What to do after being gazumped?

sparky130a

SephirothX wrote: »

I drove around the estate tonight and saw a for sale sign for a property I hadn't seen online. Looks like it was on the market in May of last year. It is listed the same price as this one and comes with a garage, a study room, and a kitchen big enough to fit a dining table. Admittedly the master bedroom isn't as nice as it is on the second floor with the sloped roof and doesn't have a balcony.

I wonder what is up with that one. Either a sale has been dragging on for 7-8 months or it was taken off the market but the for sale sign left. Right Move lists it as removed rather than sold. I may enquire with the estate agent to see what its status actually is.

Then stop fixating on the property you OP'd about. Offer stands, start looking elsewhere.

SephirothX

getmore4less wrote: »

How long are you planning to stay in this place?

Sometimes it is better to consider resale/improvement opportunities over features you want rather than need.

I would never buy a place with only one parking space again even if single.

we have an award winning estate in our town everything is close together and many with 1 space have 2 cars so the roads are is full of cars.


How big are these places I was thinking 2 bed starter homes but I would not want one of those over 3 floors.

It's a 3 bed house, master with en-suite is on the first floor. Some houses in the estate have the master with en-suite on the second floor and these houses are the bigger ones with study rooms and garages like the one I drove past. I'm guessing they tend to sell for the same price because the master bedroom being on the second floor is seen as a disadvantage? I don't know.

Saying that, one of these bigger properties with the master on second floor appeared on the market today for offers in region of £170k. It is semi detached however, but I can't see it selling for anywhere near that. Or maybe the semis that have sold in the past couple of years sold for less than they were worth, I don't know. That said, according to Zoopla house prices in the area have increased by 2.4% in 2016 and 3.6% in 2015 which is worth factoring in.

I am a single man, but I am buying a house of this size so that I don't have to move in a few years when I have a partner. Certainly I want to remain until the mortgage is paid off. There are 2 bed houses in the estate selling for £110k but they are tiny and really not for me, and there are 3 bed houses in the estate for around £125-135k which only have one decent sized room and two box rooms. At least with a townhouse you're getting two big rooms.

I do see the parking as a negative however. Like if a partner moves in with a car I have no idea where they'd park, other than sideways at the end of the drive blocking my car in.

sparky130a wrote: »

Then stop fixating on the property you OP'd about. Offer stands, start looking elsewhere.

I guess I'm "fixating" because currently I don't see anything better on the market. But like others have said - there likely will be soon. Though it begs the question what asking prices will be in 2017 having seen that one listed today for £170k. People aren't going to lower the asking price as soon as a property goes on the market so it's not just a case of waiting for similar properties to appear, you have to let them sit there long enough for the vendors to realise they're asking too much.

sparky130a

SephirothX wrote: »

I guess I'm "fixating" because currently I don't see anything better on the market. But like others have said - there likely will be soon. Though it begs the question what asking prices will be in 2017 having seen that one listed today for £170k. People aren't going to lower the asking price as soon as a property goes on the market so it's not just a case of waiting for similar properties to appear, you have to let them sit there long enough for the vendors to realise they're asking too much.

No, you're making the classic mistake of making the assumption you know better than others.

Meanwhile they're sat in the house you want. You're not.

Stop procrastinating and get on with it.

SephirothX

sparky130a wrote: »

No, you're making the classic mistake of making the assumption you know better than others.

Meanwhile they're sat in the house you want. You're not.

Stop procrastinating and get on with it.

When did I ever indicate I know better than others? Of course I have more knowledge of the local market than anyone here considering no one even knows what area of the country I'm talking about. I've put dozens of hours into researching it. But that doesn't mean the assumptions I'm making off a list of sold prices are correct.

Indeed I just adjusted the sale prices over the past 2 years to account for house price inflation for the list I'm comparing against and that £150k offer isn't looking so bad after all. But whether or not Zoopla's house price inflation estimator is worth going off is another matter. Have house prices really gone up 6% in the past two years?

getmore4less

You don't have to use the master, you can keep that as a guest/lodger suite use the other two on the first floor one to sleep one as dressing room and the main bath.

if the plan is longer term I would be looking at more practical things like that parking, laundry space, study/computer/game space, storage. room layouts(where are the TVs going, our main bedroom has no wall for a TV), garden south west, room for a shed, access to the garden without going through the house.

As you have more headroom I think I would look at the better/bigger places with more parking.

if you are going to struggle with a second car where are your mates going to park?

£5k Is nothing extra on a long term house if it is the right one, price research is right to a point but not at the expense of the real practicalities of living in the place.

Cakeguts

I am not sure about a 3 bed house which is supposed to be suitable for a family even if small that only has one parking space. Unless there is plenty of space to park in the road parking could be a big problem especially if all the rest of the terrace only have one parking space but own two cars.

