Anyone else having a nightmare trying to find a home?

[inman999]

Matt.. said:

Viewing another place next weekend, so at least property is beginning to come on the market more frequently now.

1hr open house, 20+ people already booked in to view, and the only house the agent was really getting calls about on the day it went up. The advert went up with incorrect details (didn't even get the street correct), no photos, and no descriptions of rooms. They expect to sell with only the 1hr open house.

It's competitive out there!


Thinking of starting to bribe estate agents (and i'm not so sure i'm joking about that anymore!).

Was speaking to a guy who owns 30+ plus properties in the doncaster area. He fully admitted bunging the estate agent £500 or so to ensure his offer was accepted.

A nice little racket they they had going on.

Typical purchase prices was circa 15k. Just shows how much prices have risen over the last 10 years.

[Hoofy]

Matt.. said:

A fair point

Seems to be an extension that would cost a fortune to do and wouldn't be worth it though. I can't imagine it being any less than £20k to go 1m out of 2 walls (and thus having to support the second floor with beams), some new roof, windows, rendering, new kitchen, moving doors. I do know just about zero about this though, it's entirely guess work, but still seems a highly pointless extension on a small house with a tiny garden!

Pass. Mine would create another bedroom plus extend the bathroom and have a room in the loft. Too much hassle for me!

[Matt..]

Offer is in.

Can't say i'm very optimistic though, but at some point i do have to be successful with this!

I have a horrible feeling it will go for over £250k, which obviously means the extra ~£5k stamp duty!

Edited by Matt.. on Saturday 8th March 17:49

[Matt..]

Well this is fun... already going to 'best offers' (over asking) that have to be in by tomorrow morning.

[vescaegg]

Matt.. said:

Well this is fun... already going to 'best offers' (over asking) that have to be in by tomorrow morning.

Bloody estate agents.

Whilst a sealed bid system should ensure people only pay what they want to with no bidding wars going on, I have ZERO faith that they dont just open them all and pick the one they want.

[okgo]

vescaegg said:

Bloody estate agents.

Whilst a sealed bid system should ensure people only pay what they want to with no bidding wars going on, I have ZERO faith that they dont just open them all and pick the one they want.

You'd be an idiot not to. They don't work for the buyer remember.

[scenario8]

vescaegg said:

Matt.. said:

Well this is fun... already going to 'best offers' (over asking) that have to be in by tomorrow morning.

Bloody estate agents.

Whilst a sealed bid system should ensure people only pay what they want to with no bidding wars going on, I have ZERO faith that they dont just open them all and pick the one they want.

Why shouldn't the vendor (perhaps under the direction from an estate agent, solicitor or binman) choose "the one they want"?

I'll assume you are concerned an agent might select a bid "unfairly". I don't doubt this happens but it happens much less frequently than you might imagine. In the vast majority of cases if there are two or more competing bids on a property the agent has next to no interest in any one bidder over another beyond evaluating the robustness of each bid. Consideration should be given to matters including but not solely relating to the number written down after the pund sign.

You are perhaps correct to question the motives of any one agent or agency but to have ZERO faith in Bloody estate agents is unfounded. It would be akin to having ZERO faith in any Police Officer being competent and straight, or ZERO faith in the integrity of any school teacher.

That said, the processes seem to bring out the worst in many of the public so a degree of scepticism might be warranted. As I may have mentioned on these fora before, there are more untruths, half truths and deceptions spoken within the industry originating from buyers and sellers than there are from agents. Honestly, more people should work in the industry for six months or more to get a feel for it.

[Eleven]

scenario8 said:

As I may have mentioned on these fora before, there are more untruths, half truths and deceptions spoken within the industry originating from buyers and sellers than there are from agents. Honestly, more people should work in the industry for six months or more to get a feel for it.

Very true. The general public can be horrible, greedy and underhand. But of course no one thinks of themselves as such and there's always the agent to blame because everyone knows they are rotters.

[Matt..]

This house is on a street where all the other houses are smaller and this is an end of terrace that is 20% bigger. The small houses go for 230 and have all needed work, so more like 240. There is a house the same as this one on another street that went for 240 a year or so ago. So wouldn't surprise me if this is now over that 250 boundary!

[okgo]

so its either 280 or 250, few people will pay between.

[Maxf]

Certainly on the stuff Im looking at, Stamp Duty doesnt seem to be a barrier. I've had sellers refuse to knock 505k down to 500k (effectively costing me an extra 10k cash to buy - as you have the extra stamp and then the liklihood that the valuer wont value it at 505k).

Agents are saying that 'help to buy' is skewing things further as deposits can now be used for stamp (well, more of them can) as the help to buy loan can be used to keep the LTV down.

Help to buy seems to be massively skewing things in London certainly. I was amazed how many buyers for my flat (c340k) were first time buyers with 100k or more deposit. The lowest deposit I heard was £60k (out of 8 offers). 6 of the 8 offers were from first time buyers.

