Buy now or wait until new year?

EmJ6

Thanks everyone. The plan is definitely to try and view more, just a matter of waiting for more to come onto the market. Most houses in our budget tend to be terrace (which is what we are currently living in) or in rougher areas so hard to find others to compare to at the moment. I've been researching areas and keeping an eye on Rightmove for the last year or so, so we have a pretty good idea of what we need. 

RelievedSheff

EmJ6 said:

Thanks everyone. The plan is definitely to try and view more, just a matter of waiting for more to come onto the market. Most houses in our budget tend to be terrace (which is what we are currently living in) or in rougher areas so hard to find others to compare to at the moment. I've been researching areas and keeping an eye on Rightmove for the last year or so, so we have a pretty good idea of what we need. 

Looking on Rightmove is no substitute for going and viewing property in the flesh.

EmJ6

RelievedSheff said:

EmJ6 said:

Thanks everyone. The plan is definitely to try and view more, just a matter of waiting for more to come onto the market. Most houses in our budget tend to be terrace (which is what we are currently living in) or in rougher areas so hard to find others to compare to at the moment. I've been researching areas and keeping an eye on Rightmove for the last year or so, so we have a pretty good idea of what we need. 

Looking on Rightmove is no substitute for going and viewing property in the flesh.

I know. I've used it just to get an idea of what we can afford.

Mickey666

Davesnave said:

How well do you know the area? I don't  mean are you familiar with it, but have you walked it several times at different times? If you haven't, you don't know it.

I bought the first house I ever saw inside, but it was what was outside that counted most, as everything inside can be fixed, provided the price makes it possible.Location cannot be fixed, though it might improve over time, or go the other way! 

Location has always been the top priority for me.  Far more important than the actual house.  Having decided on a desirable Home Counties village location we found the houses we really wanted were unaffordable so, unwilling to compromise on location, we bought what we could afford and worked our way up, eventually buying three different houses in the same village.  Lived in the first one for 3 years, the second for 6 years and the third for 20 years.  Location, location, location.

MFWannabe

Mickey666 said:

Davesnave said:

How well do you know the area? I don't  mean are you familiar with it, but have you walked it several times at different times? If you haven't, you don't know it.

I bought the first house I ever saw inside, but it was what was outside that counted most, as everything inside can be fixed, provided the price makes it possible.Location cannot be fixed, though it might improve over time, or go the other way! 

Location has always been the top priority for me.  Far more important than the actual house.  Having decided on a desirable Home Counties village location we found the houses we really wanted were unaffordable so, unwilling to compromise on location, we bought what we could afford and worked our way up, eventually buying three different houses in the same village.  Lived in the first one for 3 years, the second for 6 years and the third for 20 years.  Location, location, location.

I agree. Location is everything 

RelievedSheff

Mickey666 said:

Davesnave said:

How well do you know the area? I don't  mean are you familiar with it, but have you walked it several times at different times? If you haven't, you don't know it.

I bought the first house I ever saw inside, but it was what was outside that counted most, as everything inside can be fixed, provided the price makes it possible.Location cannot be fixed, though it might improve over time, or go the other way! 

Location has always been the top priority for me.  Far more important than the actual house.  Having decided on a desirable Home Counties village location we found the houses we really wanted were unaffordable so, unwilling to compromise on location, we bought what we could afford and worked our way up, eventually buying three different houses in the same village.  Lived in the first one for 3 years, the second for 6 years and the third for 20 years.  Location, location, location.

Agreed.

We got the location wrong with our first property and regretted it deeply. Especially since we got caught in negative equity and it took us a long time to be able to move from there.

Location was one thing we would not compromise on again. We got that right this time round

Crashy_Time

ic said:

When I searched for my first house in late 2005, the market was hot like it is now, houses would sell fast.  I viewed perhaps 18 houses in three weeks.  I moved to offer on two houses that seemed right, but was beaten by other stronger offers.  I finally fell up on the house I've lived in for almost 15 years.  It was a stretch of my budget, but was just right - and I knew as soon as I arrived at it.  In retrospect I'm so glad I didn't get the other houses I offered on - if I had, I seriously doubt I'd have been in them as long as I have this one.