SephirothX

getmore4less wrote: »

You don't have to use the master, you can keep that as a guest/lodger suite use the other two on the first floor one to sleep one as dressing room and the main bath.

if the plan is longer term I would be looking at more practical things like that parking, laundry space, study/computer/game space, storage. room layouts(where are the TVs going, our main bedroom has no wall for a TV), garden south west, room for a shed, access to the garden without going through the house.

As you have more headroom I think I would look at the better/bigger places with more parking.

if you are going to struggle with a second car where are your mates going to park?

£5k Is nothing extra on a long term house if it is the right one, price research is right to a point but not at the expense of the real practicalities of living in the place.

For me I quite like the idea of an en-suite in the master, it is one of the draws to these newer houses so I wouldn't want to go with that idea if I went for one of the bigger ones.

I wouldn't buy a house with no room to put a TV in the bedroom, that is why I'd never buy the 2 bedroom houses on this estate because they have no space at all for a set of drawers to put a TV on or even a wall it could be attached to.

It's highly unlikely that I will be having kids if I'm honest, so the other two rooms I can do what I want in, well one of them anyway as one becomes a guest room. But I certainly don't need a bed in all of them.

The parking really is strange. Like next door has a bay that is half in front of the property I'm buying, yet they have grass in front of their own. When I went to view they had a car parked on the grass, I can only assume they have two cars and that's what they do. When I went to view I parked on the road that leads into the cul-de-sac as I wasn't sure where I could park, but I did see a visitor bay with an open space that I could have used.

Cretaphile

I have been reading through this thread and found your dilemma very interesting. You are obviously new to the bear pit that is the property market!!

I have bought and sold a number of properties over the years and have failed on a number of occasions to get the property I thought I really really wanted. I discovered it was pointless to hanker after a property which was no longer available, for whatever reason - much better to realise it is just not the one for you! I always found that the property I did end up buying was a far better purchase for me. I believe the same will apply to you.

There are a number of things in relation to buying and selling property which are true if not particularly palatable.

A house is only worth what someone will pay for it. If they really want it they will pay over the odds (an acquaintance did this many years ago by offering £14K over the asking price to secure a London flat to be next to his mother to take care of her)! Like it or not - in the property world money always talks!

The house is not sold until completion has taken place and neither the buyer nor the vendor has any level of certainty until contracts have been exchanged and the deposit paid - therefore the vendor has every right to withdraw their acceptance of your lower offer if they received an offer of the asking price prior to exchange of contracts. Of course, the purchaser also has the right to withdraw their offer if they find a house they like better! I have been affected by both of these scenarios in the past. Like it or not, it is the way the system works in England and Wales. Some estate agents will suggest an insurance that can be taken out by a prospective purchaser against possible expenses incurred in a failed transaction.

Also, best to remember that the estate agent works for the vendor (who is paying their fee), not you, and it is their job to obtain the best price for the vendor.

I hope you persevere and find the right home for you - it is a tough business but I am sure the experience you have already gained will stand you in good stead.

getmore4less

SephirothX wrote: »

The parking really is strange. Like next door has a bay that is half in front of the property I'm buying, yet they have grass in front of their own. When I went to view they had a car parked on the grass, I can only assume they have two cars and that's what they do. When I went to view I parked on the road that leads into the cul-de-sac as I wasn't sure where I could park, but I did see a visitor bay with an open space that I could have used.

Would have walked at that point, I would not want someone else having the right to park in front of my house.

How well do you know this estate?

Have you been for a good drive/walk around mid week night and on a sat/sun when most will be at home

Might be worth renting there for 6 months while you wait for a better plot to come on the market.

that estate near us the parking is right in front of the houses, no land strip or pavements.

SephirothX

getmore4less wrote: »

Would have walked at that point, I would not want someone else having the right to park in front of my house.

How well do you know this estate?

Have you been for a good drive/walk around mid week night and on a sat/sun when most will be at home

Might be worth renting there for 6 months while you wait for a better plot to come on the market.

that estate near us the parking is right in front of the houses, no land strip or pavements.

Yeah it's weird the way they built this. When I saw the photos online I thought the house must have two parking bays. I don't know why next door gets a parking bay and a lawn with a footpath and the end house gets just a bay with no lawn or footpath. Looking at the original sale prices when they were built the house next door went for 6.3k more and that's mid terrace. I guess that is the reason, I mean they could convert that lawn to a second bay.

I know the estate fairly well, I like about a quarter of a mile from where it begins and I've driven through it about a dozen times while house hunting at different times of day/week to get a feel for it. With this house being on a cul de sac I haven't driven in there much to avoid looking suspicious.