Is finding a home mean to be this hard?

NameUnavailable

Try to narrow down your search critera, areas, type of property etc. The more options you have the harder it becomes to make a decision.

If you need to rethink what you can afford - or rather what you can get for your money - then you need to have a reality check with yourselves and redefine some of those criteria. Look for a 'good purchase' within what you can afford and realise it's a stepping stone not a 'forever' home.

OTOH waiting might not be a bad idea right now as prices are likely to drop as we get into winter.

MovingForwards

leypt1 said:

MovingForwards said:

Expand your search areas.
Write a list of must have, would be nice to have, can live with out.
Compromise and accept you may not get exactly what you want, where you want it and for the budget you have.
Taking 16 months and only 3 offers means something is wrong somewhere.

I'm aware this year has been difficult, but being 90 minutes away means you cannot act quickly if something pops on the market.

Thanks, the list is a good idea.
4 months! If we'd been looking for 16 I'm pretty sure I'd be dead 

You said 'last June' which I took to be June 2019.

My comments still stand, even for June this year. Either that or you stop looking and keep saving to get the money you need to buy the property you want.

[Deleted User]

I was similar to you, put offers in on places but never really felt that 'feeling' everyone bleats on about. 
When I found the flat I'm in now, the estate agent took things out of my hands (great guy) and showed me 6 different flats blind, I didn't know what they were going to be, or where or anything. Just knew they had my must haves (long lease, affordable maintenance etc). Worked wonders for me, because I was too bogged down being a FTB and feeling like I was going to make a mistake. Not sure if that's something you could do? 

leypt1

Hi everyone,
I said I'd post an update - we viewed 4 places last week - 3 of these were on roads we'd already viewed on before and we came away feeling like we could happily place offers on all 3 of these. 
There was one house we especially loved but we decided against it for 3 reasons
- people we spoke to in the local pub afterwards had quite strong negative reactions to mentions of the estate the house was on
- it was the best house on a bad street/estate
- we spotted that a previous owner had reported subsidence issues to the council in 2017 (this could be nothing but combined with the other 2 reasons was enough to put us off)
Pleased to say we've had an offer accepted on one of the other places- a slightly tired flat on a nice street round the corner from the house. It was our first time encountering a request for "offers in excess of" and we got it for 10k over "asking" and at least 15k less than others on the street have sold for.
I am not *super* excited about it knowing that the lovely house is still out there, but am relieved to have finally found somewhere that ticks all our boxes and has a lot of potential!
Thanks so much everyone for your help and advice!!

amandacat

My last time searching for houses was 5 years ago, we had hoped to move to be closer to work. What started off as an exciting experience turned out to be the most stressful time, a few examples:
Houses not looking like the pictures. 
Viewing 7 houses in one day expecting for one to be suitable and none were.
Putting in offers at asking price and being rejected but the house then staying on the market for weeks after before being taken off. 
Estate agents (not all but mainly the chains)  who refused to put our offer forward before we met with their mortgage advisor despite having an AIP. 
Finding one house we loved and on leaving the property, me feeling so relieved and excited that I reversed into the neighbour’s car and ended up footing a massive repair bill. I couldn’t move there after that! 
I’ve just gone on the market again and when I do get a buyer and search for a new house, I’m going to try and learn from these experiences. If there’s no video tour, I’m going to see if one can be arranged to prevent me travelling if it’s not for me, I won’t be offering asking price as an initial offer again- it’s all about the psychology with some sellers, you need to offer a bit lower and work your way up. Never understand it myself because if someone offers me asking price I’ll be elated. Oh and I might get my husband to drive haha!! 

md258

I'd say that you need to reduce the emotional side of the hunt and look at the hard facts for the property and be really critical (particularly if it isn't a 'forever' home):
Which areas give me an easy journey to work now and if I change jobs?
Are the local amenities adequate?
What is the smallest size that the rooms can be?
Does the layout work for my lifestyle?
Is the lease long enough for how long I plan to live there + a buffer?

As a FTB, these were the questions I asked myself and 10 years later (with a child and one on the way), I moved out of my practical "5 year flat" having loved living there.