10 things we learned about buying our first home during the coronavirus pandemic

MSE_Katie

At MSE we know how daunting buying your first home can be, and the already big hurdles that come with home-buying have only been raised higher by the disruption caused by coronavirus and the resultant lockdown.
Even with (dare we say it ourselves) above-average expertise and insider knowledge on our side, the market has been vastly different compared to normal times.
Five first-time buyers at MSE have put our heads together to lend you (see what we did there?) some of our hard-earned knowledge about getting on the first rung of the property ladder during a pandemic, in the hope we can help you decide whether buying a home is right for you now, and, if it is, how best to avoid heartbreak and frustration. 

Read the full blog: 10 things we learned about buying our first home during the coronavirus pandemic

Doozergirl

Hmm.   Becky's mum is wrong. 

• Don’t be keen at the viewing – poker face for a cheaper place. 

People buy people.  Acting like you couldn't care less is not a way to ingratiate yourself to a vendor if you're putting in a low offer.   Vendors will think you're not interested anyway.  If you act like you adore the place, the vendor is more likely to become emotionally invested and want to sell to you. 

I can't stress the importance of behaving in a way that makes you appear trustworthy and likely to complete!  It isn't psychological warfare.  Yes, it's business, but I behave like myself in my business too!  

There's no rhyme or reason as to which vendors are going to be more receptive to an offer.  Some may price high, expecting lower offers, some will stick to what they want.  Some will even price low and start a bidding war -  It's more important to research sold prices and be satisified with what you want to pay than to be focussed on the asking price and discounts.  

All houses have some sort of compromise and that is why all houses are different prices.  Being on a main road or far from a station (London centric thinking) is likely to reflect in asking prices.  

If you want to make a low offer, just make one. But be nice.    And don't miss out on a well priced house for the sake of finding a 'bargain' that may not have been well priced in the first place. 

eve824

Totally agree with Doozergirl. We had a couple make some pretty harsh statements about our house and told us it was overvalued for what it was, but then gave us an offer. We declined it and won't entertain any more offers from them now, we have 3 other (higher) offers from nice people who clearly love the place to choose between. 

Grabs39

Absolutely agree with Doozergirl - people have often put years of work into their home, they know their neighbours, their children grew up there and having to move may be  upsetting to them.  If two people come along, one loves the property and the other is indifferent, but they both make similar offers, the vendor is going to sell to the one they think will look after and appreciate the place.

I also don’t understand from Becky “Don't be a postcode snob - it really doesn't matter provided you're happy with the property”.  Surely it’s easier to buy a property in a great street that needs some TLC, than buy a perfect house in a dreadful street.  You can’t do up everyone else’s gardens, correct others bad parking or lower the neighbours volume!

Scotbot

You absolutely need to be a postcode snob if school catchments are important to you.

Doozergirl

I think it's another London thing.  One street can see prices drop because the postcode changes.  It might not be a demonstrably worse area for the sake of a 30 second walk.  

Scotbot

Agree with Doozergirl: be nice to everyone the time for poker playing tactics is when you put in the offer not when you view

Davesnave

Grabs39 said:

Absolutely agree with Deezergirl

Also, try to get the vendors' names right. If they say they're Harry and Meghan, don't call them Fanny and Declan!

SaintJudy

I think this 'poker face' advice is really strange and not for me. I don't want my sellers to think of me as some nameless faceless buyer, I want them to see me as a real person who they can establish a relationship with for the end goal of selling their home as easily as possible through good communication. If I come across as not bothered why would they be bothered about me?

Grabs39

Davesnave said:

Grabs39 said:

Absolutely agree with Deezergirl

Also, try to get the vendors' names right. If they say they're Harry and Meghan, don't call them Fanny and Declan!

Hah!  Been a long day, corrected now.

Doozergirl said:

I think it's another London thing.  One street can see prices drop because the postcode changes.  It might not be a demonstrably worse area for the sake of a 30 second walk.  

Ah!  So not applicable to us lot outside the M25.  A bit like the “Easy to spend £10k on a bathroom” bit.  I could easily spend 50k on a car... that doesn’t mean I have to.  But possibly with London labour rates you would pay £10k for a bathroom?

Falafels

Agree with everyone else about the 'poker face'; if I had to choose between two buyers with identical offers, I wouldn't be selecting the miserable one who looked as though they weren't that interested!