[Buying] How do people afford offers over asking price?

Nebulous2

I was here in the 90s. At that time there weren't home buyer reports, and we had to pay for a survey for houses we bid on and that was lost when we missed out. 

Eventually we gave up on the type of property we wanted and bought new. That gave us a fixed price. Even then it was tight - we viewed on a Sunday, the first phase of 13 houses had been released on the Friday and 7 were already booked. The show house people couldn't take bookings, so we were standing outside the builders offices with cash for our holding deposit at 9 on Monday morning, with 2 other people. 

The point I'm making is - you may need to compromise. You may also need to be very fast / well-prepared. 

[Deleted User]

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school. With flats out of the question now options on the type of home are limited.

If you can renovate yourself you have more choices, but for some people that's not possible.

boxer234

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

Oh come on at least recognise the market has changed.  I bought my first house around 8 years ago you viewed a house and put in an offer normally at asking or under.  Now every house is a bidding war you have no idea what others are bidding it’s extremely stressful and a different market.  If you see a house in your price range why shouldn’t you view it? 

lookstraightahead

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. Prices rising faster than people can save, anywhere with jobs is unaffordable.

You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Oh, there is one other option. If you have any elderly relatives try to get in their good books. You might be able to inherit some money or property.

 I'm sure most people would rather have their loved ones than any inheritance. What a horrid thing to say.

Why is the market worse for FTB? What about those who get divorced etc. I'm presuming your suggesting everyone else had equity. Simply not true.

lookstraightahead

[Deleted User] said:

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school. With flats out of the question now options on the type of home are limited.

If you can renovate yourself you have more choices, but for some people that's not possible.

Most can move schools, change jobs, commute, change location. I moved 5 hours away when I was 22 to secure a job. My daughter moved school 4 times. 

MobileSaver

[Deleted User] said:

MobileSaver said:

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school.

Sorry but that's just making excuses. Location is a choice.

You can choose to commute to work from many, many miles away, people have been doing it for decades; one of my neighbours does it every week from mid-Wales to London!

Similarly with schools; if you need to be within a certain school catchment area then that's a choice you've made to put your child into a certain school.

Of course everyone wants the best for their kids and everyone would like a nice short hassle-free journey to work every day but if you cannot afford a home that ticks both those boxes then you have to do what most people have had to do since time immemorial and compromise.

boxer234 said:

Now every house is a bidding war you have no idea what others are bidding it’s extremely stressful and a different market.  If you see a house in your price range why shouldn’t you view it? 

No, the most popular houses are in bidding wars so the sensible solution would be to make offers on less popular houses.

[Deleted User]

lookstraightahead said:

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. Prices rising faster than people can save, anywhere with jobs is unaffordable.

You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Oh, there is one other option. If you have any elderly relatives try to get in their good books. You might be able to inherit some money or property.

 I'm sure most people would rather have their loved ones than any inheritance. What a horrid thing to say.

Why is the market worse for FTB? What about those who get divorced etc. I'm presuming your suggesting everyone else had equity. Simply not true.

It is horrible, but that's the country we live in. These days the majority of FTBs either inherited or got help from their parents.

Now we are at the point where young people's parents already got the inheritance and used it for their house, and don't have money to help their kids out.

It's awful but not something people can afford to overlook. Especially in these difficult times there are opportunities.

[Deleted User]

lookstraightahead said:

[Deleted User] said:

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

It's a nightmare for FTBs at the moment. You can either hang on and hope prices crash back down down to something you can afford, but who knows if that will happen. Or you can press on, keep making offers, and maybe you will get lucky.

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school. With flats out of the question now options on the type of home are limited.

If you can renovate yourself you have more choices, but for some people that's not possible.

Most can move schools, change jobs, commute, change location. I moved 5 hours away when I was 22 to secure a job. My daughter moved school 4 times. 

How does getting a worse job in a cheap area help? Those areas are cheap for a reason.

Pitty the poor kids who end up in bad schools because their parents can't afford to live near good ones.

[Deleted User]

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

MobileSaver said:

Or do what most of us did when we were FTBs and buy a less than perfect property and/or in a less than ideal location.

Even 30 years ago, when I was a FTB, I couldn't buy the house I would have liked in the location I would liked so I had to compromise and buy what I could afford. There will be affordable properties the OP could buy today if they wanted to rather than hanging on in some forlorn hope there'll be a price crash. 

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school.

Sorry but that's just making excuses. Location is a choice.

You can choose to commute to work from many, many miles away, people have been doing it for decades; one of my neighbours does it every week from mid-Wales to London!

Similarly with schools; if you need to be within a certain school catchment area then that's a choice you've made to put your child into a certain school.

Of course everyone wants the best for their kids and everyone would like a nice short hassle-free journey to work every day but if you cannot afford a home that ticks both those boxes then you have to do what most people have had to do since time immemorial and compromise.

boxer234 said:

Now every house is a bidding war you have no idea what others are bidding it’s extremely stressful and a different market.  If you see a house in your price range why shouldn’t you view it? 

No, the most popular houses are in bidding wars so the sensible solution would be to make offers on less popular houses.

Actually no, I can't choose to commute from a long way away. Abelism is rife around here.

MobileSaver

[Deleted User] said:

MobileSaver said:

[Deleted User] said:

If only it was that easy. Location isn't a free choice, it depends on work and school.

Sorry but that's just making excuses. Location is a choice.

You can choose to commute to work from many, many miles away, people have been doing it for decades; one of my neighbours does it every week from mid-Wales to London!

Actually no, I can't choose to commute from a long way away.

In many cases you don't need to commute from all that far away at all - my Wales to London example was a real but extreme case to highlight what some people are prepared to do. Especially in big cities moving just a few miles away can result in a huge difference in property prices.

Maybe you can't commute but the vast majority of people could if they really put their mind to it. Of course too many people these days want everything handed to them on a plate and aren't prepared to make sacrifices themselves instead preferring to just complain about how unfair life is and how much easier it was for the previous generations...