Really confused about what I want :(

Salemicus

What do you mean these houses are costing you more? Remember that the capital repayment portion of your mortgage is not really a cost. That's you building up your equity. The real cost is interest, taxes, maintenance, etc.

hazyjo

danlightbulb said:

annabanana82 said:

 rejecting a house based on the location of the stairs seems bonkers 

Yeah you're right I just naturally gravitate towards more traditional styles. I don't particularly like walking straight in from the street into your living room.

I'm sure most houses could have a large porch outside added (unless it's straight onto a pavement). And there's often a little square hallway behind the front door rather than straight into a lounge.

If the front door does open straight into the living space and the stairs are in front rather than the actual room, it won't feel like you're walking straight into the room. You could possibly even add a short wall to separate the entrance area. I can't open any links as on work computer, but this search brought up quite a few ideas outside the box: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F39%2Fa2%2Faf%2F39a2af5254277047365aaa29a6d0964c.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F99712579229149622%2F&tbnid=AzU4XDK0pXytoM&vet=12ahUKEwjDw_aH-v_sAhXRw4UKHXQiAawQMygBegUIARD_AQ..i&docid=Bbo3WBeNtnaSGM&w=657&h=437&q=wall%20to%20create%20hallway%20from%20lounge&ved=2ahUKEwjDw_aH-v_sAhXRw4UKHXQiAawQMygBegUIARD_AQ

Okay so the one I posted was over budget - so go view it. See their position. I've sold for way less before as the people selling the house I wanted agreed to drop a substantial amount too. If not, then if it doesn't sell, the second they do drop (which surely will be at least £10k), you can pick up the phone and say BUY! Don't put off viewings if you're ready to buy unless something is WAY over budget.

danlightbulb

hazyjo said:

Okay so the one I posted was over budget - so go view it. See their position. I've sold for way less before as the people selling the house I wanted agreed to drop a substantial amount too. If not, then if it doesn't sell, the second they do drop (which surely will be at least £10k), you can pick up the phone and say BUY! Don't put off viewings if you're ready to buy unless something is WAY over budget.

Actually this has been a problem for me with Dubberleys. They have been doing all the viewings for some time on all the ones Ive been interested in. It offers no opportunity to discuss with the sellers, and I can't ask about the neighbours, the road, the history, because they don't know. The viewings I have had with Dubberley lately have been no better than looking at the photos online, ive gained nothing extra from it.

Tiglet2

danlightbulb said:

dramaticat said:

Raising constant objections to all the suggestions that people are making will get you no further forward, and may actually be having a detrimental effect on your thought processes and attitudes to buying a house. 

I dont feel that my objections are excuses though. I am genuinely trying to find solutions for my compromises and to challenge myself on my wants. There are just certain things I consider to be essential though and I can't let go of them. I'm listening and trying to take on board everything that people are saying here so I hope no one feels Im not listening to their advice. Its helpful to have people suggest houses for me even if I don't like them, because then I can explain why and it might help people understand that Im not trying to be awkward on purpose but that they are issues I genuinely couldn't live with. If someone suggested something that could work I would certainly give it alot of consideration - and there lies one of my issues in that I am doing this all on my own and I don't have anyone to bounce ideas off, which is why I keep coming back here.

MovingForwards said:

You are not seeing the potential in the properties you link to, how to make them a home, how to make spaces work for you.

We can all repeat our experiences, point properties out, suggest how things would work within them, but whatever we say you will refute what is said. You are the one who needs to work out what your compromises are and then find properties to match.

See above. Im not just refuting what people advise out of hand, there are genuine reasons why which Im trying my best to explain logically.

With respect, danlightbulb, you have been asking for advice on this subject, on this forum, since around March 2019.  By now you could have been midway through some renovations as well as increasing your equity with every mortgage payment in your own home.  I think the EA have got wise to you and are no doubt aware that they are not going to be earning their commission by encouraging you to view any houses on their books.

hazyjo

danlightbulb said:

hazyjo said:

Okay so the one I posted was over budget - so go view it. See their position. I've sold for way less before as the people selling the house I wanted agreed to drop a substantial amount too. If not, then if it doesn't sell, the second they do drop (which surely will be at least £10k), you can pick up the phone and say BUY! Don't put off viewings if you're ready to buy unless something is WAY over budget.

Actually this has been a problem for me with Dubberleys. They have been doing all the viewings for some time on all the ones Ive been interested in. It offers no opportunity to discuss with the sellers, and I can't ask about the neighbours, the road, the history, because they don't know. The viewings I have had with Dubberley lately have been no better than looking at the photos online, ive gained nothing extra from it.

So knock on neighbours' doors (obviously not so easy with Covid around, but you could step back) and have a chat with them.

Many many houses are sold by EAs. It's their job. You sometimes won't ever meet the vendors. But if you offer, then you'll know if it's acceptable, and obviously you'll be asking the seller's position (the EA will know that even if they don't know much else). What it is you'd want to know? I've only ever asked 'what are the neighbours like?'. Most major things are on the Property Info Form (knotweed, flooding, disputes, etc).

phoebe1989seb

danlightbulb said:

annabanana82 said:

 rejecting a house based on the location of the stairs seems bonkers 

Yeah you're right I just naturally gravitate towards more traditional styles. I don't particularly like walking straight in from the street into your living room.

But lots of very old, traditional cottage properties have this layout too 

A couple of houses back we owned a (5 bed, so not tiny) Georgian thatched house where the front door opened straight into a reception room, although the stairs were further on in a room to the side of that. We're also not fans of that style of property, so we made the main living room the one with the staircase, but enclosed it so that heat didn't escape up the stairs/they weren't so noticeable.....

There's always something you can do to alter/mitigate the features you're less keen on 

That was one thing we haven't had to contend with here in our 400 year old cottage - but otherwise the layout/location of particular rooms within the floor plan was dire. We've reconfigured the whole lot - kitchen moved from back to front, walls removed/repositioned, swapped bedrooms around/altered sizes by removing/moving 1990s stud walls, moving bathroom from a windowless space to a landing with window which meant creating a completely new upstairs hallway/moving several doors.

All very expensive and not for the faint hearted. Fortunately we had a healthy budget and loads of DIY skills.

Not saying you should do/or would want to take on anything like this, but just saying it can be done if the location is right but layout isn't 

Scotbot

I read your initial post on this thread and you don't say where you are living currently. In rented?  The longer you rent the more money you lose.
 I don't like my current house, but I didn't like any in my budget. I  bought it for the location and the fact buying was cheaper than renting for me. You say you realise you need to compromise but clearly you don't.  You have a clear choice and only you can  make it :compromise on location and get a house with all the features you want in a cheaoer area or stick with preferred locstion and compromise on the house.

danlightbulb

Tiglet2 said:

With respect, danlightbulb, you have been asking for advice on this subject, on this forum, since around March 2019.  By now you could have been midway through some renovations as well as increasing your equity with every mortgage payment in your own home.  I think the EA have got wise to you and are no doubt aware that they are not going to be earning their commission by encouraging you to view any houses on their books.

I haven't been pestering agents. I viewed a couple in 2019, made a very competitive offer on one, which the agent (Dubberley again surprise surprise) messed up, and I lost out. With better luck I could have been living in that house for the past two years now. Then in late 2019 I found one I really liked, made an offer but it was too much of a stretch financially in the cold light of day so I had to pull out. Then the bungalow debacle happened. That came about because of desperation really, I shouldn't have allowed it to proceed as far as it did but I made the right choice withdrawing even though it took me too long to make that decision.

Not much has come up since that I really felt keen on, I've viewed two or three more since then but they weren't for me. In the two years I've been seriously looking, prices have gone up, supply and quality on offer have both dropped.

Do you think this is excessive? Some posters here have said they've viewed 20+ properties and had repeat viewings three times before deciding.

I think the issue with the agents is that when the good houses come along they get swamped with viewing requests. I am unimportant to them, which is expected of course. As Ive said before, Dubberley's are getting a high proportion of the listings in this area at the moment, so from my point of view (and possibly theirs) Im always speaking to the same people. The last house I viewed, I knew for a fact it had a 36" water main running through the garden and when I asked him about it he denied it. He didn't just say he didn't know, he explicitly said it didn't go through the garden.

None of the agents round here do call backs, at least in my price range. They just say to monitor rightmove. There is no personal service here.

Slithery

danlightbulb said:
I am unimportant to them, which is expected of course.

Then you aren't pestering them enough. All EA's have lists of people they contact about properties before they hit the market (I've bought several this way). If you're not being contacted then you need to make yourself more well-known to the EA.

AdrianC

danlightbulb said:
I think the issue with the agents is that when the good houses come along they get swamped with viewing requests. I am unimportant to them, which is expected of course. As Ive said before, Dubberley's are getting a high proportion of the listings in this area at the moment, so from my point of view (and possibly theirs) Im always speaking to the same people.

So they know exactly what your requirements are, and are putting suggestions forward to you proactively, right...?

The last house I viewed, I knew for a fact it had a 36" water main running through the garden

And...?