Love a house that is SSTC, what would you do?

eve824

Davesnave - I can see you can understand what we mean. It's easy for people to just say 'find another one' but that's not so easy for us, unfortunately. OK if you are looking for a 3 bed semi with a single garage in an estate.....there's plenty of those around....!  Obviously I am hoping something better comes along but if it does it will probably be over our budget sadly. The only reason this one was within budget is because it's pretty run down and next to a working fruit farm, which apparently put a few people off (due to the polytunnels, I guess). For us, it was a 0.4 acre totally secluded plot in the absolute *perfect* location for both our commutes. It would actually be a significant downsize (in terms of house, not plot) from where we are now, but it would be a space where we could create the home we have always dreamed of.

I think I will wait until ours sells and then have a frank conversation with my estate agent (who is the same one who sold the other house). Just say I want to be first in line if it falls through and to let the vendor know we are here and have the budget to be able to match the other persons offer if they pull out. 

orangecrush

I'm not sure people are saying just find another one.  I think it's more that there's a strong possibility this one won't work out for you, and for your own sanity it is probably best to mentally draw a line and move on.  It probably always will be the one that got away but I guess there's a risk that if you focus on the sale falling through and you being first in line, that's a level of distraction from the search.  Like, will you be able to truly commit to a second-best if you still have a nagging doubt that this one might fall through?

Have you thought about just buying land and building something yourself?  If you're looking for land, rather than a house, that might give you more options?

Davesnave

orangecrush said:

Have you thought about just buying land and building something yourself?  If you're looking for land, rather than a house, that might give you more options?

Virgin building land of any size is a hugely competitive/expensive market thanks to people with Grand Designs. Then there's the cost of bringing in services etc. It's usually easier/cheaper to find a knackered property with the right location.

orangecrush

Oh that's a shame!  I hate the idea of knocking down houses, but I guess in that case it makes sense!

getmore4less

Davesnave said:

getmore4less said:

Just tell the agent, now you have sold my house you need to find me one like(house you want) .. . for £xxxx
Let them sort it out.

That doesn't work when it's the plot you are after, rather than the house.

We bought our house because of the plot. The property itself was sound, but weird, which was all fixable within a budget of £100- 150k.

However, to get anything approaching the same set of advantages within our  budget could easily take a year or more of searching, and that would be within a radius of 50 miles. Knowing what you want is only the start of a very long process, although there's always lottery-style luck.

My point was you let the agents deal with the vendor of the property they want and and are still interested in..

The agent now has two sales they can close if they can get the vendor to consider there is someone else interested.

[Deleted User]

It sounds a little to me like you're really tempted to go for the gazump, but your morality is getting in the way so rather than initiate it yourself you want the vendors to make the first move. 

Be honest here, what if you did manage to get through to the sellers and they turned round to you and said "the house is yours if you can pay xx more than the current buyers" what would be your response? 

I'm not judging by any means. If i was that desperate for a house and it was put on the plate, I cannot say I wouldn't be tempted. 

Davesnave

orangecrush said:

Oh that's a shame!  I hate the idea of knocking down houses, but I guess in that case it makes sense!

You don't always need to knock them down completely. We didn't need to do that with ours, but it did require a lot of work, thanks to previous abuse. Sometimes a blank slate is preferable, but if a house has merit, the local authority wouldn't easily acquiesce to demolition.

We looked at a house on a wonderful site with unassailable views and 10 acres in Wales. In our minds the bulldozers were already at work, but the agent cautioned us that it would get a preservation order slapped on it. We didn't believe him and thought he'd done a deal with a local. However, about a year ago I looked-up the property and, sure enough, it had protected status and the purchaser had been required to use only traditional methods to reinstate it. Only a tiny kitchen extension had been allowed.

So, historic property can come with extra problems and costs too!

eve824

Deleted_User said:

It sounds a little to me like you're really tempted to go for the gazump, but your morality is getting in the way so rather than initiate it yourself you want the vendors to make the first move. 

Be honest here, what if you did manage to get through to the sellers and they turned round to you and said "the house is yours if you can pay xx more than the current buyers" what would be your response? 

I'm not judging by any means. If i was that desperate for a house and it was put on the plate, I cannot say I wouldn't be tempted. 

Hi, I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's easy to say you dislike the practice of gazumping but when you are facing your potential home for the next 30+ years you start to question yourself. I think it would make my decision easier if I knew who the buyer was. If a developer, I might try it. If a family, probably not.
I think, I am ashamed to admit it, but I would probably say yes, assuming the figure was within our budget. But also depending on what I knew of the buyer.

We aren't tempted to go for a plot for the reasons Davesnave has mentioned. What we need is the right plot with a house that isn't desirable. Problem is developers get to many of those types of homes down here, make them into 5 bed huge houses and sell them on for a huge profit

steve866

Just make an offer. Nothing to feel guilty about, the other buyer is a developer, they are in business and used to competition.

orangecrush

I was one of the intial "don't be a gazumper" replies but honestly since you've posted more I might be tempted too given the situation.  Maybe just put a note through the door to the buyers, assuming its owner occupied, saying you really really want the house and if the vendors have any second thoughts about selling to their current buyer, please contact you? 

I guess the risk is you get dragged into a bidding war with the current buyer, and if its a developer they either walk because its too much hassle, or just keep upping their offer because they will cut costs elsewhere/ profit is enough to absorb?