FTB - STOKE ON TRENT

JenniferZenn

Hi All,

Hope you all are having nice time!

I am wondering if anyone here has purchased a property/lives/rents in Stoke On Trent? How you are finding the process? Any success stories especially lone women out there who had luck & success in securing a home? Really in need for some inspiration to boost my hopes.

I have been house hunting here in Stoke On Trent from last one year and unfortunately, have not had any luck so far! I don't drive and as a single woman, the whole experience has been a nightmare. I view atleast 5 -10 properties every week and still no luck at all. I am so tried and disheartened now that I think I won't be able to come close to the housing ladder, let alone climb one!

I am very new and naive to this whole process. I only have knowledge that I got from reading on this website and following the advises on this forum . But it seems it's not working at all. Everytime I start with asking price , only be to be told that someone has offered more and their offer has been accepted. And the estate agents just saws 'way over a few quids on your offer'.


Any advise on how you do the research needed so that you are sure of your offer to the best one. I am a cash buyer and have a max limit on the amount I put in. But since it never worked I even decide to go the mortage way to increase on my offer limit. Yet I am here with no success at all.

Are there any books/online courses to take first before getting into this whole ordeal?

Now, I am so desperate that I am going to place my offer (below) on a non standard construction and if that won't work and on one more property and if that gets rejected too, will leave there and continue renting a shared flat.

What do you think should be the offer price ? Asking to get an idea on how it works and if I am even close to how much it should be!

Sorry for such a long post and thank you for your time

RHemmings

That's not too long a post, in my opinion. 

Knowing how much to offer is a very difficult thing, and it's quite possible that luck is involved. You seem to be finding properties to offer on, which is a good sign. But, you are dealing with individual people, a small number, and what they think can differ a lot. Including ... not being normal. (Same with buyers). 

Remember that if you post a Rightmove listing, and then at some point in the future announce that you bought the house - then random people on a forum will know where you live. 

The first of your two houses that you are thinking of offering on initially was listed for £150k in March, and has recently been reduced to £120k. It's non-standard construction, and is described as being for cash buyers only. That should reduce the sale price significantly compared to the value it would have if it was standard construction. Three bedrooms. 

It has an 'interesting' sales history.



I think this house would require quite a bit more research to find out what a good offer would be. The massive £30k reduction suggests that it was significantly mis-priced initially, and the exact value is going to be complicated. If the two houses were available for the asking price, then you get more house for your money with this house, but the inability to get a mortgage may be problematic if/when you sell. 

The second was listed for £130k in February, and has recently been reduced to £122k. It has planning permission for a side and rear extension. For some people, that planning permission may be useful (I'm thinking of a friend who bought a smaller house and is extending it considerably.) Two bedrooms. It last sold in 2015, for £68k. 

Zoopla estimates the value of the house at £122k, which is bang on what it's being offered for. I would think that an asking-price offer would have a reasonable chance of being successful given the price history and value. But, it may be possible to start a bit lower and come up if your offer is rejected and you still think the house is worth that much. 

The house next door, number 34, also has two bedrooms. It sold for £105k in February 2022. Since 2022, house prices in Stoke-on-Trent are said to have gone down since 2022. https://www.plumplot.co.uk/Stoke-on-Trent-house-prices.html   But, thinking that therefore you can offer much less than £122k is another question. 

JenniferZenn

RHemmings said:

That's not too long a post, in my opinion. 

Knowing how much to offer is a very difficult thing, and it's quite possible that luck is involved. You seem to be finding properties to offer on, which is a good sign. But, you are dealing with individual people, a small number, and what they think can differ a lot. Including ... not being normal. (Same with buyers). 

Remember that if you post a Rightmove listing, and then at some point in the future announce that you bought the house - then random people on a forum will know where you live. 

The first of your two houses that you are thinking of offering on initially was listed for £150k in March, and has recently been reduced to £120k. It's non-standard construction, and is described as being for cash buyers only. That should reduce the sale price significantly compared to the value it would have if it was standard construction. Three bedrooms. 

It has an 'interesting' sales history.



I think this house would require quite a bit more research to find out what a good offer would be. The massive £30k reduction suggests that it was significantly mis-priced initially, and the exact value is going to be complicated. If the two houses were available for the asking price, then you get more house for your money with this house, but the inability to get a mortgage may be problematic if/when you sell. 

The second was listed for £130k in February, and has recently been reduced to £122k. It has planning permission for a side and rear extension. For some people, that planning permission may be useful (I'm thinking of a friend who bought a smaller house and is extending it considerably.) Two bedrooms. It last sold in 2015, for £68k. 

Zoopla estimates the value of the house at £122k, which is bang on what it's being offered for. I would think that an asking-price offer would have a reasonable chance of being successful given the price history and value. But, it may be possible to start a bit lower and come up if your offer is rejected and you still think the house is worth that much. 

