Accepted buyers offer, but I can't find anything in my budget

snooksnj1

bhindi said:

I'm probably close to loosing my buyer for my property as I accepted an offer early December.  Due to my tight budget and choosing to move to pricey Cornwall there is not a plethora to choose from, and my partner manages to dismiss those that I do find.  I am thinking I might up the game and employ a property 'Buying Agent', but I have no experience and worried they will also take too much of my funds.  Has anyone here got any experience in using such a service.  Just for info, I'm seeking North Cornwall  (Wadebridge/ Holsworthy/Sutcombe/Launceston etc. for the meagre some of £425'.  (needs a garage, 150' + of garden, need cosmetic work only, be approx min'm 1100 sq. ft, and being the forever home needs to have some kerb appeal along with parking space for 2 cars (side x side).  Seeking the almost impossible in other words!
(retired so no option for a mortgage- cash buyer)

I like Bude. Totally impractical but the view. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140420246#/?channel=RES_BUY However you mentioned Holsworthy(I love their FC)  so would North Devon be a consideration? ttps://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155707184#/?channel=RES_BUY 
I agree with other's who suggested renting. The North Devon/Cornwall area is going to get a lot busier with all the new builds. 

RHemmings

Pretty obvious, but I'll say that if you do lose your buyer, you and your partner need to get on the same page of what you want and establish that this is plausible. E.g. have properties you've agreed on, at least in principle pre-viewing, before accepting an offer.

I had a situation a decade ago when my (then) partner would never agree on any house. Ended up going absolutely nowhere. 

From my biased perspective, you need to work things out fully with your partner first. Do they come to you with properties they would like which are within your budget? Or do they wait for you do find properties and then just say 'no'? 

gwynlas

I think that your partner might not be as committed to moving as you are if they dismiss properties out of hand.

If you were engaging a search agent you would beed to answer a shed full of questions that only you two know the answer to.

Why not set the non negotiable ones down and engage the forum ib looking for options?

Murphybear

Hoenir said:

Are you reliant on Rightmove or are you registered with local agents?

Are you physically viewing the properties? 

That's a sparsely populated area of Devon, know Holsworthy well. Will require patience to find a property. 

I used to live not far from Holsworthy.  It’s a lovely area but fairly rural and rentals don’t come onto the market very often.  

Dustyevsky

Murphybear said:

Hoenir said:

Are you reliant on Rightmove or are you registered with local agents?

Are you physically viewing the properties? 

That's a sparsely populated area of Devon, know Holsworthy well. Will require patience to find a property. 

I used to live not far from Holsworthy.  It’s a lovely area but fairly rural and rentals don’t come onto the market very often.  

Yes, but someone could rent in Barnstaple, Bideford or Plymouth and reach the areas in question fairly easily for familiarisation and viewings. Choosing a 'forever' home is a lottery if someone doesn't get to grips with an area's nuances. In Devon/Cornwall the lived experience will differ greatly, depending on whether it's a town or village, workaday, or tourist orientated etc.

Then there's the choice of compromise, because there will be one unless you're loaded. Also, being chain and mortgage-free means the better properties in a price band are less likely to get away.

RHemmings

Dustyevsky said:

Murphybear said:

Hoenir said:

Are you reliant on Rightmove or are you registered with local agents?

Are you physically viewing the properties? 

That's a sparsely populated area of Devon, know Holsworthy well. Will require patience to find a property. 

I used to live not far from Holsworthy.  It’s a lovely area but fairly rural and rentals don’t come onto the market very often.  

Yes, but someone could rent in Barnstaple, Bideford or Plymouth and reach the areas in question fairly easily for familiarisation and viewings. Choosing a 'forever' home is a lottery if someone doesn't get to grips with an area's nuances. In Devon/Cornwall the lived experience will differ greatly, depending on whether it's a town or village, workaday, or tourist orientated etc.

Then there's the choice of compromise, because there will be one unless you're loaded. Also, being chain and mortgage-free means the better properties in a price band are less likely to get away.

