Can only Find 2 Houses we like - is this usual?

beachbeth

We are in the process of selling our house and have had a lot of interest. We have been looking in the place where we live and in the areas nearby for a new house. Our house is a semi, without a garage and is for sale at £179,950 and there shouldn't be any problem with us selling it because we keep it nice and the garden is low maintenance and a decent size too.

We wanted to move upmarket and buy a detached for around £220,000. We thought that by moving up by this amount of money we would find half a dozen houses we like, but we have just about looked at everything in this price range and have only found 2 houses that come anywhere near our criteria. One of them has a water meter and I don't think this would be a good idea for us as we have 2 teenagers who don't alway turn taps off properly and we all like baths!!!

Is this other people's experience? We have lived here since we got married in 1985 and have never moved house before so are new to the whole game. I really thought that spending so much more money on a new house would mean we would find a lot that we liked.

Im wondering now if we should move to the next county (we are on the border so its only 15 minutes drive) as this is also where my husband works. My daughters are violently opposed to this though and the area in question has waste collections every two weeks instead of every week as we do. I must admit too that I'd rather stay in this local area.

Im getting a bit worried now.

hermanmunster_3

There may be more housing appearing soon as people try to beat the HIPS deadline on June 1t .....


I know what you mean about not many houses you like - I've been looking for ages between 300k and 550k and still haven't found anywhere I can get excited about.

think you will find it tricky if you want one without a water meter - quite a lot have them and many more will get them in the future - - if that's the only problem with the place don't let it put you off.

ukbondraider

Firstly one of the reason why house prices have increased is because in addition to a shortage of houses there is an extreme shortage of 'nice' houses. With newbuilds being too crammed and oldbuilds being well too old and also usually ugly, there are actually only a few houses that alot of people really want to buy (of course most cant). As a result such houses will be bidded up.

Secondly a transition from £180K to £220 is hardly a transition at all if you are looking for something special especially from a Terrace to a Detatched. I would have thought going from an average terrace to a nice terrace would be something that one would more realistically expect from a £40K change.

Thirdly, no your situation is not uncommon. For reasons mentioned earlier, people at all price ranges find it hard to find a house that they like. I viewed over 100 before I bought my first place and today 9 yrs and a couple of more nice houses on I still have not seen a nicer place than my first place within its price range. I would imagine for all the millions of houses under £500K in the UK I would probably depart with my cash for less than 50 of them.

withabix

There are very few houses on the market - which is driving prices up. Also the continuing buy-to-let 'problem' is distorting actual demand.

You all like baths and don't want a water meter: Be less wasteful - have showers! Water meters should be compulsory to make it fair for everyone. You should pay for what you use. It probably won't be long before meters have to be fitted at change of ownership to start with.

Waste collections: Everywhere will be fortnightly soon due to the restrictions an landfill and increased recycling targets imposed on councils, so don't use that a a decision-making factor.

Location: Move nearer you husband's work and sod what the teenagers think. They don't pay the bills after all!

I disagree with the comment about HIPS - the prices of these will be factored into the selling price anyway. The fine for not having one is less than the cost of getting one anyway. HIPS are already a dead duck and yet another reason why Tony Bliar and his likely successor Gordon the Thief and co. will be out on their ears soon.

What county do you live in anyway? Prices suggest 'north'.

littlesos

beachbeth wrote: »

We are in the process of selling our house and have had a lot of interest. We have been looking in the place where we live and in the areas nearby for a new house. Our house is a semi, without a garage and is for sale at £179,950 and there shouldn't be any problem with us selling it because we keep it nice and the garden is low maintenance and a decent size too.

