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House fell through (again) need cheering up. Tell me your story.
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Hi BetterDays,
Most of our local estate agents have our details since we've viewed so many properties. I guess we'll have to contact them all again and let them know we are still looking. You are right it can be soul destroying.
Thank you for your kind wishes. We hope we find a place we love as much too.0 -
Hi ACG,
Thank you for your advice
I have to admit I am the kind of person who believes things work out best in the end, but have to agree this is a sh1tty situation. The first house we were buying needed a lot of work doing... Mustard bathroom suite and 70's kitchen, but was in the right location for us. We were prepared to do it up and make it the perfect home, so I totally agree that a home is what you make of it.
Fingers crossed we will be able to make the most of the situation we are now in.
Sophie0 -
Jules88, I hope this time next year I'm saying the same thing as you
Really pleased that it worked out for you. Nice to hear of a happy ending0 -
Witchy1066,
I know what you mean about the houses you end up falling n love with are the opposite of what you thought you wanted. I thought I'd go for a nice Victorian villia with plenty of original features (like the home I was bought up in) but have ended up going for a 70's build!! Seriously I thought that was the very LAST type of home I'd like, normally find them very unattractive. Yet here I am, mourning the loss of a 1972 build!! Funny that!
We won't give up. Frustrating to have all our deposit ready and waiting to go... but nowhere to go to! here's to 3rd time lucky0 -
AnnaV... I feel your pain.
I guess in a perverse way, it's nice to know we are not alone. I really hope it ends out well for you. Sending you my best wishes. Let me know how you get on.
Sophie0 -
I really feel for you OP and hope that it all works out for you, however hard it may seem to believe that right now
Just be very careful not to buy *on the rebound*.......
We lost our *dream* home the day before we were due to exchange a few years ago and as our house was SSTC we were under great pressure to find an alternative. Our buyers were so keen - they'd made an offer the day it went on the market - they were even phoning us with suggestions of houses we might have missed, lol!
Anyway, we saw what we thought was a better house - a four-bed, double-fronted detached with lovely wide garden, as opposed to the five-bed terrace we'd lost out on. It seemed like a great house, but we somehow managed to overlook its position near a busy junction and the fact there was a bus stop outside. Suffice to say, although we lived there five years whilst renovating it, I hated it from the outset
That's not the only property mistake we've made either......
Having waited all this time OP, I'd rather wait a bit longer and find somewhere that *feels* right than rush into something that's second best.
Edited to add - I agree with witchy........when buying our current house in 2011 we pulled out of two purchases after realising they weren't *right* and stumbled upon this house by chance after it failed to sell at auction. We viewed the day after it came on and like witchy's experience, everything about it was wrong (except that it was a period project, lol!). Then we walked out into the garden - 1/4 acre with a stream running through it - and even though the rain was falling, the village had a powercut and parts of the house were crumbling, we knew it was *the one*.
Two years on and we've built the huge eat-in kitchen we wanted, have knocked down lots of walls to reconfigure the space and it's gradually becoming our *home*!Mortgage-free for fourteen years!
Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed0 -
I'm a FTB trying to buy a flat, and just had it fall through. I've been looking for FIVE YEARS and this is the second time that I've had a vendor change their mind.
Each time a place falls through I lose hundreds of pounds. It is so frustrating that vendors can just test the market at your expense, accept an offer then change their mind later, and not be bound to at least compensate you for your costs.
In contrast to posters above, I have concuded that it is BETTER to buy where there's a chain. When the property is empty or tenanted, the vendor really doesn't care whether it sells. It is all just numbers in a business plan to them. Conversely, an owner-occupier who is themselves trying to move into their perfect next property, well they have an interest in the thing going through.
Property prices in my area have gone up about 5%-10% in the last 2 months, it's crazy in city centres. I have diligently saved up a 25% deposit and think it is only right than first time buyers should save to own a home, not live a life on crazy leverls of credit. But anyhow, just as I've done this the Government have changed the rules and is now supporting anoybody and everybody to get a mortgage. Which first time buyers are they supporting? The ones who have been working hard and saving for the last five years? Or the fresh graduates who hadn't really thought they'd be able to buy anyway?
