How long should it take to find a house?

Davesnave

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

What's wrong with this?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52879325.html /QUOTE]

Put that one on the Environment Agency flood map and you might have part of the answer!

http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?lang=_e&topic=floodmap&layer=0&x=531341&y=343852&scale=10&location=PE21+7PE#x=531340&y=343851&scale=11

the_boot

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

What's wrong with this?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52879325.html

or

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34685133.html?premiumA=true

1st one I am actually arranging a viewing on. There is something about that kitchen layout that looks awkward to me though.

2nd one I am also arranging a viewing on but it's location is a bit of a traffic bottleneck. Ideally I would be hoping for something similar to the second example to crop up in the location of the first.....

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

the_boot wrote: »

1st one I am actually arranging a viewing on. There is something about that kitchen layout that looks awkward to me though.

2nd one I am also arranging a viewing on but it's location is a bit of a traffic bottleneck. Ideally I would be hoping for something similar to the second example to crop up in the location of the first.....

Well there's your answer then, I think. There are plenty of houses that fit your basic criteria, but you are going to keep looking until the absolutely perfect one comes along. Nothing wrong with that of course - if you have the time it's eminently sensible - but I think you have to accept that you are being very picky so it's going to take a while.

getmore4less

Stamp your mark on this

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51618155.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Fmap.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DPOSTCODE%255E653197%26minPrice%3D130000%26maxPrice%3D170000%26minBedrooms%3D3%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26radius%3D0.5%26includeSSTC%3Dtrue%26_includeSSTC%3Don%23_includeSSTC%3Don%26auction%3Dfalse%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26lastPersistLocId%3DPOSTCODE%255E653197%26locationIdentifier%3DPOSTCODE%255E653197%26maxPrice%3D170000%26minBedrooms%3D3%26minPrice%3D130000%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26previousSearchLocation%3DPE21%25207PG%26radius%3D1.0%26searchLocation%3DPE21%25207PG%26searchType%3DSALE%26useLocationIdentifier%3Dfalse%26box%3D-0.08063%2C-0.02313%2C52.96027%2C52.98890%26popupPropertyId%3D51618155&fromMap=true

red_imps_2003

It has taken us (my family) ten months to find our next home, assuming it all goes ahead. We agreed a price on our former home back in August and started looking 'seriously' then (we had been keeping an eye on properties through Rightmove for months before that, but not arranging viewings for most of them because we weren't proceedable.

It has taken so long for two principal reasons. The first is that we are searching within a very limited geography because we need to be where certain family members can reach us easily for childcare reasons (and they don't drive). The second is that we want our next home to be where we stay for the next 20-30 years while our children grow up, so we are being quite...selective about the type of place we are looking for (and are in a fortunate position to be able to wait for a while because we are being accommodated by the aforementioned family members; for now).

Our wish list is fairly standard (ideally a semi, a bit of garden, a downstairs loo, a 3rd bedroom where a human being of regular proportions can't touch two opposite walls at once, a 2nd toilet, off-street parking, and structurally sound enough not to hear it every time a neighbour farts). Furthermore, we very-much prefer kitchen diners (or separate dining room) over lounge diners yet the vast majority of properties in the area appear to feature the latter. It was a several weeks after we moved out of our home before anything ticking most of the above boxes came up, but that sold the day after we viewed it and we were out-bid on the next one that we liked a few weeks later. We had an offer accepted on a lovely house back in mid-April (i.e. eight months after accepting the offer on our own place) but pulled out last week after it increasingly became apparent that the surrounding environment would not be suitable for us.

We've now had an offer accepted on a place we like even more, but we are still having to compromise on some aspects of our wish list (the main one being it's a bit pokey).

It is unlikely that you will find the 'perfect' house if you are constrained by (a) time, (b) money, (c) location, but that is not to say it won't happen. We are happier with the place we are buying now because the size is something within our power to do something about (there is potential to extend, or re-shape the interior a little) whereas we could do nothing about the surrounding environment in the previous place we were buying.

My wife has often complained over the past ten months that "there's just nothing coming onto the market" [heavy sigh; pet lip]. In actual fact, at any given time there have been over 100 3-bed properties within our geographical area; just not ones featuring the majority of things were are looking for. That said, there was a rush of properties entered the market in early Spring (March/April) but it has been extremely slow again throughout May and June.

As somebody alluded to above, though, each case is different and 'how long is a piece of string?'. The market ticks over far more swiftly in some areas than others.