Thank you very much for your reply. Yeah you are right about the right move link. But again, I am pretty sure I won't be having any luck securing the properties as EA said they have got sosme offers on the table already and it's quite over the asking price, but just giving it a try.

Appreciate the explanation. Right, it says it's BISF and I did read some interesting stuff on it online. There are mixed comments / debates on it and if it's worth it to buy non standards.

Do you mind if I can ask what is tool/website you used? Did not knew we could see the historical data on the properties like that.

Thank You

RHemmings

JenniferZenn said:

RHemmings said:

That's not too long a post, in my opinion. 

Knowing how much to offer is a very difficult thing, and it's quite possible that luck is involved. You seem to be finding properties to offer on, which is a good sign. But, you are dealing with individual people, a small number, and what they think can differ a lot. Including ... not being normal. (Same with buyers). 

Remember that if you post a Rightmove listing, and then at some point in the future announce that you bought the house - then random people on a forum will know where you live. 

The first of your two houses that you are thinking of offering on initially was listed for £150k in March, and has recently been reduced to £120k. It's non-standard construction, and is described as being for cash buyers only. That should reduce the sale price significantly compared to the value it would have if it was standard construction. Three bedrooms. 

It has an 'interesting' sales history.



I think this house would require quite a bit more research to find out what a good offer would be. The massive £30k reduction suggests that it was significantly mis-priced initially, and the exact value is going to be complicated. If the two houses were available for the asking price, then you get more house for your money with this house, but the inability to get a mortgage may be problematic if/when you sell. 

The second was listed for £130k in February, and has recently been reduced to £122k. It has planning permission for a side and rear extension. For some people, that planning permission may be useful (I'm thinking of a friend who bought a smaller house and is extending it considerably.) Two bedrooms. It last sold in 2015, for £68k. 

Zoopla estimates the value of the house at £122k, which is bang on what it's being offered for. I would think that an asking-price offer would have a reasonable chance of being successful given the price history and value. But, it may be possible to start a bit lower and come up if your offer is rejected and you still think the house is worth that much. 

Thank you very much for your reply. Yeah you are right about the right move link. But again, I am pretty sure I won't be having any luck securing the properties as EA said they have got sosme offers on the table already and it's quite over the asking price, but just giving it a try.

Appreciate the explanation. Right, it says it's BISF and I did read some interesting stuff on it online. There are mixed comments / debates on it and if it's worth it to buy non standards.

Do you mind if I can ask what is tool/website you used? Did not knew we could see the historical data on the properties like that.

Thank You

I use the PatMa extension for Chrome to see additional information on RightMove including past sales history.

For historical sales prices, I used Zoopla. https://www.zoopla.co.uk/home/, and then click on 'House Prices' and enter the postcode. I got the street number in this case by looking at photos of the front door. 

There are a lot more places to learn about properties. E.g. the planning permission for the second property will be visible somewhere... Here it is. https://planning.stoke.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_STOKE_DCAPR_72773    Hmmm.... that seems to be from 2021, and I believe would have expired now. 

Flood risk here: https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/location 

Search for coal mining history here: https://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/coalauthority/home.html

For any property I even view, I download the title register to search for nasties. https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

RAS

Please remember that the job of estate agents is to extract as much money from you as possible. Knowing you are a FTB makes you a good target and they just need to not lie openly, rather than act as chums.

Ignore BISF. Check out other areas and tie down your areas of interest. Unless there is evidence of houses selling for more than the asking price, go in slightly under offer unless it is very good. And have evidence that you have a deposit and can get a mortgage to cover the price.

Oh, and if someone else has offered above asking and you really like it, say no to an increase but advise that the offer is open for the next month if the other one falls through.

The other wee thing if they are asking for final offers is to offer a non-standard price, rather than 120k, £120,256, for example.

martinbuckley

Hi, my daughter lives and works in Stoke.  She has been trying to buy for almost 2 years now, but everything she finds online seems to be snapped up pretty quick and then appears again for rent.  I suspect a lot of BTL landlords are snapping up the £100k properties, doing a lick of paint, then renting them out for £700 a month, which is incredibly frustrating for those trying to buy their first home.

One of the properties you link has also been in my daughters feed - but it is on non-standard construction and cash buyers only.  We also find that hidden away in the small print of many properties is the phrase "tenant in situ", and when we enquire with the agent if vacant possession will be available on completion, they go very quiet and stop answering our emails.

We went to view 2 on Wednesday - one was truly awful, and one was really nice.

Personally, I'd avoid Fenton, Hanley and anywhere close to Stoke centre.

turbotoaster

I bought our family house in 2021.

Semi detached with double garage in newcastle for £160k.

We just turned up, looked around the property, turned straight to the agent and said I will take it now at £5k under.

She then rang the owner and they agreed about 1hr later.