This really sucks.
Any advice for being a less stupid buyer? In future, should I put in an offer, pretend I'm sorting a mortgage, but in fact sit on my hands for a few weeks to see whether it is another joke vendor?0 -
I had to reluctantly withdraw from a sale today (as the buyer) due to realizing that there is no way I can deal with all the structural problems that came up in the survey of my "dream home" against mounting pressure from the EA to hurry up, even though formally we never got anything answered by the vendor's solicitor. So I am not able to offer you the inspirational story but at least I share your pain. This was my second attempt that got this far, still as a FTB, that fell through for similar reasons, three years apart. It feels like I will never manage to own and since I moved to the UK in my mid-30s some years ago and am single, I am extremely behind the curve. At times like this it may be a good idea to take a Rightmove-Zoopla break for a couple of days- it's SO depressing to scroll through ads you've looked at dozens of times before. Since you have a partner, I recommend a "property detox" for the two of you (and your children, if you have any) for a some days and to perhaps appreciate that wherever you are together, that is your home. So, deep breath. The recent panic buying and atmosphere of "let the bidding wars begin" doesn't help (esp if you are somewhere like the SouthEast) but, it might also mean that more properties come on the market. Hang in there.0
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Hi Sophie, I'm so sorry to read about your experiences; I really feel for you & know it's like a punch to the stomach when it all falls through.... I can't offer you much positivity but please know you are not alone in your disappointments. I'd like to share my own story with you, in commiseration:
Jan 2009 - husband & I tentatively start looking to sell our flat and move into a house as prices are more reasonable after the crash. Have to give up as hubby takes redundancy and we are reliant on my single salary until he finds a new position. We then suffer multiple bereavements in both our families so house-moving put on hold for a significant time.
March 2011 - found out we are expecting so definitely time to move! Offer accepted on a house, get an offer on our flat but the deal falls through due to the fact our lease is on short side (73 years). Vendor won't wait until we find another committed buyer so EA re-markets w/o our knowledge and unceremoniously dumps us from the process. Brutal. As we are only a few weeks away from due date we decide to put moving on hold, again, and try to extend the lease for a future sale.
November 2011 to March 2013 - in process of extending the lease as our freeholder demands an unacceptable price. Greedy bu**er. We end up going to LVT and the decision rules in our favour. Realise that previous house we wanted to buy was not in the right location after all (no childcare provision, dodgy schools etc) so feel a bit better about that one falling through.
April 2013 - we receive asking-price offer on our flat and find another house in good location this time, offer accepted. Everything going hunky-dory until our buyer's solicitors throw a bombshell saying the lease is deficient and we need a deed of variation before they recommend the flat to lender. Despite Land Registry stating the lease is not incorrect, the solicitor won't move on the matter and freeholder wants another £1500 plus fees to do the variation :eek: We refuse, our vendor clamoring for exchange date, threatening to pull out etc, major stress, no reduction in price despite the house having major structural defect, so now in a position whereby we have to do a Buy-to-Let and accept the fact we are buying a house that needs a lot of investmentBut no other option as stock severely limited in area we want to live in and house prices gone up in London by another 20-30k. This is where we are as of today.
As you can see from the above, I really feel your pain. It's horrible. Sending you hugs and wish you better luck next time xx0 -
I'm so sorry to hear your issues as I know how stressful it can be.
I had a nightmare at the start of the year and ended up pulling out of a sale due to the vendors lack of motivation. In nearly six months we hadn't even discussed or were close to discussing exchange dates. I then found another house but lost out due to a bidding war.
In the end completely demoralised I started looking in another part of the city. I found a house on my first day of searching I found the property I bought. The house is in an area which is deemed to be better than where I originally looked. It might not have anything that was on my wish list I know that once it is finished (currently a building site) it will definitely feel more homely and the area is better for my family.
I'm sure you will find something and don't stop looking as the right house will be out there although for some of us it takes longer.0
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