First Time Buyers- Can’t get on the Ladder

07hthom · 15 August 2021 at 1:39PM

Me and my partner have been looking for a house for two/three years and still haven’t had any luck. We are first time buyers with a large deposit, still living at home and are completely ready to go. We’re not at all picky about what we want, but for some reason our offers just never get accepted.

Our continuous weekly routine is view a house on Saturday, put and offer down and then by Friday it’s rejected and sold. It’s just a continuous cycle, over and over. We have now seen and made offers on hundreds of houses.

Every house we like, we put down big offers well over the asking price to give us the best shot but we still have no luck. Cash buyers or someone swoop along at the last minute and snatch it up for £60,000 more.

It just seems like we are never going to be able to buy a house.

Is there anything more that we can do to ensure our offers are accepted? Does anyone have any advice or tips they can offer us?

Thrugelmir · 15 August 2021 at 1:42PM

If you've been looking for that length of time then something is going awry. Rethink your strategy.

andy444 · 15 August 2021 at 2:48PM

I don't know your personal circumstances but could you move to a nearby area where houses are cheaper?

lookstraightahead · 15 August 2021 at 3:02PM

I don't think there's any harm I. Waiting a bit - don't pay over the odds just out of desperation. Maybe try a slightly different type of property / area? It's mad at the moment - don't join the madness.

Angela_D_3 · 15 August 2021 at 3:26PM

The issue is the deposit is getting inflated away

newbuildbudget · 15 August 2021 at 4:22PM

We had a similar issue. In the end we found a new build we fell in love with which took the pressure of competition away fortunately

hazyjo · 15 August 2021 at 4:31PM

Try leafleting so you lose the competition.

AFF8879 · 15 August 2021 at 4:38PM

2-3 years? Something doesn’t sound right as the housing market has only been crazy hot since the pandemic started. Are you looking in a very particular/ narrowly defined area? Every house you see going 60k or more above asking for that length of time doesn’t feel right at all

brownbagsFTB · 15 August 2021 at 5:15PM

If there’s a trend of you being outbid, you aren’t offering enough. I agree that £60K is a lot over asking, but I doubt that’s the case with all of the houses you’ve bid on. The housing market has gone nuts over the last year. I’d advise you do a little more research, check sold prices on the land registry/nethouse prices and rightmove to get a gauge for how much over asking, houses that you’ve previously viewed have gone for. Then you can see how much more you may need to be bidding to secure the next house and develop a strategy. I had to bid way over asking (20K+) on the two houses I secured (1 fell through) as it’s in a very competitive postcode. Fortune favours the brave so go all in and with your deposit and position someone will snatch your hand off!