final offer.

Final means final.

100% - agreed

azkaban420

Hi all, am still looking for the house of my dreams and went back to one I saw before. It ticks all the boxes and would be my 'dream' house with lots of potential to extend in the future if need be. It's been on for a while and from what the EA says, they want a bit more than my final price which I haven't given yet (about £5k out). I know it's a falling market, but I've realised it's situational, and some people have their bottom price and won't sell for less unless someone pays it or they stay on or eventually take it off the market.

We can of course walk away and keep looking but it's been over a year and frankly we're just fed up. I'm still waiting to hear from the EA to see if the sellers will give us their absolute bottom price, so that we can decide if we'll go for it or walk away and wait even more.

My question is, would you pay slightly over the odds for a perfect house? I know the whole argument of house prices dropping but I want a home, not an investment, so the drops in value don't concern me as much.

Thoughts please as I'm going mad here....

Az

TMoose

My question is, would you pay slightly over the odds for a perfect house? I know the whole argument of house prices dropping but I want a home, not an investment, so the drops in value don't concern me as much.
Personally, if it's the perfect home, you pay the extra... however, bear in mind that anything more than the bank's valuation of the house you will have to pay yourselves, which will eat into your deposit and thus the LTV...

azkaban420

Thanks Tmoose, according to Zoopla/Mouseprice, the house is worth the same sort of price as the full asking price and the sellers will take slightly less. I know those figures need to be taken with a pinch of salt but I'm hoping the bank valuation will agree too.

It's a hard one though...

Az

TMoose

I guess I'd offer what I would pay, and if the bank came in with a lower valuation, explain this to the vendors to see if they will budge.

If they won't, check your finances, and then make a decision on if the extra cash is available...

I'm starting viewings for the first time next week, so I'm almost looking forward to being as far down the line as you obviously are!

Moose

azkaban420

Thanks Moose, still waiting to hear from the EA (Hate all this waiting!) will see what happens.

Good luck with your house hunting

Az

Jackinbox99

It depends on if you can afford it really. House prices have dropped a little, but not massively. (although that depends on the area)

Average house price is only 0.7% less than this time last year according to the report I read earlier. So, if the perfect house is already up for the market value and the seller is happy to take less, then sounds like it could be a bargain!

azkaban420

Thanks Jack, problem is it's been up for a lot of money for a long time with hardly any drops (House next door sold for £250k a year ago but has a shared drive and smaller garden). We didn't want to increase our offer initially but on second viewing it is perfect for us. So they've offered to pay the ST but want around the £280k mark which is A LOT (up for £289k for a year)!

Sigh, I just hope they agree to meet halfway...decisions decisions...

Az