When would you start viewing houses?

browneyedbazzi

My partner and I are currently living in a rented flat and plan to buy our first house towards the end of the year when our current lease is up. We've been keeping an eye on properties online to see what is available on the market and what we can afford etc and we're now thinking about when we should start viewing properties.

I think it makes sense to start viewing things early to get a better idea of what is available in different areas and also to see what others have done to improve properties (all the houses here are of a similar style and we'll probably want to buy something we can improve and do up the way we want it).

On the other hand, I worry that I'll see something I really like now that will be gone before we're in a position to act on it and then when we do come to look properly I won't be able to find anything that measures up.

What do other people do or what would you do in this situation?

HappyMJ

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

My partner and I are currently living in a rented flat and plan to buy our first house towards the end of the year when our current lease is up. We've been keeping an eye on properties online to see what is available on the market and what we can afford etc and we're now thinking about when we should start viewing properties.

I think it makes sense to start viewing things early to get a better idea of what is available in different areas and also to see what others have done to improve properties (all the houses here are of a similar style and we'll probably want to buy something we can improve and do up the way we want it).

On the other hand, I worry that I'll see something I really like now that will be gone before we're in a position to act on it and then when we do come to look properly I won't be able to find anything that measures up.

What do other people do or what would you do in this situation?

I'd always be looking anyway whether I could purchase it or not.

martinsurrey

Don’t start viewing until you are in a position to buy, because all that will happen is

1) You’ll find a house you love but cant buy

2) You’ll waste the EA’s time and then when you are ready, they wont take you seriously

3) You’ll waste vendors time (and one day you will be vendors and karma’s a %£%^)

Carry on doing desk top reviews until you are 3 months away from a position to complete, then you are in a serious position to view .

(just my opinion, but I hate wasting my, and others, time.)

Tixy

Do you have your deposit saved already? or are you still saving it between now and when your lease is up?

If you already have a deposit and are hoping to complete before the end of your lease then I would start viewing probably around 6 months before the end of the lease - giving you around 3 months to find something and get an offer accepted, and then 3 months to complete.

browneyedbazzi

Thank you all for your replies - it's always useful to hear others' opinions and I think the bit about wasting people's time is a valid point.

Tixy wrote: »

Do you have your deposit saved already? or are you still saving it between now and when your lease is up?

If you already have a deposit and are hoping to complete before the end of your lease then I would start viewing probably around 6 months before the end of the lease - giving you around 3 months to find something and get an offer accepted, and then 3 months to complete.

We do have a substantial deposit saved up already but will continue to add to the savings it until we are ready to buy. We don't want to borrow any more than we absolutely have to as we'd like to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible...and as we might buy a house that needs work we want to have plenty in the bank to do any urgent work straight away.

J_i_m

Personally I'm going to wait until I'm ready to buy before attending any viewings.

I see little point in viewing a house of which you know you little chance of offering on.

cramg

martinsurrey has summed it up very well indeed.
We are selling our house and in the 4 days since going live we have had a real mix of viewers, the biggest time waster being a couple who have not yet put their house on the market and advised us they need to review their finances - you can guess they were quickly showed where the door was.

From our side, we have been browsing the internet to see what houses are available within our budget and driving around the areas. We would not consider viewing any houses though until ours is SSTC and we are in a proceedable position.

DRP

if you don't start viewings, certainly continue your research online. Keep records of the AP and SP of houses similar to the specs you are interested in. Use property bee.

I'm not sure what timescale you are talking about, but Personally I would go and see a few houses a month or so before you are likely to be seriously looking. Often houses hang around for months and so it isn't necessarily a waste of anyone's time to go see them now.

StuC75

If you are wanting a house to do up, then maybe have renting and buying overlap a little at the start.. If this is financially viable?

That way if there is a lot to do in the house then you would have time to complete that rather than moving in straight away and living on a Building site..

House purchases can take a time to complete - the house I bought was being sold on by the family (former owner deceased) but took months to find the paperwork.. so really does depend who you would be buying from..

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies - it's always useful to hear others' opinions and I think the bit about wasting people's time is a valid point.



We do have a substantial deposit saved up already but will continue to add to the savings it until we are ready to buy. We don't want to borrow any more than we absolutely have to as we'd like to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible...and as we might buy a house that needs work we want to have plenty in the bank to do any urgent work straight away.

iancarbarns

Is the end of your lease a fixed date, that you MUST leave before? Are you allowed to leave early? You will never get the dates to line up exactly - so to avoid a park bench, plan on moving earlier then November, terminating your lease ahead of its expiry (I hope you can, but with how much notice?) Do you want some 'overlap' to allow major building work (eg install central heating as it will be December ...).

Based on such things, choose the date you'd like to move in (ideally, identify the possible range of dates). Then work backwards.

It could easily take 3 months from having your offer accepted to moving in. And several months from starting looking seriously to making an offer, and a month from making an offer to having it accepted. And if your offer isn't accepted, may need extra time to negotiate or to look elsewhere. A lot is unpredictable, but it's likely to be slower than you first think.

I suggest you look now, at least starting a paper-and-drive-by search. Get a good feel for the market in your area. Sign up to be notified of sales in the area and house type - what are the sale prices compared to asking prices? It is so much easier nowadays as all the info is available online. You can see full property details online without the agent knowing who you are and hassling you to view. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to make a faster decision when the time matters.

Have you got mortgage sorted out? You need a 'decision in principle' ie that your lender will lend a particular amount of cash, taking account of your circumstances.