Mortgage: How many properties did you look before..

Soldato
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....Before you found the property you like?

Im going property hunting this weekend and one of the ones i am seeing sounds VERY promising.

its a 3 bedroom house with a conservatory( has one of the windows damaged by the looks of it and is borded up), a fully fledged loft conversion already done up, off street parking for what looks like two cars can fit infront of the house and all for 270k.

Someone has already made an offer for it though. for only 250k! If i like the place i may offer slightly more of course.

How long did it take for you to find the one you like? even if i like this, should keep on looking for more properties? Is this a good deal? In london by the way, Near the M25(about 3-4 miles away).

Is it common to offer 10-20k less then the properties asking value? How much lower have you offered on a property and been succesful?

edit: im a first time buyer and have 10% deposit
 
Associate
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It can take people months of looking to find a place, its not like renting where its 6 months - a year living in the same place, buying a place you would expect to stay for a number of years there is also the investment to think about.

Is it a good area, any big developments planned, local issues, does the house have any issues that might come up like an old roof, that kind of stuff the last thing you want is 5 years down the line when you come to sell it you find you have lost money.

It is very common to offer under the asking price, usually about 10%-15% depending on how much you want the place, demand, other offers etc.
 
Soldato
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If you're looking at spending 250k, then stay under that threshold as Gepetto just said.

My GF have been looking for about a year and hundreds of places online, viewed 40 odd.
 
Tea Drinker
Don
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Depends on where you are buying, I knew the area so only looked at places I wanted to live, first place we bought on the first visit, second was probably the third house we looked at, people who look at hundreds haven't grasped the basics that unless you have an infinite amount of money property buying is about compromise, plus I couldn't think of anything worse than being fed estate agent BS and the incessant follow up phone calls from the lying greedy slimy sods.
 
Soldato
OP
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Lorville - Hurston
It can take people months of looking to find a place, its not like renting where its 6 months - a year living in the same place, buying a place you would expect to stay for a number of years there is also the investment to think about.

Is it a good area, any big developments planned, local issues, does the house have any issues that might come up like an old roof, that kind of stuff the last thing you want is 5 years down the line when you come to sell it you find you have lost money.

It is very common to offer under the asking price, usually about 10%-15% depending on how much you want the place, demand, other offers etc.

Well aint we are in a recession so therefore it is a buyers market?
 
Soldato
OP
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Lorville - Hurston
Depends on where you are buying, I knew the area so only looked at places I wanted to live, first place we bought on the first visit, second was probably the third house we looked at, people who look at hundreds haven't grasped the basics that unless you have an infinite amount of money property buying is about compromise, plus I couldn't think of anything worse than being fed estate agent BS and the incessant follow up phone calls from the lying greedy slimy sods.

Im buying in an area i currently live with my dad. Nice area. 30mins train journey to central london, lots of green forests around as well and 3-4 miles away from m11/m25
 
Tea Drinker
Don
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Well aint we are in a recession so therefore it is a buyers market?

Depends where you live and what your buying, places round here go very quickly with little negotiation as many are sitting still not selling so any that come up are snapped up.

Bloke over the road put a For Sale board up Friday, open house by the agent Saturday, sold on Monday, I doubt that's a reflection of a buyers market.
 
Associate
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As we didn't want to move away from the area we viewed a total of 7 houses (small town + not many for sale in 2007). Some of our friends who stay in a nearby city viewed over 40 houses before buying.
 
Associate
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The £250K offer is because of the stamp duty. Just over that and you pay 3% (as opposed to 1%).

We looked at 40-50 before finding one we agreed on.

Surprising that someone looking to spend 250k wouldn't know about this.

To explain further, what people normally do is put an offer just under the threshold and offer a substantial amount for fixtures and fittings.

OP I would do much more research into property buying and not get emotional about any property.
 
Soldato
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I viewed about 5 or 6. However it was just me on my own buying so only had one set of needs as such.

I'd avoid offering over the stamp duty threshold. Offer to pay their moving costs or cover their solictors/agents fees, if this is legal.

Don't rush in to anything. Look thoroughly as you may well find something better should any properties fall through or be removed from the market.
 
Associate
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Deepest, Darkest, Essex.
Surprising that someone looking to spend 250k wouldn't know about this.

To explain further, what people normally do is put an offer just under the threshold and offer a substantial amount for fixtures and fittings.

OP I would do much more research into property buying and not get emotional about any property.

Maybe he did, but I didn't get that impression, so would agree completely with your last comment.

Regarding paying a substantial amount for "fixtures and fitting", it will have to get past the solicitors (and be reasonable to do so). Otherwise it would be breaking the law.
 
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