Is anyone moving now?

[skwdenyer]

daos said:

daos said:

After a fair bit of wrangling today we have agreed a completion date with the chain. We were feeling a bit stuck between our vendor insisting to complete before the weekend of 9th of July and our buyer wanting two weeks between exchange with slow solicitors, but we managed to agree a date and just need to exchange on Friday. The end is in sight!

So we exchanged on the sale of our house but the exchange of our purchase didn't happen. We have already moved out so it's not an issue in terms of breaking the change. We accepted the offer mid April, so very pleased with it going through so quickly. Hopefully we will be exchanging on our purchase Monday or Tuesday, it's very annoying that they didn't exchange as they were pushing us to complete as soon as possible which was pretty stressful.

Interesting. Out of interest, are your buyers mortgage-funded or cash?

[Luke.]

heisthegaffer said:

My sister is selling her rental 1 bed mainsonette North of London and when I queried the 1.5% fee the EA is charging to sell it, he said it is impossible to sell flats as everyone wants a garden of some description following the lockdowns.

Good luck with your sale.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thinking of taking it off the market and renting it for another year.

Here's the flat in question. <awaits ££££ far too much comments.... >

But that's London...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123114329#/...

[kingston12]

skwdenyer said:

I’ve just missed out on a house. Went to sealed bids. Offered 20% over asking, seller selected an offer of the same amount as mine, but which was (allegedly) was all cash (I say allegedly, as they didn’t ask for proof of finance / funds, so I could have lied and ticked “cash” on the tender form…).

Gutted; dream home, etc.

Conversely another house I viewed last week has dropped 30% since listing, and others are showing lower but still punchy reductions.

I think the days of “think of a number” asking prices may be over; it’s dependent upon the value proposition (around here, at least).

But very hard to read.

Indeed. I wonder just how much the lack of serious base rate rises has brought buyer confidence back. Some might have been worried that the BoE were really going to act and use rates to try to combat inflation and the slow approach they've taken so far has reassured them that is less likely to be the case. 1.25% base rate with 10% inflation has probably never happened before, but could continue?

Certainly in my search area, there have been six houses in the £1-£1.5m 'hot' market segment that have been hanging around for a few months, and now four of them have sold in the last fortnight. These are definitely priced at full peak 2022 values, but haven't had yet another 10% lumped on top as was happening last year.

Flats around here still aren't selling at all and prices don't seem to have found the bottom yet. I'm not sure if that will have a significant effect on house prices in the area - it's a huge stretch to upgrade from a flat to a house now compared to two years ago, but I think that most houses sell to people moving from more expensive areas anyway.

[princeperch]

Luke. said:

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thinking of taking it off the market and renting it for another year.

Here's the flat in question. <awaits ££££ far too much comments.... >

But that's London...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123114329#/...

I used to live in haggerston and still have a soft spot for that area. Your flat is superbly located. My inclination is that it should have been on for offers in excess of 800k because at 800k it would have been too cheap. It's value lies between 800 and 850 imo.

I'd be surprised if it didn't sell eventually. I assume it comes with a 4/5k service charge?

[daos]

skwdenyer said:

Interesting. Out of interest, are your buyers mortgage-funded or cash?

Our buyer was cash and we are using a mortgage but it came through very quickly using a broker.

[Sheepshanks]

beanoir78 said:

It’s not about first offer or highest price, you will suffer so much less if you accept an offer from the right buyer.

Young buyers in my experience have been our worst, generally higher leverage buyers, fussy, believe everything their solicitor tells them and won’t make common sense decisions.

I was left in charge of selling late FIL’s place, a decent family home in a nice village very close to a highly regarded school. Mostly young couples with and without kids who looked, including one who we vaguely knew - but also knew they’d dropped out of two purchases as the bloke is a bit of an arse. His missus really wanted the house. Their house had an offer on but its status was uncertain although I think that was because they didn’t have a place to move to.

After best and final offers I agonised over a weekend what to do and chose a downsizing older couple, cash, no survey. They spent 10 mins looking at the house saying how marvellous it was - some of the young couples nit-picked at everything and stayed long enough to have to be asked to leave. Another had opened with a low offer then kept going up £10K at a time - they were first time buyers and seemed to think having 50% deposit gave them some massive advantage.

During conveying we were unable to answer some of the buyer’s solicitors questions and he just told her to not to pursue them.

We got accosted in the street by the bloke of the couple we knew, asking why we hadn’t accepted their offer.

[heisthegaffer]

Luke. said:

heisthegaffer said:

My sister is selling her rental 1 bed mainsonette North of London and when I queried the 1.5% fee the EA is charging to sell it, he said it is impossible to sell flats as everyone wants a garden of some description following the lockdowns.

Good luck with your sale.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thinking of taking it off the market and renting it for another year.

Here's the flat in question. <awaits ££££ far too much comments.... >

But that's London...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123114329#/...

Nice gaff in a funky area.

[pb8g09]

Sheepshanks said:

Another had opened with a low offer then kept going up £10K at a time - they were first time buyers and seemed to think having 50% deposit gave them some massive advantage.


.

What’s wrong with going up £10k at a time?

Having a 50% deposit DOES give them an advantage- it usually means they get through the mortgage application/offer faster as they are deemed lower risk. It can also mean they are more likely to afford minor things along the way that aren’t visible such as secondary surveys or insurance indemnities.

I had a buyer drop out on a house sale once because he couldn’t afford the structural engineer report the mortgage company demanded on my property. If he had a sizeable deposit he probably could have just lowered his deposit by £1k to pay for it.

[C70R]

princeperch said:

Luke. said:

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thinking of taking it off the market and renting it for another year.

Here's the flat in question. <awaits ££££ far too much comments.... >

But that's London...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123114329#/...

