Did You Miss Out on Your Dream Home but Bought a Better Dream Home?

anotheruser

How did you find the new house?

We missed out by a matter of 12 hours on a house that was everything we wanted (we would have viewed and offered there and then but the viewing got cancelled - house sold to someone else).

It's tough to think about any other house apart form that one.

Did you find a better dream house or one that was just as good / not as good?

PasturesNew

No, I don't think many really do - but you'll only hear from those that do.

Most people have firstly picked "a house that'll have to do" - and they find another "house that'll have to do". Few people, in reality, are buying "dream" homes and "better" ones.

The market is full of houses "we could live with", not dream homes and better

So, wherever your "missed it" house was in the scale of dreams, you'll find another about the same level in your mind.... hopefully you'll come out of it as one of those people who CAN say "we did better", but, in the main, you'll just find another "house of a similar level that'll do".

Alienna

I had a similar situation - several months after our offer was accepted on a home that was perfect (in a small village with good transport links etc) the estate agent called to say as the vendor still hadn't found their new home, they'd decided to stay put for a while, and was therefore taking it off the market. :mad: All that happened at the end of last year. I was devastated.

In January, started house hunting again. The first property we saw we loved, and offer got accepted! :j It's in a completely different area and quite a lot bigger than the other house, with oodles of potential for changes! :T Basically, it's even better! Not quite there yet, and I am still nervous, but it's looking promising!

I do believe everything happens for a reason... not sure what that reason is yet, but it's out there.

Good luck - your dream home will find you soon.

Alienna

PasturesNew wrote: »

No, I don't think many really do - but you'll only hear from those that do.

Most people have firstly picked "a house that'll have to do" - and they find another "house that'll have to do". Few people, in reality, are buying "dream" homes and "better" ones.

The market is full of houses "we could live with", not dream homes and better

Unless you've got unlimited funds, everyone has to compromise somewhere. In the time I was looking there were houses I fell in love with, and could see myself living in, which all had their downsides. However, as long as a house ticks most of your criteria it has the potential to be a 'dream house'.

My real dream would be a period property with character, but on my budget all I could afford was a two up two down terrace, and they come with quite a few downsides, so I've now chosen a 1960s semi which has little character. But it's now my dream home just because it'll be mine! :beer:

[Deleted User]

We fell in love with the first house we viewed just before Xmas. It was in the perfect village location with stunning views from the back. It needed loads of work doing to it and because of this we thought the vendor would be open to offers. Apparently not! We put in three offers, the last one being just 10k under what he wanted but all were refused and we just couldn't afford to go any higher due to the work that needed to be done.

We viewed about 5 more houses in January and eventually found the one we are buying. Village location, countryside views and it was cheaper than the first one plus needs a lot less work. Looking back I am glad we didn't get the first house.

marksoton

" What's meant for you won't pass you by "

Besides which i don't believe in the concept of a "dream home".

AnotherJoe

Not "dream" but had better/exactly the same.

We lost out to a full asking price (FAP) offer on a house we were really keen on. Basically we were too slow to amke an offer. Continued looking but nothing else out there.

I called agent about 2 months later to see if anything new was out there and the first house had fallen through that morning so I immediately offered full asking without even consulting Mrs AnotherJoe. I'm sat in that house typing this right now.

Second one was, my daughter offered FAP after a very busy open house viewing and the vendor had stupidly accepted the very first offer which was under asking. We upped "our" offer above FAP (I say "our" as I was contributing substantially to this) but vendor stuck with first offer.

So, a few weeks later we found a house which was substantially better. There were bids for it and we got it about 3-4% above asking. A little while later we had a call from EA, first deal had fallen through. Were we interested? Nope

BusyBargainz

We thought we found our ‘dream home’, put an offer in which was accepted then a few hours later we got a call to say the vendor changed their mind and wanted the full asking price which was only £4k more but we couldn’t stretch as it needed work doing. She had found a house she wanted and as FTB’s with no chain we thought we were in with a chance.

We were gutted and for a few weeks I couldn’t bear to keep looking online because that house was the only one ticking all the boxes. A month later we found an even better house in a better location for the same price. Offer accepted and process is still in motion (I know a lot can still go wrong) but when I think about it I am glad we didn’t get the first house. When you lose the emotional attachment, you can really see what else is out there.

The first house is still on the market well over 8 months later and still unsold.
I hope you can find the house for you soon .

Davesnave

PasturesNew wrote: »

No, I don't think many really do - but you'll only hear from those that do.

Wrong!

We missed out on 3 properties, which I'd now consider dream homes because of the combination of things they offered, which very rarely coincide in our price bracket.

Only one was really our fault....well...maybe two, but there were extenuating circumstances.

We've gone on to create a very passable home, which I can live in happily enough, but obviously, if I had my time again, things would go differently.

I haven't given up on my dream. If you don't have dreams.....

Davesnave

marksoton wrote: »

Besides which i don't believe in the concept of a "dream home".

I think a dream home is one people fall for because they see a combination of attributes which rarely come together. We all have to compromise, but these houses stand out by requiring far less of them.

It's often synonymous in people'sminds with a 'forever' home.

Having said that, many people's needs and interests change, so the sort of house they want changes too. The term is way over-used.

dc197

We saw lots of dream homes but the price tag meant it was indeed just a dream.
In the real world one has to compromise so I suspect that even a so-called dream home will have imperfections, even small ones.

We viewed lots of houses and only after several months did my wife give me the puppy dog eyes and say "I want this one".
It wasn't to be.
We have just exchanged on another house which is better and worse in various ways. I'm just disappointed that there were no puppy eyes for this later one.