How long did it take you to find 'the house'?

Sedge123

So we've sold our house and are currently looking your our new family home. Have sold to first time buyers who are happy to wait for us but how long is reasonable?

Seems that there are lots of houses that we would have been very interested in looking at that sold in the few weeks before we made the decision to sell.

I'm becoming obsessed with right move and frustrated that nothing new is coming on the market, it's also in the back of my mind that our buyers may get bored of waiting!

Old_Git

get down to every local agent and make sure you are top of the list for anything coming onto the market

Sedge123

Thanks. Have done and have been viewing a few houses but none are in the roads that we particularly like- have even tried leafleting with the only response being a chap who wanted to rent.

Worried that we will end up settling and compromising and then the perfect house may appear after!

westv

Took us 6 months.

jamiew191

I was a FTB in the height of the rush around a year ago, and must confess I was getting nervous after waiting for around 6 weeks with little sign of progress. Buyers are worried that 1) Sellers might pull out and 2) they may hike the asking price if they feel they can get a better deal, and 3) being gazumped.

I would recommend maintaining contact with your buyer to ensure they maintain confidence. I didn't have direct contact with the seller, the estate agency we're very communicative, and it was a worry.

Silverbeard50

We put our house on the market at the beginning of March 2014, exchanged at the beginning of July and completed on 18 July. We had been looking for 'the house' since January 14.
With nothing matching our wish list we moved into a rented house in July 14.
Like the OP, Rightmove became a bit of an obsession as time passed. We looked at thousands of houses on the internet, hundreds from outside and only viewed five from the inside. Four were non starters and hadn't really been prepared for viewing. it soon became very apparent that the camera can lie, contrary to popular belief. Gardens, rooms and driveways all looked much smaller than the photographs suggested; a variety filters on the lenses made rooms look softer, better decorated and more welcoming than in reality.
Only one of the five houses viewed internally matched expectations inside but the outside was a non starter. It was on the side of a very steep hill and the rear garden was virtually an assault course, far steeper than the photographs had suggested.

In January 15, we were still looking; it wasn't as if the search area was small, perhaps an eight mile radius around a central village in South Gloucestershire. One property fitted the bill but was first advertised in March 14 at well over our top figure. It was reduced in September 14 by a huge amount but was still over what we wanted to spend. It was taken off the market in December but in February 15 I rang the agent, told them our situation and the vendor invited us to view.
Friday 13th February came and we viewed the property and agreed to buy there and then although we were £25K apart on price. A bit of haggling and we ended up £13K over our target figure.
Exchange came a couple of weeks ago and completion takes place later this month.
Well worth the wait as it has everything that we wanted and more.

I answer to the OP, just over a year to find 'the house'.
I still check Rightmove and other sites and there's nothing in the area that has come close to fitting the requirements since we found the right one.

ellie27

Have your buyers given a rough date of when they would like to be in by?

When did you accept their offer?

If I was the buyer I would allow a couple weeks for you to find something then would be on the phone to agent pushing.

Remember your buyer will be, or should be, still looking and viewing any houses that come onto the market while they wait.

We accepted an offer on our house last September and had our offer on a house we liked. Our buyers mortgage fell through 6 weeks later. We didnt want to go through that again so rented a house while we waited for ours to sell. The house we were going to buy was lovely but we were settling with what was on sale at the time and there were a few compromises. Now after 4 months renting, and having sold ours, we have now found 'the house' and hope to be living in it within the next 6 weeks.

Remember you really do need to view a house to see its full potential. I only look at the pics, never read the garb. The pics of the house we are buying do not do the house justice. There was no pic of the luxury bathroom or the 2nd ensuite or the bay window in dining room. Do go view as much as you can as you might be surprised - the agent might be rubbish at taking pics and only taken pics of half the house!

audigex

25 years, turns out I'd been living in it (almost) the entire time. I spent a few months looking at other properties in the area, and now I'm buying my mother's home, which I grew up in.

Most people I know take a couple of months, though - but it depends on your chain etc and whether you can afford to stay and risk the sale.

Loopy28

The first time it took us about two months, we absolutely fell in love with the house but the seller decided not to sell as she couldn't find a suitable onward purchase.

The second time, it took us about a month and we loved the house although nowhere near as much as the first.

We have now pulled out altogether now as things just didn't feel right.

Don't compromise on getting the house you want, if houses are selling that fast in your area then your buyers will wait and if they don't you will get another. One thing I learnt is don't let anyone rush you into it.

Sedge123

Thank for all of the replies. Accepted an offer over asking price a week ago. buyers are living with parents and gave said there is no immediate rush. Sold house within 6 days do if the sale falls through then I'm hopeful that we can resell.

Have been seriously looking on right move for 3 weeks but not much new coming on the market, I gave the impression now that the local agents are just getting us to view whatever is left on the market!

ellie27

Where do you live? Remember that whatever a house is marketed for, even if that price is out your budget, they might accept less if its been on the market a while.

So, dont limit your search price on the rightmove site, look at houses in the next bracket up as there may be some that might sell under the advertised price.

eg In Scotland 'offers over' is a common way of marketing but you might not have to actually offer over, you just offer what you think its worth to you.