I used to live in haggerston and still have a soft spot for that area. Your flat is superbly located. My inclination is that it should have been on for offers in excess of 800k because at 800k it would have been too cheap. It's value lies between 800 and 850 imo.

I'd be surprised if it didn't sell eventually. I assume it comes with a 4/5k service charge?

At 800k it's almost £1000/sqft. That's a very expensive flat by any definition. I'm sure some flats in the area sell for that money, but the market isn't going to be huge. I'd have expected it to takea while to sell on that basis.

[Flooble]

Taking a tangent, if the volume of sales has dropped does that mean conveyancing timelines have reduced? Less work = faster progress?

Anyone "in flight" who can comment?

[beanoir78]

pb8g09 said:

Sheepshanks said:

Another had opened with a low offer then kept going up £10K at a time - they were first time buyers and seemed to think having 50% deposit gave them some massive advantage.


.

Having a 50% deposit DOES give them an advantage

Only on paper. Unfortunately, it’s the arrogance of the buyer that becomes the problem, they THINK they are in a stronger position.

It’s just a reflection of the entitled generation, nothing we’re not already aware of.

[pb8g09]

beanoir78 said:

Only on paper. Unfortunately, it’s the arrogance of the buyer that becomes the problem, they THINK they are in a stronger position.

It’s just a reflection of the entitled generation, nothing we’re not already aware of.

Which generation is that out of curiosity?

The house I just bought was owned by two 58 year olds and they thought they were entitled to knock at the door twice a week for 3 months after moving to collect their mail rather than have it redirected. They also thought they were entitled to stay in the house until 5pm on completion day because the cleaner hadn’t arrived on time to vacuum the carpets for them whilst we sat in the car outside with our pets on our laps and the removal men waiting.
Is that the entitled generation you refer to?

[Puzzles]

C70R said:

At 800k it's almost £1000/sqft. That's a very expensive flat by any definition. I'm sure some flats in the area sell for that money, but the market isn't going to be huge. I'd have expected it to takea while to sell on that basis.

Outside London is really catching up

[beanoir78]

pb8g09 said:

beanoir78 said:

Only on paper. Unfortunately, it’s the arrogance of the buyer that becomes the problem, they THINK they are in a stronger position.

It’s just a reflection of the entitled generation, nothing we’re not already aware of.

Which generation is that out of curiosity?

The house I just bought was owned by two 58 year olds and they thought they were entitled to knock at the door twice a week for 3 months after moving to collect their mail rather than have it redirected. They also thought they were entitled to stay in the house until 5pm on completion day because the cleaner hadn’t arrived on time to vacuum the carpets for them whilst we sat in the car outside with our pets on our laps and the removal men waiting.
Is that the entitled generation you refer to?

I don’t think I need to explain after that rant.

[Sheepshanks]

pb8g09 said:

What’s wrong with going up £10k at a time?

In a bubbly market coming in at £260K against a ‘we want to get shut quickly’ asking price of £300K when there’s a ton of interest is just wasting everyone’s time.

Our EA pointed that out to them, and they twice increased by £10K before I told the EA to accept the cash buyer offer ( at best and final several people bid exactly the same amount). EA wanted to go back and give them another chance - I said no.

[pb8g09]

beanoir78 said:

I don’t think I need to explain after that rant.

Well, quoting yourself, I’m somewhat confused how it’s ‘arrogant’ of a buyer to expect either of those things to not happen?

[pb8g09]

Sheepshanks said:

In a bubbly market coming in at £260K against a ‘we want to get shut quickly’ asking price of £300K when there’s a ton of interest is just wasting everyone’s time.

Our EA pointed that out to them, and they twice increased by £10K before I told the EA to accept the cash buyer offer ( at best and final several people bid exactly the same amount). EA wanted to go back and give them another chance - I said no.

Sorry I misunderstood and thought you meant over asking price! I can see the frustration at that. I had a similar experience except the proposed buyers were offering £1k increments when they were told what the other higher bids were at..

I wonder how many of these younger first timers are being told what to do by their parents rather than acting on their own ideas?

[skwdenyer]

pb8g09 said:

Sheepshanks said:

In a bubbly market coming in at £260K against a ‘we want to get shut quickly’ asking price of £300K when there’s a ton of interest is just wasting everyone’s time.

Our EA pointed that out to them, and they twice increased by £10K before I told the EA to accept the cash buyer offer ( at best and final several people bid exactly the same amount). EA wanted to go back and give them another chance - I said no.

Sorry I misunderstood and thought you meant over asking price! I can see the frustration at that. I had a similar experience except the proposed buyers were offering £1k increments when they were told what the other higher bids were at..

I wonder how many of these younger first timers are being told what to do by their parents rather than acting on their own ideas?

Out of interest, what would you do if your “cash” buyer turned out not to be so? Or did you actually get proof of funds at offer stage?

[leef44]

skwdenyer said:

Out of interest, what would you do if your “cash” buyer turned out not to be so? Or did you actually get proof of funds at offer stage?

I do wonder how some buyers end up not being cash buyers. Is this down to the integrity of the EA (or lack of)?

When I made an offer on a purchase the Estate Agent would not issue a Memo of Sale agreement nor take the house of the market until he had confirmed my financial details. To do this, he needed a confirmation from my solicitor.

For my solicitor to confirm which they need to do for anti-laundering purposes anyway, there was a detailed review of my finances for proof of funds (third party statements, fund manager statement, bank statements, salary slips etc.)

[C70R]

Puzzles said:

C70R said:

At 800k it's almost £1000/sqft. That's a very expensive flat by any definition. I'm sure some flats in the area sell for that money, but the market isn't going to be huge. I'd have expected it to takea while to sell on that basis.

Outside London is really catching up

Where are you seeing property approaching £1000/sqft outside of London?