[scenario8]

As per discussions in this recent thread that some in here will recall (and some even contributed to) I'd be cautious in overstating the significance of the stamp duty thresholds. Yes, they affect the market and skew things somewhat but plenty of properties that are "worth it" sell for figures between £250k and £280k. In attempting an argument against this view someone helpfully linked to sales prices within their own street that in fact demonstrated sales around £260k aren't infrequent at all.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/CR2-6HB.ht...

(Spot the recent £251k sale, Now that one had an eyebrow raised quizically)

To the OP, yes, it seems like the property you're referring to will sell for a value over the 3% stamp duty threshold. While it might feel that everything is going against you, have a damn good think about how much you will be happy paying for the property before you make your bid. If it really is "the one" you may kick yourself for not having pledged the equivalent of another £20/month over 25 years - but on the flip side there will always be other possible properties around the corner so don't feel overly pressured into making a decision you may later regret. If you do choose to go forward don't forget to represent your bid as well as you possibly can. Ensure you demonstrate to the agent why you should be the preferred bidder. As mentioned above there is more to a bid than the figure written on a paper next to the pound sign.

Best of luck with it all.

[Matt..]

I've already demonstrated i'm a good buyer (mortgage in principle, proof of funds, solicitor setup, etc...). Is there anything else i should do?

This area is either big family houses, or tiny ones. There isn't much in between, and the small houses very rarely come up for sale, so if this one is missed it could be months before another comes up. The only others that have come up are on a busier road with awful parking.

I think i've reached the point where it's all just numbers, and it's all affordable so why worry too much. :/ Maybe this is a dangerous place to be though.

Edited by Matt.. on Monday 10th March 18:29

[Mobile Chicane]

Matt.. said:

I've already demonstrated i'm a good buyer (mortgage in principle, proof of funds, solicitor setup, etc...). Is there anything else i should do?

This area is either big family houses, or tiny ones. There isn't much in between, and the small houses very rarely come up for sale, so if this one is missed it could be months before another comes up. The only others that have come up are on a busier road with awful parking.

I think i've reached the point where it's all just numbers, and it's all affordable so why worry too much. :/ Maybe this is a dangerous place to be though.

Edited by Matt.. on Monday 10th March 18:29

You could try leafleting the houses that you'd like to buy, and ask if anyone's considering selling.

[vescaegg]

Eleven said:

scenario8 said:

As I may have mentioned on these fora before, there are more untruths, half truths and deceptions spoken within the industry originating from buyers and sellers than there are from agents. Honestly, more people should work in the industry for six months or more to get a feel for it.

Very true. The general public can be horrible, greedy and underhand. But of course no one thinks of themselves as such and there's always the agent to blame because everyone knows they are rotters.

Ive worked for a housing developer for nearly ten years (as well as buying and selling personally) and know exactly what estate agents are like thank you very much.

[Eleven]

vescaegg said:

Eleven said:

scenario8 said:

As I may have mentioned on these fora before, there are more untruths, half truths and deceptions spoken within the industry originating from buyers and sellers than there are from agents. Honestly, more people should work in the industry for six months or more to get a feel for it.

Very true. The general public can be horrible, greedy and underhand. But of course no one thinks of themselves as such and there's always the agent to blame because everyone knows they are rotters.

Ive worked for a housing developer for nearly ten years (as well as buying and selling personally) and know exactly what estate agents are like thank you very much.

Just less than half as long as me then.

[vescaegg]

[vescaegg]

Eleven said:

Just less than half as long as me then.

Oh no really? Ok sorry, my opinion has now changed totally. Thank you for correcting me with your vast experience.

[scenario8]

Honestly I wish I knew where this Wild West Estate Agency nirvana is that everyone else seems to populate. It sounds like life there is much easier, simpler and more profitable, if more corrupt, than the land I inhabit. I've always known I'm doing it wrong.

Just from the public I'll have been lied to today certainly. In fact a few half truths were outed by just a tiny bit of analysis and good practice. Those culprits at least appeared to have no issue whatsoever with deliberate attempts to mislead. Thick skin dealt with them. I also had some better hidden fibs unearth themselves today which brought about a fair bit of unwarranted stresses to various parties. With luck and considerable efforts over the next few days I hope to keep that ship sailing in the right direction. Those fibbers may well ultimately get away with their deceptions. Good for them, eh?

There will have been a dozen or more sealed bids situations across my team today involving a few score offerers. I know my team will have tried their best to be fair to all parties but not everyone can be a winner, not everyone takes bad news well, no matter how well skilled the messengers may try to be and I don't doubt right now, sadly, across dinner tables, saloon bars and internet fora prejudices will be being reinforced and conversations will be being had about Bloody estate agents.

I could protest my innocence further but my fear of droning on (alongside my need to finish off work before it gets too late) prevents me from boring you further. Besides, next to no-one would believe me anyway.

Night all.

spelling...

Edited by scenario8 on Monday 10th March 20:45

[jason61c]

Strange question....

I've made an offer on a place, if it does get accepted is it possible to generate a clause meaning if the seller pulls out of the deal they have to cover all my costs(solicitors/survey etc)?