Is anyone else having trouble house hunting?

My husband and I were married in August and I moved here November 5th. We are currently living at a home my Grandparents own(they arent here with us) in Fairlight, East Sussex(near Rye)while we search for a house to buy. He works out of Gatwick, and due to the traffic issues down here(single carriage ways for the first half of the trip where people insist on doing 30 milies an hour when the speed limit is 60) which makes what should be an hour/hour and a half journey, between two hours and 3 hours some days.

We have a mortgage promise form Halifax for 200,000 pounds(first time buyers), and we have a 25% deposit saved up. We have been looking since I first arrived in the Horsham area. Or basically anywhere within a 45 minute commute of Gatwick. We initially wanted to avoid the Crawley/Horely area, because all the captains he flies with have said not to even bother looking there. Well, 3 months later, over 30 homes seen...We still can't find anything! Horsham, everything in our price range was either X council housing(which would be fine I guess, but the areas didnt look very nice), or really horrible inside and the owners wont even think of taking less money so we could fix them up.

We have two homes we like in Smallfield though. One home is pretty decent inside..we wouldnt have to do too much work to it, just really fix some cracks in the ceiling, change the kitchen to something we like, and that is that. But, it is on the same street as some terraced housing, which used to be again, council housing. Which is fine, but the street look a bit dingy but not anywhere near as bad as some of the other areas we saw. They are asking for offers in excess of 230,000 pounds which frankly, I find ridiculous considering the street. We saw houses similar in size in Horsham, arguably a better area than horley, for under 200,000. We put in an offer of 205,000, which was rejected as I suspected. But, their only counter offer was asking price.

there is another home we really see potential in Smallfield. It's in a lovely estate, all semi-detached or detached homes, larger gardens etc. But the house is completely gutted inside, and the conservatory has a leaking roof and is basically rotted. The photos on the website make it look nice though, as in, the photos were taken before it was gutted. We assumed it was a repossession, hence the guttedness. The asking price for this house is 210-230,000. Which considering the state of it, is far too much. The estate agent says the man selling it is going through a divorce and is in debt, and is refusing all offers under 220,000 because that is what he will need to clear his debts. It is supposed to be repossessed in a few weeks which is what the owner wants, because then he can file bankruptcy. So he is really in no rush to accept offers unless it is for 220,000. To even make that house worth it, we would have to re-do it up, plus we would want to add an extension on to the back so the dining room is separate to the lounge, and move the kitchen into a new build part, and put a downstairs bathroom where the current kitchen is. All of that will take about 20,000 to 25,000 pounds. Really not worth paying asking price just to still have to spend so much to fix it up, when in a good market...you would probably just break even.

There is another house I love...it is the one I love the most, actually. It is in Horely though. Close to the town centre, it's just beautiful inside and is close to two schools(and I am a teacher so I could finally get a job, hopefully) and even though I wasn't too happy to be close to a town center, I really do love the road it is on, and the house is just beautiful inside. It was the first home I saw here that I felt "This is my home" since I have been here. And really the only one, the others were just homes I could be okay with. But, it is on the market for 250,000-280,000.  They only paid 207,000 for it in 2006 and all they have updated is the kitchen and bathroom. Considering the market is how it is, I think thats too much. It has been on the market for at least 4 months now. My husband put an offer in 2 days ago for it at 230,000. But we haven't heard back on it yet. He's going to give the estate agent a call today. But..I really doubt they will accept it anyway.

Anyway to cut to the chase here...is anyone else finding that owners are NOT wanting to sell for what they should be? We seem to be running into all owners who still think they can get what their house would have been worth a year or two ago.

We're going to have to rent for a few months starting in February so we can be closer to the airport. It's just so frustrating. I keep seeing stories of how prices are falling, now is the time to buy, but heck, any time we put an offer in for 5% to 10% off asking price...it's refused. Nobody seems to be selling, where we are looking anyway, for what they should be selling for in this market. 

I keep seeing stories of how prices are falling, now is the time to buy, but heck, any time we put an offer in for 5% to 10% off asking price...it's refused. Nobody seems to be selling, where we are looking anyway, for what they should be selling for in this market.

A few points :-

• Lots of homeowners are in denial about the value of their houses, just how much they have fallen in value, so are reluctant to accept what they perceive to be a low offer
• even if that homeowner did agree your offer, in many cases they might have a problem getting a mortgage for their new place, so mere acceptance of your offer does not necessarily mean the sale will proceed
• have you considered buying at auction? There are lots of repossessed properties out there and many of them end up being sold at auction, and often for a very cheap price .... sometimes little more than 50% of the "real market value". The point about auctions is that the seller really does want to sell .... almost at any price. Any reserve could well be at a very low level.

I'm sorry, but people who bought a house in 2006 for 207k and expect to get between 250k and 280k for it now are out of their minds. That's within 12 months of the absolute market peak.

I would have thought it is down to how badly they want to move or sell up.  I'm sure there is a lot of denial about how much property prices are falling.  When you're so used to prices going up-up-up, to see a fairly big chunk taken out of the value can be hard to take.

