Having doubts after offer accepted

orangecrush

It's that word again:  "normal".  What's normal?  There is your problem.  Nobody knows what your normal is.  Nobody knows what my normal is.  I don't even know what my normal is... I see plenty of houses that could be someone's normal.  Clearly not yours, but, that's not the market's problem. 

danlightbulb

A normal 3 bed semi has a living room, dining room (some people have knocked through into one), kitchen, utility, garage to the side, driveway to the front/side, 2 doubles and one single bedroom upstairs and a bathroom.

That's all normal is. A normal house that looks like a house. There are millions of these. Standard/common/normal, any of those will do. A standard sized, standard layout, 2.4 children family house.

A 6 bed house in the country might be your normal, or something else, but it is not normal/common/standard in terms of what the vast majority of the housing in this country is. A bungalow might be normal to a small percentage of people but the same applies.

When I find a normal house I then evaluate the area, garden, aspect, quality. 

orangecrush

OK, good luck

phoebe1989seb

See, straight away I disagree with your version of normal  My parents owned a *normal* three bed semi (built 1925) in Hampshire for many years. It was where I grew up. It ticked almost every box on your list.....except for a utility room. In my experience, most three bed semis - unless extended within the past, I don't know, twenty years maybe - won't have a utility. Otoh, my parents' house had a sunroom - somewhere between a conservatory and an extension, lol! - and a tiny downstairs loo which could have been altered/extended/combined to provide a utility.....

My own *normal* requirements are probably the complete opposite to yours, btw (something at least 100 years old, rural, few neighbours, massive garden, quirky layout, loads of work required!)

I guess it was the level of work required on the bungalow as much as the type of property itself that was concerning you. I don't think - from what you've said previously - that a new build would suit you, but maybe you should be ruling out anything that requires more that a lick of paint? 

Would widening your search area *slightly* help at all? 

danlightbulb

@orangecrush You say that in a sarcastic way (or I read it that way)?

As if you think my goal is not achievable and its all a pipe dream?

I don't understand how to get through this problem. Its not about my lack of decision making ability its about knowing what I can and can't get for my money. Surely anyone who has been through the housebuying process comes up against this problem? In hindsight, I feel that I went for the bungalow because I was forced to in a way. Lots of people saying it suited my needs, lots of people saying it was still a good family home. Lots of people saying I could do the work over time. That is all partly true but not fully, there were good things about this house, some very very good things, but at the same time it was at the more extreme end of the bad things list too. It was all extremes and nothing in the middle.

No-one can answer the fundamental questions. The response is always "its the market". Perhaps if I understood the market better I'd have more luck, but there is too much inconsistency within it.

Making a shortlist sounds like a good idea, suggested before no doubt. That sounds great but when you don't get time to consider your shortlist because they all sell within 2 days then what?

@phoebe1989seb your version of normal is not normal in the sense of common/standard, which is what I mean. Your requirements are quite unique and rare. I don't have rare requirements, that's what ive been trying to say all along. I have standard requirements and so I just want a standard house. Your parents house sounds normal enough. 

As far as work goes, i don't mind some but there is a limit and if I'm doing a bit of work then I feel the house has to be priced to reflect the investment needed. I don't think that is an unreasonable position to take? Its also reasonable to say that certain things (like window replacement, boilers) take up a lot of budget.

Slinky

I think the problem lies with your budget. You cannot quite afford the houses you find attractive in your area. Others can, hence they are outbidding you quickly on the few that fit you on your idea of 'normal'.

phoebe1989seb

I know - we are very odd, lol! The last time we owned a *normal* house it was a four bed detached in Southsea, Hants that was very cheap because it had double yellows in front of the property (and no garage, so maybe not that normal after all  ), a bus stop outside and was in close proximity to traffic lights.

We owned it five years and I hated every minute, having purchased it on the rebound after losing out on our then 'dream' house - a five bed terrace with no parking either (city living, lol!), go figure.....

I wish we'd pulled out, tbh.

Whatever you do - and I'm pretty certain you won't - don't buy something just because you feel you should.....

You could always do what we did two years ago and move to Wales - your money goes much further here!

danlightbulb

@phoebe1989seb i love wales. i know that comment was meant as a passing one but I'll respond anyway. its just not doable. what i save in house prices i'd lose in salary and hence mortgage availability so its all equal in the end. If I had already built equity in a house over several years, helped by rising prices, then maybe but I don't have that luxury. For what its worth your idea of normal, whilst not common in what most people HAVE, is probably very common in what most people DESIRE. I'd love a quirky house in the country with lots of land and doing a house up from scratch IF i had the budget. which I don't.

phoebe1989seb

danlightbulb said:

@phoebe1989seb i love wales. i know that comment was meant as a passing one but I'll respond anyway. its just not doable. what i save in house prices i'd lose in salary and hence mortgage availability so its all equal in the end. If I had already built equity in a house over several years, helped by rising prices, then maybe but I don't have that luxury. For what its worth your idea of normal, whilst not common in what most people HAVE, is probably very common in what most people DESIRE. I'd love a quirky house in the country with lots of land and doing a house up from scratch IF i had the budget. which I don't.

I know - it's such a shame, I do recall you mentioning family/friends being in the area you are looking to buy in - so maybe one day? We moved away from family/friends in 2007 (DS was 18 and had just gone off to uni, whilst three of our ageing parents were still living relatively local to the area we were moving from) and several moves later I'm still not certain it was the right decision. We couldn't afford to buy our old house back now

Since then we've owned and restored several historically interesting houses in new places that we've enjoyed - to greater/lesser degrees - living in. 

In 2011 we had the chance to buy a house fairly local to the place we'd left - about 10 miles away - but a chance remark by a family member put us off the town. Instead of a nice, *normal* three bed semi (still needed loads of work, but would tick most of your boxes, lol!), we bought a rambling five bed thatched EOT house in a village on the A30. Huge garden. Much larger house. Still a massive project. Same price as the semi. Ninety minutes from my parents' home.

Then all three of our parents were diagnosed with Dementia. Oh how I wished we'd not heeded that family member's advice.

We almost killed ourselves DIYing that project and although we made a bit of a profit, what I really wanted was to be close to my parents or have them live with us which was impossible as we lived on a building site for almost three years, by which time both our dads had passed away......

At the end of the day you have to do what's right for you....not what a bunch of well-meaning strangers (or family) on a forum suggest 

D.L

danlightbulb said:

A normal 3 bed semi has a living room, dining room (some people have knocked through into one), kitchen, utility, garage to the side, driveway to the front/side, 2 doubles and one single bedroom upstairs and a bathroom.

That's all normal is. A normal house that looks like a house. There are millions of these. Standard/common/normal, any of those will do. A standard sized, standard layout, 2.4 children family house.

A 6 bed house in the country might be your normal, or something else, but it is not normal/common/standard in terms of what the vast majority of the housing in this country is. A bungalow might be normal to a small percentage of people but the same applies.

When I find a normal house I then evaluate the area, garden, aspect, quality. 

Could you give us a link to an example of this normal property? Maybe the one you just viewed at the weekend that's going quick.