House Prices #4 Property market, buying and selling

[Upintheair83]

we had exactly a week between exchanging and moving. We didn’t start packing until we exchanged and in hindsight I wish we’d had started packing unnecessary stuff much sooner but we too were worried about it falling through and not happening!

we still made it work and it turned out fine but if we were to do it again I’d definitely start packing books/clothes I didn’t need/kitchen stuff/ and organise the loft etc much sooner.

That's what I'm worried about. But my husband is out of the country all next month and iv got a toddler and am working. So I'm thinking maybe start doing things now. I have no idea when or if we actually will be moving. I'm unsure of the timescale of these things.

 

[Tangerine Cat]

This was my thinking but wasn't sure if too cheeky and should go in at £360k.

Not cheeky. You can only ask. I’d definitely try £350k. (If it had been on the market much longer than it should I’m cheeky enough to try £340k)

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anyone have any advice….?

The market is a bit stagnant where we are, my (deceased) dad's property has been on a few months. Lovely bungalow on a nice, small estate that are usually sought after but thanks to a lot of landlords getting rid it’s now one of 6 on the estate up for sale.

was wondering whether to go multi agency or whether that looks desperate? Another problem is that we live in a quiet area and the other local estate agents have got the other properties for sale, so if they’re not selling theirs why would they want another on their books?

My first port of call is Rightmove for a property search so surely a different agent doesn’t make that much of a difference? The agents we're using are usually really keen and have a good selling rate, we can’t fault them as agents it’s just the climate I think.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Thanks both for your support here - thought I was being crazy in thinking it was mad haha! The 6th is doable but not great. We have suggested the 11th as a middle ground but the seller lives in Australia so not sure if it will be sorted today after all!
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Sorry to hear you had the same thing happen to you, hope the house was okay in the end!

Could it be he is in the UK on that date? When we sold a house we inherited the buyer was buying it for his daughter but he lived abroad. He kept postponing till he was in the UK

 

[Former_Antelopee]

We’re in the north west which used to have a reputation for being cheaper but as footballers colonised the local area we’ve found ourselves being priced out! We want to keep the budget below 500k, mainly so that we can look at retiring comfortably/slightly early, but everywhere here is 800k+, and that’s with full renovation needed. Jobs are remote so we’re starting to wonder if we should uproot to somewhere cheaper, but no idea where to head. Looking for family friendly, ideally fully rural with land, and not too far from a decent school, but it feels like we’re looking for a unicorn!

Surely just somewhere else in the north west can tick all your boxes?

 

[Shinythings]

Did the other property sell at 350 or is that also still sitting there.

Still sitting there but been on the market less than a month.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

Not sure if this is a silly question but.

Does anyone know if we can re-negotiate our mortgage offer with the lender? We have an offer for 5.64% for a 5 year fix (£1511.10 per month), but they're now doing the same 5 year fix at 5.25% (£1437 per month). Would rather the £74 a month in our pockets than theirs, but I also understand they're trying to make as much profit as they can from us.

If not is there any penalty to not using the offer and going with someone else? There's even better deals now with other lenders but my partner is a Dr so does locum & normal shifts which a few lenders had issue with last time.

 

[101d]

Ohhhh! Without giving too much away where are you?

I'm in Medway!

 

[WeepingCassandra]

My advice is to look for the short stay trials with lots of outpatient appointments. I won't stay more than 4 nights. Apparently at Flucamp you're isolated in a room on your own for the entire time and when the staff come into your room they are wearing Hazmat suits plus you have a dose of the flu.
At Fortrea they have a games room with arcade game, table tennis, pool table, a cinema room, puzzles etc plus apart from dosing day you have lots of time to mingle and there is a roof top space. The only issue you might have is a restriction on trials as you are still child bearing age. There is a good one for Men right now that pays £10k. It has a 28 night stay however that's only contingent on whether the blood tests are still showing radiation (less than you get from going through an airport scanner) some people are getting out in a week, you just have to be prepared to stay 28 nights. Something for your partner

TBH complete isolation except for the odd HAZMAT buddy sounds fun right now XD I've got so much reading and TV watching to do!

Unfortunately my partner faints at needles and vomits at the sight of a hospital waiting room so I guess I'll have to take up the slack!

 

[Folkevermore]

Next on: I'm never moving again

My buyers have had their mortgage offer withdrawn! Now they're scrambling to get another. I hate everything!!!

Do you know why their offer was withdrawn?

 

[Shinythings]

When you get a survey, can you request them to look into potential of things? E.g whether a loft extension could be put in, whether a wall could be knocked through etc?

 

[bumblebees19]

Id probably save the £500 per month for now to see how you live and how things go and if its managable then consider going for it.

I’d do the same. I think it depends a little on your lifestyle and also your attitude to risk.

I’m hugely risk adverse so I wouldn’t like things to get that close without still keeping a buffer in the budget. Plus factor in rises across the board, for example my car insurance has gone up 50% on its recent renewal, house insurance about 30%. Council tax will I’m sure go up in April etc.

 

[whoonearthisalice]

Out of interest how long have the posters here been going through the process?

 

[Elle Woods]

That's really helpful to know thankyou re the bank transfer BUT I'd argue then surely that charge should be the same across solicitors? When I was getting quotes that bit of the quote varied from £25 up to £300 so some were surely definitely charging extra on top?

Yes, some are really crafty and add their own mark up on top which I don't necessarily agree with. We only pass on to the client what we actually pay.
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(Our telegraphic transfer fee is £36 inc VAT for reference)
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I should add that fee is per payment as well, so if we had say 2 beneficiaries you'd pay £72 inc VAT. Or if we had to make multiple payments as the client wanted money in 2 accounts then it would be per payment too.

 

[Notworthy]

I'm in Surrey. My LA hasn't transferred their housing stock to an association so still Council properties which might be why the charges are fair.

 

[epl000]

Yes, we love the location of 1. It's probably second favourite location of the 4.

Then it sounds like a no brainer to me

 

[whoareyouu]

Hoping someone can help.

Neighbour is selling their house. There’s a bit of open garden between our terraced houses, of which 95% is owned by myself. Heard neighbour on security camera saying “I don’t think next door would mind. They’re in the building trade” and then saw someone walk up the boundary. They were on about fitting two cars on a single space and I’m wondering if he’s basically told them you can pull my land up and I won’t mind?

Anyway, before a house sale goes through would a prospective buyer see a red line drawing? Because I dont trust my neighbour to be telling the truth and I wouldn’t want a new neighbour thinking they own something when they don’t.

 

[Pissmist]

You recognise that the area is over priced, you went with the agent that had one of the highest valuations and you're surprised you have only had 1 viewing!!!.

Not that surprised, and of course whacking it on for less may have got more interest, but then I need to take a certain amount out to make the downgrade worthwhile, so the math doesn't really work out if I do that.

 

[anonesk223]

We’re saving up and we are about 30% there. Living with my boyfriend’s parents. God I miss our own space. Think we have a while left and we’re debating just renting instead my mum said she also thinks we should rent because it’s so hard to get a mortgage now and we’re not overly happy in our living situation.

Would anyone advise against this?

 

[Brian Butterfield]

Data out today showing the average rates increasing over last few weeks. It's like a house of cards waiting to fall down with interest rates rising, inflation high and tax also increasing.

View attachment 2234998

Homeowners face £3,900 mortgage rate shock

More pain for homeowners as rates soar after higher than expected inflation

www.telegraph.co.uk

For non-Telegraph subscribers, I've removed the paywall.

12ft

12ft.io

 

[ravenhood]

Can anyone tell me what this means in layman’s terms?