Now I'm about to move into my next home.  This time I wasn't looking, and simply in idle look on Right Move spotted a house I'd seen previously when out walking had just dropped in price.  We booked in for a viewing, and offered a few days later after a second viewing - it was spot on and resolves any thing we can't do about the current house (garden direction, traffic on the road, number of bedrooms, etc).  

Yes a list is necessary - musts like number of rooms, condition, location, driveway, running costs, etc., but be prepared to consider the stuff you can't necessarily list - the outlook from the house, the style, the neighbouring properties.  Until you find that right house, its hard to explain how "you know".  Your home isn't just a box tick exercise - and if you have to convince yourself to like it, you might be looking at the wrong house.  Don't just rely on listings, go view houses - get to know what you do and don't like, and give agents honest feedback so they can bear you in mind should something that fits the bill is newly listed - don't just say a house was "nice but not for me".

Remember also, there will always be more houses should you miss out on one.

And we know what happened not long after? View more properties and wait OP, very very few properties are genuinely "unique".

badger09

Unless you'd absolutely gutted if someone else bought house number 1, and/or you are desperate to escape your rental, then I would definitely take your time and view more properties early next year.

A list along the lines of must have, would like, absolutely not etc is a good idea. As others have said, the one thing you can't change is the location but should have a good idea whether it is likely to improve or deteriorate. Apart form that, you can change and improve just about everything (apart from your neighbours)

Start with Rightmove, have a drive and walk around the area, and view!
Good luck

MysteryMe

Convention is that you would view more properties. Not as many go on the market in the weeks leading up to Christmas as say Spring, but if this house is loctated where you want and you know the area well and ticks the boxes then there is no rule that says you can't buy the second house you viewed.  Go and view again and go with a critical eye.  You can easily change decor but outside space is not so easy, so maybe try and see what other houses have done with their gardens to make them work better with regards the slope. You can do this from one of the upstairs windows :-)

Just make sure you are deciding on the right factors and not that you think another suitable house wont come up for sale.  If you continue looking, save as much as you can and then you may not be so restricted in what you can afford.  Some parts of the country have an active market, others it's pretty dead so depending where you are prices may be flat or even reducing.

blue_max_3

Crashy_Time said:

ic said:

When I searched for my first house in late 2005, the market was hot like it is now, houses would sell fast.  I viewed perhaps 18 houses in three weeks.  I moved to offer on two houses that seemed right, but was beaten by other stronger offers.  I finally fell up on the house I've lived in for almost 15 years.  It was a stretch of my budget, but was just right - and I knew as soon as I arrived at it.  In retrospect I'm so glad I didn't get the other houses I offered on - if I had, I seriously doubt I'd have been in them as long as I have this one.

Now I'm about to move into my next home.  This time I wasn't looking, and simply in idle look on Right Move spotted a house I'd seen previously when out walking had just dropped in price.  We booked in for a viewing, and offered a few days later after a second viewing - it was spot on and resolves any thing we can't do about the current house (garden direction, traffic on the road, number of bedrooms, etc).  

Yes a list is necessary - musts like number of rooms, condition, location, driveway, running costs, etc., but be prepared to consider the stuff you can't necessarily list - the outlook from the house, the style, the neighbouring properties.  Until you find that right house, its hard to explain how "you know".  Your home isn't just a box tick exercise - and if you have to convince yourself to like it, you might be looking at the wrong house.  Don't just rely on listings, go view houses - get to know what you do and don't like, and give agents honest feedback so they can bear you in mind should something that fits the bill is newly listed - don't just say a house was "nice but not for me".

Remember also, there will always be more houses should you miss out on one.

And we know what happened not long after? View more properties and wait OP, very very few properties are genuinely "unique".

Funnily enough, I'm buying a converted flat and every converted flat IS unique!
I've been looking for over two years now and just finally decided to view some in the flesh as it appeared a bit easier now. However, the second one I saw was lovely. I could just see myself living there. The first wasn't so good.
With Rightmove et al, you can see the pics, floorplan, location, description and sometimes a virtual viewing. It's relatively easy to shortlist the ones you're interested in.
If you have a mortgage in principle, you may be able to complete before the stamp duty ends (unless extended, of course). You may be able to negotiate a good deal. That offsets any weakening of values that may happen.