How long did it take you to find your house?

SensibleSarah

As a first time buyer it was 18 months from first viewing of first house to have an offer accepted on the house I eventually bought. Reason it took that long is because I wanted a garden & where I live, houses with gardens rather than yards are like hens teeth. That and my tiny budget of course. The house had been on the market a while but I first discounted it as it needed quite a lot of work & I had no money for this.

Then sadly what should have been fairly straightforward & quick turned into a 6 month ordeal to exchange & complete. No chain but nightmare vendors. So basically 2 years from when I started looking, I moved in. Over 5 years on and the work still needs doing, but it's perfectly liveable in the meantime. The 70s decor becomes invisible after a while...

haf1

About 3 weeks, from AiP to acceptance of offer. We (FTB) had been looking on Rightmove for years, for the same reason (which kind of property/price range/location to go for), then once we had enough money put aside, got an AiP early in November 2015 and started searching seriously. We had been renting a two up-two down for a few years - very helpful to e.g. know that the presence of windows does not necessarily mean that they do open! Changing search parameters from "oh, this might be nice" to "do I really want to live there for the next 10 years??" narrowed down the search a lot!

We viewed one lovely little terrace, only to find out that the tiny kitchen was not open plan after all (which did not show on the photographs), the cellar was waterlogged, and the stairs incredibly steep and narrow. Then towards the end of November, a 4 bed terrace we had been having an eye on was significantly reduced, we immediately requested a viewing, then a second viewing, made an offer and it was accepted.

The only compromise we had to make was limited outside space - but there is enough for a barbeque and flower pots, and we/family have an allotment a few miles down the road. Also, this house is the absolute opposite of "open plan", but being large enough, that actually works.

DigForVictory

First house took a weekend to find - I wanted a bachelor pad & my parents wanted me in a safe place. We spent about 2 hours discussing parameters, then hopped from estate agent to estate agent & then visited or drove past about 10 possibles. Mad scampering & rough on the driver, but it worked. Found the right one when we realised it 'felt right' as the kitchen lino was the same as the family home pattern.... The bathroom was later described as period 60s, but it's wonderful what you get used to when the alternative is having to find More Money.

Second house was Much slower to reveal itself - eighteen months hiking around estate agents "anything new?" but there were 2 adults, 3 children & a lot more pickiness involved! When we saw the photo there was an "Ah?!" & when we walked around it a definite "Yes!".

SG27

About 3 years. We waited for something we really loved. Didn't really make any compromises but then we were realistic with what we could afford.

SaveSomeMore_2

From starting seriously looking I'd say 6-8 weeks.

I viewed 7 houses in total, with my chosen house being the last. Of those 4 were instant write-offs, one was a maybe, and two I bid on.

In terms of compromise, I had to compromise on area.

You often hear "buy the worst house in the best street/neighbourhood" thrown around but that is not applicable to all. When you are a single buyer on a low-moderate income you quickly learn that the "worst houses in the best areas" are a. still pretty pricey, and b. snapped up by developers who have lots of disposable cash or skills to turn them over.

At the end of the day you can only afford what you can afford. For me that left me with two options:
1. A great house in a little shabby but practical area (just off a highstreet).
2. A great house in a god-awful "sofas in the garden" area.

All the houses in nicer areas were either too expensive to buy, or too expensive to do up (requiring completely gutting).

Chocolatefund

Thank you so much for the replies!

Thankfully, my budget is quite good for the area that I want. ( North ftw.) I'm looking in the same area as my family so know the place quite well. I'm more then willing to do a little bit of work to a property if its in this area. I have been keeping a close eye on Rightmove for the last year and seen the prices creep up.

Fingers crossed

SaveSomeMore_2

Chocolatefund wrote: »

Thank you so much for the replies!

Thankfully, my budget is quite good for the area that I want. ( North ftw.) I'm looking in the same area as my family so know the place quite well. I'm more then willing to do a little bit of work to a property if its in this area. I have been keeping a close eye on Rightmove for the last year and seen the prices creep up.

Fingers crossed

Good luck!

I do think now is a particularly good time to buy if you can. Prices aren't too bad up't North (and show signs of improving), interest is at record lows, despite the MMR banks are jumping over themselves to attract FTBs as it is good for publicity (look out for the great cashback/incentive deals on offer and fee free mortgage accounts), and renting is of course astronomical by contrast.

In terms of buying I think you have two options:
1. Buying well within your limits for a cheaper "starter" house where you can live financially comfortably/securely and find your feet
2. Buying at the top of your budget if (and only if) you find somewhere where you can see yourself living long term (5-10years+)

For me the latter wasn't worthwhile as even going to the top of my small budget didn't drastically affect the quality of houses/area I could afford (in fact I'd say my house was comparable/nicer than ones I'd viewed costing £15-20,000 more!).

Instead I went with somewhere with a mortgage 85% of the max offered to me which I know will allow me more breathing space and a better quality of life. The way I see it there is no point living in a "dream home" if you cannot afford any furniture, decorating or even to pay for leisure activities. I'd much rather have somewhere shabbier I can actually afford to do up and that allows me to have a social life/hobbies.

Chocolatefund

Thank you, SaveSomeMore

Going near the top of my budget does give me an extra bedroom and overall bigger house. I'm fortunate that my job gives me yearly increments and a guaranteed promotion in 2.5 years, so at the moment I'm leaning towards getting somewhere I could grow into.

EDIT:
Saw two houses this weekend. The first was waaaay under my budget, but very small. The second was a Semi! but the second bedroom was only a single.

The hunt continues

Cracken

We'd been waiting for a few years for a property to come up in a particular area. The first that came up for sale required a lot of work so we walked away somewhat disappointed. Shortly after another came up for sale, we viewed immediately on the Saturday and I offered slightly over the asking price (£5K) and the offer was accepted that afternoon. My house went on the market that night and sold by the Wednesday after 24 viewings and by first timer buyers. That was late May and we are now getting close to exchange so if you can leverage your advantage of being a first time buyer to keep the chain small its worth the effort. Our big hold ups have been clients in the chain messing everyone around then dropping out and then later on a property being purchased off one of the housing associations.

My advice is to get the location right first of all and try really hard not to compromise here. It can be tough when starting out but I wish I'd gone for a slightly smaller house in a nicer location when first joined the chain.

Also, depending on your plans and lifestyle choices an auction could be an option. A friend has just purchased via auction and while the property is to be a home the investment he will make is substantial (200-300K substantial). But beware it does come with varying risks, a lot of work and will become part of life for some time.

Best of luck. Don't let the above put you off, just hope the wisdom comes in helpful in some small way.

Anatidaephobia

Not very long, a couple of months from the first house we viewed to the house we bought, I think. We were looking on Rightmove almost daily for a couple of years before we started going to viewings.

We made three offers on the first house we viewed but none were accepted, then we tried to buy another house which didn't work out either, however it was the second house which actually led us to the one we bought because it was just round the corner. We had looked at it online before but dismissed it. When the second house fell through, we started viewing houses we'd previously disregarded online. That was the best thing we ever did, tbh, because some houses were not presented well online but were great in real life. We were looking for a three bed terraced house in a town that is absolutely full of three bed terraced houses so there were plenty of options which obviously made it easier.

Hope you find the right house soon and have a stress-free experience