I think time can be on your side, if you can rent for a short while you may find that the owners don't get any other offers (probably not many people who are in a position to offer who actually want to buy!) after some time and may reconsider.  Perhaps if your dream home offer is rejected you could wait a month and see if it's still on the market and then offer the same or even lower which might wake them up to reality and realize the opportunities they are missing.

Good luck.

Hi Ashy,

As already pointed out, many people still have their pricing up in cloud cuckoo land in the belief that's what they're worth and not looking at the surrounding area and/or condition of the property as you've discovered. Then there are those homeowners who are just thinking of moving due to circumstances. Of course, it's sods law that you can never distinguish between them for a property you may be interested in!

I think and agree with the posts already about waiting for the market to stabilise (sp?) and then picking out properties at that point. Of course that's assuming you are able to wait. Now that party season is over, 2009 is looking like it's going to be a rough year - job losses and property price corrections being very close to a vast majority of the populace. The economists predicting a housing price correction of around another 15-20% reduction means potential buyers who do have some 'time' may well benefit by waiting over the next 6-9 months or so to see what happens.

The flip side of all this of course is IF all these economic boosts and bailouts actually 'work' and things start moving upwards quicker - it could mean that the house you like now for £230K and are hoping goes to £200K might actually bottom out at £220K and then start going back up again as people start to feel more 'bold' again!

You're also experiencing the South East over pricing thing - 200K which is what you have doesn't seem to buy what you want and the compromise is that the area you can get a 200-210K property in isn't appealing to you. From what you've said, I'm assuming it's just you and your other (better!!) half, so would you consider a 2 bedroom flat/apartment in the interim? The downside of course is that it's 'not' a house which I can understand is your 1st choice - however the benefits I'd initially say outweigh the negatives of that, foremost being that you'd probably be able to get a place in a much better area! you'd also probably have less council tax, bills and utilities and maintenance costs to pay as well.

The Auction idea from JohnL is also a very good option indeed, however you'll really need to do your homework on this, from the limited stuff I've seen, the auctions seems to suit the investor types or the semi pro 'fixer upper' types who know they need to roll up their sleeves. Any properties that come to auction that are in  good condition and dont require alot of work will 'tend' generally to have a reserve price and will go for quite 'close' to market price as well - but that said..  you never know!

Also, without wanting to sound alarmist, is the 25% deposit and £200K offer one that's just in principle at this stage? or is it a confirmed offer in writing ? With many mortgages being recently withdrawn and the lending criteria really tight, 'currently' all the reports seem to suggest a deposit of 40% is needed! - however, I'm sure 'some' lenders are allowing 25% but probably all of them making that the minimum in the current climate. Hopefully it's a confirmed offer for you.

Good luck !

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Any properties that come to auction that are in  good condition and dont require alot of work will 'tend' generally to have a reserve price and will go for quite 'close' to market price as well

Not necessarily. It depends who is selling. If someone who had only a 50% mortgage (compared to current price) has their house repossessed the mortgage company is under no obligation to sell it at a good price. They might put on a reserve only a little more than the outstanding mortgage, in order to cover that mortgage and their costs, and don't care at all how much more it goes for.

JohnL, thank you for the advice. We have thought about homes up for Auction, as my husbands Dad who is retiring next year is a big handy man type(he has completely re-done his house..its beautiful, so I know he knows what he is doing) but at this point having just moved here, I am really trying to look for something a bit more secure. I honestly don't know much about the auction thing, apart from what I have seen on Homes under the hammer..and people seem to usually get screwed over. I'm sure that isn't always the case though. I'm just a nervous nelly about those kinds of things.

Mort-That is exactly what my husband said. He wasn't paying attention to me when I saw the sold prices on findaproperty. Now he wants to offer even lower in a month or so if they deny the current offer.

Dennis- We did consider looking into a flat or something, but we've decided at this point we can afford a 3 bed semi, so we might as well look for one we are happy to live in for the next 5 years as we do hope to start a family fairly soon and we just really want somewhere we can be at "home" in, and then sell it and move to something better in 5 or so years. . We did call around yesterday to look into rentals though. We were just trying to avoid that because then it puts us in a chain, I guess. But you're right...if we wait a bit if this offer is turned down(the owners are on holiday until the 14th which is why they havent responded) then perhaps we will find something better. I'm just really getting antsy at the moment. I basically live on a cliff, the nearest town is 11 miles away, I have no car, because he uses it to drive to gatwick(and its manual..we're in the process of him teaching me how to drive a manual...not a pretty sight!) and I just really want to be..home!

And yes, our mortgage offer is confirmed and in writing. We have about £60,000 for a downpayment if we need it, which the mortgage person at Halifax said was really good for a first time buyer. Maybe she didnt know what she was talking about though?Now you have me a bit nervous! But they said you can have as little as 20% but the problem with that is..the less you put down, the higher your interest rate will be. Though at the end of this month my husband gets his annual raise, so I assume he can get a better mortgage then anyway. Though at this point it doesnt really matter..I'm comfortable with the projected monthly payments at the current mortgage we are looking at, I don't really want to pay anymore than we've already budgeted for.