Now it might be that its a higher value property(now worth £200k) so maybe I wasnt fighting with BTL landlords trying to make an income, but it seemed to go ok, we had to get a mortgage as a FTB and I think from offering to moving was 5 months

What is your budget with or without a mortgage, that might give us an idea on what we would look for and maybe offer some more assistance

JenniferZenn

martinbuckley said:

Hi, my daughter lives and works in Stoke.  She has been trying to buy for almost 2 years now, but everything she finds online seems to be snapped up pretty quick and then appears again for rent.  I suspect a lot of BTL landlords are snapping up the £100k properties, doing a lick of paint, then renting them out for £700 a month, which is incredibly frustrating for those trying to buy their first home.

One of the properties you link has also been in my daughters feed - but it is on non-standard construction and cash buyers only.  We also find that hidden away in the small print of many properties is the phrase "tenant in situ", and when we enquire with the agent if vacant possession will be available on completion, they go very quiet and stop answering our emails.

We went to view 2 on Wednesday - one was truly awful, and one was really nice.

Personally, I'd avoid Fenton, Hanley and anywhere close to Stoke centre.

Thank you for reply. That is true. Some of the properties I had viewed are on rent now and sometimes it's relisted for a different price as you mentioned. Just a bit of re work done. My office is in Hanley and currently don't drive. Reason looking around something close to Stoke centre. Best of luck and I hope your daughter finds something soon! I attend atleast three viewings each day and suprisingly there is offer already on the properties by the end of the day.

JenniferZenn

turbotoaster said:

I bought our family house in 2021.

Semi detached with double garage in newcastle for £160k.

We just turned up, looked around the property, turned straight to the agent and said I will take it now at £5k under.

She then rang the owner and they agreed about 1hr later.

Now it might be that its a higher value property(now worth £200k) so maybe I wasnt fighting with BTL landlords trying to make an income, but it seemed to go ok, we had to get a mortgage as a FTB and I think from offering to moving was 5 months

What is your budget with or without a mortgage, that might give us an idea on what we would look for and maybe offer some more assistance

Thanks.I think it was much better in 2021 as it's was post covid market. Lucky you secured it so quick and easy. My budget without mortgage is £113. With mortgage around £150-160K.

turbotoaster

JenniferZenn said:

turbotoaster said:

I bought our family house in 2021.

Semi detached with double garage in newcastle for £160k.

We just turned up, looked around the property, turned straight to the agent and said I will take it now at £5k under.

She then rang the owner and they agreed about 1hr later.

Now it might be that its a higher value property(now worth £200k) so maybe I wasnt fighting with BTL landlords trying to make an income, but it seemed to go ok, we had to get a mortgage as a FTB and I think from offering to moving was 5 months

What is your budget with or without a mortgage, that might give us an idea on what we would look for and maybe offer some more assistance

Thanks.I think it was much better in 2021 as it's was post covid market. Lucky you secured it so quick and easy. My budget without mortgage is £113. With mortgage around £150-160K.

Well realistically the lower you go in value, the more likely your going to have to battle BTL landlords who will simply outbid you if they can make the numbers work.

So if you can push up to 160k then that might put you in a position of less competition.

I would try and avoid looking at houses that mention anything about offers as I can see there are a few like that

You mention you dont drive, so im guessing you get a bus to work?, what area do you work in, im just thinking for your commuting and hence where to look

Maybe something like this as you dont need a driveway for a car

3 bed semi-detached house for sale in Ellams Place, Silverdale, Newcastle ST5, £155,000 - Zoopla

JenniferZenn

turbotoaster said:

JenniferZenn said:

turbotoaster said:

I bought our family house in 2021.

Semi detached with double garage in newcastle for £160k.

We just turned up, looked around the property, turned straight to the agent and said I will take it now at £5k under.

She then rang the owner and they agreed about 1hr later.

Now it might be that its a higher value property(now worth £200k) so maybe I wasnt fighting with BTL landlords trying to make an income, but it seemed to go ok, we had to get a mortgage as a FTB and I think from offering to moving was 5 months

What is your budget with or without a mortgage, that might give us an idea on what we would look for and maybe offer some more assistance

Thanks.I think it was much better in 2021 as it's was post covid market. Lucky you secured it so quick and easy. My budget without mortgage is £113. With mortgage around £150-160K.

Well realistically the lower you go in value, the more likely your going to have to battle BTL landlords who will simply outbid you if they can make the numbers work.

So if you can push up to 160k then that might put you in a position of less competition.

I would try and avoid looking at houses that mention anything about offers as I can see there are a few like that

You mention you dont drive, so im guessing you get a bus to work?, what area do you work in, im just thinking for your commuting and hence where to look

Maybe something like this as you dont need a driveway for a car

3 bed semi-detached house for sale in Ellams Place, Silverdale, Newcastle ST5, £155,000 - Zoopla

Thanks for the link. You mean you avoid anything that says 'Offers Over' or 'OIRO'? I see lot of them are listed like that. My base was in (ST4) and now moved to ST1 (Hanley). Yes, I take bus to work. Hence was looking something around the city centre.