Looking for positive house FTB purchase stories

MovingForwards

amieloustew wrote: »

Budget at the moment is around 120k and yes, I have considered properties a little further out (Kirkcaldy, Leven etc.) but its finding the balance for both of us (work, family, areas, schools etc.)

What size property are you looking for as I was looking at 3-4 bed houses (old new builds a mile or so from the town) and they were coming in at under £80k when sold, hence looking that far up into Fife.

MovingForwards

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75862747.html this is the type of houses I was looking at.

[Deleted User]

I had the same problem as you, I became so obsessed with the market that I knew what appeared to be overpriced, but other people aren't approaching buying as the same way as you. I have friends who have offered 10k more than asking because they really want the property! So sometimes this is what you are up against.

Also, the EA lie a lot. I got into a bidding war with a few couples on a flat & got told my offer was too low & he chose another buyer. Turns out a few months later I find out the seller just decided not to move, so that was all a lie!

Honestly, if I could give you any advice it would be when you get that feeling and fall in love with a place then a couple of grand over what you think it's worth is in my opinion worth it. I overpaid on mine by a couple of grand, because I could afford to & I loved the flat that much. Now I live in a flat that I love & that's worth spending a few grand.

comeandgo

Where we are due to demand prices sold are often above the property value, you just know you need an extra £10k or so to make up the difference and they are sold so quickly. If there is a house I really love and want then what I pay for it is not going to be decided by my friends and relatives.

K80_Black

Morning, I have a positive first time buyer story for you! It's long and rambly, and contains absolutely no advice, just some positivity.

We were looking in a very specific area, (one bigger road, we wanted to buy on any of the smaller roads or cul de sacs that connected to it), due to the amenities in the area. I'm disabled and can't drive so I basically need a doctor, pharmacy, good sized corner shop and public transport links within a short walk. The area is mostly 3 bed semis, are were around our budget and what we were after.

We viewed one nice semi, but unfortunately the layout was wrong for us - we're musicians and need a bigger room on the detached side to be noisy in. No problem, we thought, just need a flipped layout. Unfortunately it seemed like every semi in the area up for sale had the same issue of all the big rooms on the communal wall. We didn't want to be neighbours from hell, so we kept looking. And looking and looking. We even started looking in other areas, but I really didn't want to live too far from the amenities I need.

Then we noticed a detached house come back onto the market. It was priced similarly to the semis and although the photos looked OK, we were sure there would be structural issues or something to warrant the cheaper price. Again, nearly identical floor plans to the semis, but the larger rooms were next to someone else's garden. (end of a cul de sac, there's two garages between us and the neighbours on one side, and a huge garden between us and the nearest house on the other side) Absolutely perfect for us. Other 'grander' 3 bed detached were much more, but we're two people with no desire for children and a hatred of cleaning. Small is great for us.

Had a look, asked some questions (previous buyers were struggling to sell and the sellers were tied of waiting - this is where being first time buyers is a huge advantage) and basically thought it'd be worth offering on and getting a survey done. Offer was accepted with no haggling (we went pretty close to the asking price - about 5% off), and we had a survey done very quickly - and to our surprise, everything came back pretty much fine! Few issues with dated windows and electrics, but nothing you wouldn't expect in a house built in the 70s. The kids had drawn on their bedroom walls and the kitchen isn't brand new like some of the semis, but this absolutely doesn't bother us when we're not going to have to worry about our neighbours as much. Just cosmetics that'd have to change ASAP, my parner is in a band with not one, but two electricians to help us rewire cheaply if we want to, and we'd get to design our own perfect kitchen when the time is right.

We've not actually completed yet (our solicitor suggested the end of the month, waiting to hear back from the sellers), but so far the process has been really smooth - no issues getting a mortgage at a reasonable mortgage rate, especially considering I don't work and only have disability benefits as income (some people here told me that I'd never get a mortgage, I'm with a high street bank), no issues with the searches - in fact some positive things. The original owners lived there for 40 years and the people we're buying from the further 10. Because it's not changed hands often we're confident the area is as nice as we think. (We're in Northern Ireland where sold prices and dates aren't as easily available, before someone tells me I could have just looked this up online.)

I hope your long search at the start of your journey ends with a smooth purchase when you do find a house you want. We seemed to have really lucked out and are almost certainly (provided the sellers don't do anything crazy!) buying our 'forever home' as a first buy. It's very easy to get discouraged and panicky reading this forum as everyone just posts horror stories - but I'm sure the majority of purchases are similar to mine, where things go OK and there's usually no reason to mention it.

Good luck.

amieloustew

MovingForwards wrote: »

What size property are you looking for as I was looking at 3-4 bed houses (old new builds a mile or so from the town) and they were coming in at under £80k when sold, hence looking that far up into Fife.

Ideally a 3 bed as plan to live here for a long time but as I said, slim pickings
I'm in no rush to buy but ideally want to purchase this year so will keep my eyes peeled.

Also looking for somewhere with minimal work needing done so that's another thing.

amieloustew

MovingForwards wrote: »

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75862747.html this is the type of houses I was looking at.

That's a really nice property! lots of potential!

amieloustew

Deleted_User wrote: »

I had the same problem as you, I became so obsessed with the market that I knew what appeared to be overpriced, but other people aren't approaching buying as the same way as you. I have friends who have offered 10k more than asking because they really want the property! So sometimes this is what you are up against.

Also, the EA lie a lot. I got into a bidding war with a few couples on a flat & got told my offer was too low & he chose another buyer. Turns out a few months later I find out the seller just decided not to move, so that was all a lie!

Honestly, if I could give you any advice it would be when you get that feeling and fall in love with a place then a couple of grand over what you think it's worth is in my opinion worth it. I overpaid on mine by a couple of grand, because I could afford to & I loved the flat that much. Now I live in a flat that I love & that's worth spending a few grand.

Thanks for sharing your experience!
I'm glad you found a place you love and hope to do the same myself