Southeast pricing is crazy. My husbands parents who live in Sidcup, bought their home 20 yeas ago for £80,000. It was a two bedroom, which they added two more bedrooms and an upstairs bathroom. They considered putting it on the market last year, and the estate agent said he would put it on the market for offers in excess of £550,000! They're holding onto it now until the market picks up though before they downsize to a bungalow. I keep telling my husband they should just sell it to us for £240,000. They'd still make a profit compared to what they bought it for and I'd have my dream home I could happily live in forever. 

Ashy, I think 25% downpayment is perfectly fine especially in a country where the usual downpayment amount is a bit over 10%.

Another point about Dennis's post is don't worry about timing the market. You're almost certainly not going to be able to get the lowest possible price at the exact right time because it takes quite a bit of luck and/or insider knowledge to do that. So what if you miss the bottom by a bit and overpay? It's way better to wait a little and pay an extra 10% than to buy now only to see the market plunge another 15. It's not the end of the world to buy on the rebound, only at the peak.

John's right -- people are just being unrealistic about setting prices but that can't last forever. Their asking price is really mind-boggling. What was the remodel they did? Cover the entire house in gold leaf?

Hold on tight, and I'm sure soon you'll have a great house at a very good price.

Good luck!

Hiya

Just a quick one as i'm running off out for dinner

Yes, I agree with mort, you can never time the market with accuracy, and with the current economic conditons all over the show - anything 'could' happen. In this kinda scenario, the best is 'if you can afford it and the repayments' then buy now if your outlook is for family reasons - which in your case it is. No matter what happens in a marketplace, there's always reasons to buy and/or sell, usually Job offers/losses, Marriages/divorces and other life impacting events.

Sounds like you really do have a substantial deposit saved up and confrmed in writing, this is a good thing. dont' worry too much about the higher deposits wanted, it has been reported in the news articles, but looks like you're past that hurdle.

It's just the price range and what you're getting which is the bug bear right now, as the places you like are out of the current projected budget. If the prices do indeed come down, there's still no guarantee the types of places you want will also reduce in price - they might do or might not! the south east is very difficult to assess with average prices as even the lowest end of the market a 3 bed Semi is 'generally' around the £180-210K mark, so if you want a better area it's usually substantially more. Here's hoping you do find something by waiting a bit longer and offering on what you have already seen in the hope they accept!

Good luck! Cheers! DtM West London & Slough UK!

Their asking price is really mind-boggling. What was the remodel they did? Cover the entire house in gold leaf?

All they did was the kitchen and upstairs bathroom! And he did the re-models himself, so, it cost even less. I'm not holding my breath they will accept. We have the unlucky luck of only finding homes we like where the sellers are in no rush to sell!

Dennis, yeah, we have noticed that about our price range and the areas. Which is something we have had to definitely discuss and decide what we needed to cut out of our "want" list. We were both raised in nice homes and areas, so, I think we are a bit spoiled in what we are looking for. We just have to accept we cannot get the perfect house in the perfect location for at least the next 5 years. So, better to find something decent in a relatively safe area.

Fingers crossed the house I love either accepts and it goes through or we find something decent soon! We're going to my parents in America for 2 weeks at the end of January/February. Hopefully something will come on in that time. If not...renting for a bit.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Do you have to buy a house?  My DH's first place was a 2-bed flat that he lived in for 4 years.  In that time, he ended up making a £30,000 profit, even with the falling sale prices of this past year.  And his salary went up (and then it included mine) so we were able to afford that 3-bed semi that you are talking about.  It might be worth thinking about the flat as a stepping stone to the house you want to buy in the future...or rent something very affordable and keep saving more for the deposit so you have more options next year at this time (we put off buying to do this and it really built up our deposit).

We're renters and it's a renter's paradise right about now.

LOTS of choice out there, even in this rural area.  Because people refuse to sell at lower prices, so they let out the property instead. 

Or, they let the property out again until they feel the market has recovered enough for them to sell at a profit they want to realise, so they're willing to negotiate a nice, long tenancy agreement in exchange for good tenants in place to pay up and not damage their property whilst they, the owner, rides out the recession.

We had our hearts set on the Rye area and it took us *years* to find one we could afford. As it is, we bought right at the tippy top of the peak, but given what things are like in the Rye area, I don't think we'll take too serious a drubbing. Especially as we have no intention to move.

Mostly, I just wanted to give a shout-out to Fairlight. Beautiful place. We walk on Winchelsea Beach a lot,  and I've probably taken hundreds of pictures of Fairlight 

If you wanted to move back to the States I hear they're selling houses in Detroit for $500 

If you wanted to move back to the States I hear they're selling houses in Detroit for $500 

They come with a free flak jacket.