Thank you so much, everything you have said is literally me! Ive saved so hard over 5 years for a good deposit so its not the budget thats the issue its just that theres nothing! Im refreshing rightmove/zoopla on the hour haha and I keep telling myself to be patient but im such an overthinker. Im scared rates are going to go up so much I cant afford anything. Ive been saving so hard for years, so excited for 2022 thinking finally buying a house would be so fun and its just been so disappointing. Ive spoken to many estate agents but they just dont seem nice, if they send a house im not keen on (because of the area or layout) then they get all funny and rude with me. Im on the facebook groups, leaflets could be a good idea but ive no idea what to write! Were looking at a lot of areas too, haven't just limited ourselves to one. The thing is Im happy to get an older house that needs work, im not that fussy with what I want, just as long as the taps run water, the bedrooms fit a bed in them and there isnt thick black mold on the walls. We've viewed some awful housesNot just you, I feel exactly the same!
I’ve been looking for a couple of months and only seen two properties that I liked, and that’s after I lowered my expectations a lot. It’s not even a budget issue - there’s just nothing being listed.
Everyone says register with EAs and they'll show you properties before they hit Rightmove but I've found 95% of EAs won't do this. Why would they bother calling when they have 30 people interested the second it goes online? That said, I've been speaking to one agent who's amazing. I saw a property today that won't be on the market for another two weeks, as she thought it might be suitable for me. Dealing with EAs is painful but it's worth persevering a bit in the hope you find one that's helpful!
If you haven't already, make sure EAs know you're proceedable - no chain, decent deposit, mortgage AIP - whatever you can give them. If you make an offer that gets rejected, EAs seem to be nicer to you. I like to think it's because they feel bad but really it's because they know you're serious about buying.
Another tip I've seen is try social media - local Facebook groups (as suggested on here by @champagne_supernova!) or local estate agent FB / Instagram. I've heard of a few successes with leafleting your favourite roads, it's more effort but could be worth it if you're desperate. OnTheMarket apparently lists properties 24h before Rightmove.
Otherwise, I am hoping more places come up in September, when people are back from summer holidays. And maybe the market will slow down a bit given rate rises and cost of living increases?
To be honest though, the best tip I've gotten is just not to panic and come to terms with the idea it might take a while to find somewhere. Easier said than done with everything going on right now though! It might just be that I'm a chronic overthinker and every else is super chill, but the process was driving me crazy, I was losing my mind refreshing Rightmove and seeing nothing. Either that or accept you'll have to look at places that are very different to what you initially wanted - new areas, properties that need renovating, etc.
Naive me thought saving the deposit was the hard part and finding a house was fun - I was so wrong!
Good luck with it all!
Good luck to you too!
Last edited: