FTB - How do I give myself the best chance in this competitive market?

Thrugelmir

maton91 said:

However in this competitive market I'm not so sure if waiting for properties to pop up on RM is the best way forward

EA's have lists of buyers looking for properties. Some property never hits the market. 

C1996

Register with EA’s to receive alerts, check RM daily, when registering with EA/making an offer make sure you stress to the EA your position i.e, ftb, no chain etc. 

shefmarkh

maton91 said:

Hello all,

I am now actively looking at buying a house for the first time by mysef. I've got a 15% deposit ready, I know my budget, I've got AIP from L&C, I just need to find somewhere

I have been browsing RightMove whilst I was finishing my saving so I know what I'm likely to get for my money. However in this competitive market I'm not so sure if waiting for properties to pop up on RM is the best way forward

Obviously I'm happy to hear advise from anyone that's been though this recently (or indeed ever!) Is RM the best way forward or should I visit each individual estate agent individually for the latest listings? Also would it do any harm if I find a conveyencer so they are there if/when my offer is accepted so the process can start imedially, or when the chain has formed?

I want to give myself the best chance possible so any advice granted including anything in addition to my queries. Thanks in advance!

As someone who has recently agreed a sale and a buy I would suggest:

- get on estate agents list. Often properties viewing slots are full before they are on RM. Also if the EA knows you are serious and in a reasonable position to proceed they may phone you up if a chain breaks (this happened to us - so we viewed and could offer before anyone else even saw it).

As a seller my priority was not the highest price. A larger deposit mattered more than absolute highest price. Also given we know it may take a long time for the chain to form I specifically said I did not want a buyer who would be hassling us to complete quickly, so someone who is flexible on timing was preferred. Of course not all sellers are the same - some may just want the highest price. So perhaps try asking the EA about the sellers motivations when you look around to gauge what they want and then market your offer towards that?

- you can also get info from local facebook groups. Ask peoples experiences of buying (e.g how much they offered over to get accepted - this can help to offer just enough, but not too much).

Jaybee_16

In addition to RM and other similar sites, I looked at each individual EA website once I realised that in this area there are a couple of agents who use RM etc rarely, preferring to use their own websites. 

twoLou

As others have said call the agents and get on their books and then call them every week, several agents have mentioned to me that they are so busy and have so many people registered, it’s good to remind them.

You have asked for advice on here in a really nice manner so just be the same when you speak to the agents. I always used a chatty approach when talking to them and kept a note of their names for next time.

As someone who worked in customer service for many years, I always remembered the nice people!

The house I’m hoping to buy I was informed about by the agent before it went on the market and was first through the door so it does work.

The very best of luck with your search.

Slithery

C1996 said:

Register with EA’s to receive alerts, check RM daily, when registering with EA/making an offer make sure you stress to the EA your position i.e, ftb, no chain etc.

Personally I wouldn't let anyone know that I was a FTB...

There are plenty of experienced sellers on these forums that would either completely ignore a FTB or put them at the bottom of their list even with a higher offer due to the fact that FTB's usually have no idea about how to buy a property and come up with unrealistic demands...

Spiderroo

If it’s clearly a much loved home when you view, write them a nice covering letter to go with your offer. We did this - you want to influence the seller and people often want to feel their home will be enjoyed and looked after. 

It didn’t work for us the first two times but the third time we were second in line when the cash buyer they chose disappeared, despite not having the second highest bid. We saw our seller last week and they told us it was our letter and our friendliness on viewing (we met our seller then too) that swung it. 

maton91

Thanks all for your replies

I've got a few days off in a couple of weeks so plan to use that time to visit most (if not all) estate agents covering the area introducing myself and putting myself out there with my budget. Will come armed with deposit proof, AIP and conveyencing quote to provde I'm serious and ready to hit the ground running!

maton91

Slithery said:

C1996 said:

Register with EA’s to receive alerts, check RM daily, when registering with EA/making an offer make sure you stress to the EA your position i.e, ftb, no chain etc.

Personally I wouldn't let anyone know that I was a FTB...

There are plenty of experienced sellers on these forums that would either completely ignore a FTB or put them at the bottom of their list even with a higher offer due to the fact that FTB's usually have no idea about how to buy a property and come up with unrealistic demands...

When you say unrealistic demands what do you mean by that?

eidand

maton91 said:

Slithery said:

C1996 said:

Register with EA’s to receive alerts, check RM daily, when registering with EA/making an offer make sure you stress to the EA your position i.e, ftb, no chain etc.

Personally I wouldn't let anyone know that I was a FTB...

There are plenty of experienced sellers on these forums that would either completely ignore a FTB or put them at the bottom of their list even with a higher offer due to the fact that FTB's usually have no idea about how to buy a property and come up with unrealistic demands...

When you say unrealistic demands what do you mean by that?

I'll give you examples of some FTBs I had trying to buy my property ...

One of them wanted me to replace all the windows in the house at my expense because they said the existing ones were not decent enough. 

Another one said my property is not worth the price so I have to drop 20% so she can afford to buy it because really that's all the house is worth to her.

2 more FTBs put offers in and then withdrew them as soon as we accepted them.

Granted, not all FTBs are like that, but we got to the point where we had an allergic reaction when we heard FTB ...