We wanted to move upmarket and buy a detached for around £220,000. We thought that by moving up by this amount of money we would find half a dozen houses we like, but we have just about looked at everything in this price range and have only found 2 houses that come anywhere near our criteria. One of them has a water meter and I don't think this would be a good idea for us as we have 2 teenagers who don't alway turn taps off properly and we all like baths!!!
QUOTE]


I wouldn't let the water meter put you off. We have one and it costs us about £16 per month (we all have & love baths!). We are careful about turning taps off, have water butts in the garden and we have a dual flush loo, but that is because we don't want to waste water. Our friends with no meter pay water rates of £500 per year! If I was moving into a new house I would definately get a meter fitted.

Personally I would tackle the teenagers about their lax attitude to waste anyway even if I didn't have a meter.

Debt_Free_Chick

beachbeth wrote: »

One of them has a water meter and I don't think this would be a good idea for us as we have 2 teenagers who don't alway turn taps off properly and we all like baths!!!

I think you need to reconsider whether this really ought to be a key factor in choosing a property.

Increasingly, more and more properties are becoming metered. All new builds are now metered (and have been for some time) and any householder not metered, can apply to be metered. I think it's the case that once you go over to a meter it's impossible to go back to being unmetered (can someone confirm ?).

In addition, being metered does not necessarily mean higher water bills - in your case it might, but you would need to look at the comparison. In any event, you can look to save water in a number of different ways and educate your teenagers accordingly.

Furthermore ... they're teenagers, so they won't be at home forever. You might have higher water bills whilst their at home, but then lower bills when they fly the nest. Will you expect to remain in this property after that? If not, then you've only got x years of possibly higher bills anyway.

Just a few thoughts for you to consider. It doesn't seem to me to be something "high on the list of priorities". But, of course, your list of priorities should be your own and not mine!

rebeccaj

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

I think it's the case that once you go over to a meter it's impossible to go back to being unmetered (can someone confirm ?).

If you apply to have a meter fitted, and they're fitted FOC by the way, you can switch back to unmetered water at any time within the first 12 months if you change your mind. At least that is how it is with Anglian Water so I assume other water companies are the same.

Running_Horse

Why not link the teenagers pocket money to the size of water bill?

They will soon learn.

Doozergirl

You don't often find many houses that you like. I think two is okay actually, especially (with respect!) as you seem quite picky. If it boils down to water meters and rubbish collections, it can't be too bad!

I have fortnightly bin collections where I am and it's absolutely fine! I was also listening to Jeremy Vine a few weeks back and there were actually quite a few people that called up from my town to say it was fine and not one who didn't. I really don't undersatnd what all the fuss is about.

We are a family of four and we have refuse bin collection one week and then recycling the next. It's fine, we manage; we recycle loads now and I have to admit that we don't even have a compost bin yet. As long as you don't leave the bin lid open there are no maggots. We also have people that come after the bin men to clean your bin for £2 if you want them to.

Daisies

I found just the same thing last year as a FTB looking in the £115-125k band - there were properties in that band, but not many that I'd actually have considered (upstairs bathroom, reasonably quiet location, walking distance to shops, with either 2nd reception room or 3rd bedroom...). In the end it doesn't really matter, you only need one house to move into, after all!

As for the water meter - don't worry about it. I requested one to be fitted when I moved into my house (I think I have a year from then to request to have it removed, but anyone buying the house from me is stuck with it!). It's relatively easy to cut down on the amount of water you use (plenty of ideas on this board) and it's good because it makes you aware of not wasting water.

Waste collection - again, not worth worrying about, especially as most places will be on fortnightly collection soon. I've never had a problem with flies/maggots/smells etc, but I don't throw food out, which I think is what causes those problems. Most places have alternate weeks recycling, and waste collection, and to be honest, it's the recycling collection I could do with more often!

So, what are your priorities? You say you want to move upmarket - does that mean more bedrooms/living space or bigger rooms or a bigger garden or somewhere to park?

Debt_Free_Chick

rebeccaj wrote: »

If you apply to have a meter fitted, and they're fitted FOC by the way, you can switch back to unmetered water at any time within the first 12 months if you change your mind.

Thanks for that clarification - in the back of my mind I thought there was some twist to it, but I think your post applies to all the water companies.

Thanks :T