I know this is good advice, intended for the OP. But, I wonder if some others are like me. I really don't want to re-enter the rental market again. If I was considering such a move, I think I would stay in B&Bs in various areas to have a look around. And not have a long-term rental. And take my chances with chains. 

Cairnpapple

Returning to the question of a buyer's agent, I guess it depends what problem you think they are going to solve? They are not going to be able to magic up houses, but perhaps they may have additional location or market information if they are local enough.

I have a friend who had a good experience with a buyer's agent, but she was relocating to Edinburgh which is a very fast market with a buying system that is unfamiliar to non-Scottish buyers. She didn't want to spend every weekend coming up from the south of England for viewings and she wanted an objective view on which neighbourhoods would provide good value. The buyer's agent provided a shortlist of houses meeting her requirements in her budget, in decent but not flashy residential areas. Plus personalised video viewings in a time before video tours were generally available! She ended up buying without seeing the house in person and has been perfectly happy with it. 

I think that what made her buying process successful was a pragmatic attitude, realistic expectations and a willingness to hand over the reins to the agent and trust that what she was being shown was the best of what was available.

BungalowBel

Cornwall is lovely, but have you taken into account how far away it is from the rest of the UK?  As someone I know said 'you can drive for an hour and still only be in Devon'.

I hope you find  your new home soon..

newsgroupmonkey_

Tucosalamanca said:

As above, are you visiting the properties, how much local knowledge do you have?

I
I popped on to Rightmove, just to see what's currently available.

Compared to my local area (also south west) these properties are at a large discount to what I could by locally (certainly by a six figure margin and I've only looked at the first few listings)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152302676?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendtofriend#/&channel=RES_BUY

If partner isn't keen on these (or similar), I fear you're going to struggle to find something within budget.

Is it possible that there's other reasons for the lack of enthusiasm?

That first one is absolutely outstanding for the price. I didn't think I'd be able to afford a property of this size and standard in North Cornwall. That's lovely.

If that's not to the OPs liking, I think we're going to need a bit more.

Dustyevsky

RHemmings said:

Dustyevsky said:

Murphybear said:

Hoenir said:

Are you reliant on Rightmove or are you registered with local agents?

Are you physically viewing the properties? 

That's a sparsely populated area of Devon, know Holsworthy well. Will require patience to find a property. 

I used to live not far from Holsworthy.  It’s a lovely area but fairly rural and rentals don’t come onto the market very often.  

Yes, but someone could rent in Barnstaple, Bideford or Plymouth and reach the areas in question fairly easily for familiarisation and viewings. Choosing a 'forever' home is a lottery if someone doesn't get to grips with an area's nuances. In Devon/Cornwall the lived experience will differ greatly, depending on whether it's a town or village, workaday, or tourist orientated etc.

Then there's the choice of compromise, because there will be one unless you're loaded. Also, being chain and mortgage-free means the better properties in a price band are less likely to get away.

I know this is good advice, intended for the OP. But, I wonder if some others are like me. I really don't want to re-enter the rental market again. If I was considering such a move, I think I would stay in B&Bs in various areas to have a look around. And not have a long-term rental. And take my chances with chains. 

That's a fair point, and one people often make. We did our research by renting holiday lets in winter (cheap!) for 3 years, but when we'd sold and wanted to buy, there was literally nothing in that area where the vendors would engage at a fair price. It was 2008/9 and people hadn't adjusted to the new financial climate of the time. We also knew exactly where we didn't want to buy, so that restricted us too.

We hated the rental. It was only for 9 months, but it could have been twice as long. In the end our research came to nought; we saw our current home at a realistic figure thanks to the owners' difficult circumstances. It wasn't in our research area, but somewhere we already knew!  However, being unencumbered definitely paid-off.

And stepping off the housing ladder isn't always wise. Had we been looking a few years later, with prices on the upward trend again, we might have had second thoughts. 

Incidentally the two serious offers we made in our research area were not bettered when the properties sold many months later. Indeed, one went for £20k less.