First time buyer here, I'm 30 years old and been saving my money since finishing university so I'm paying for almost half the house in the deposit. Never had a stable enough job so wasn't able to move out and I'm very against the idea of renting (my parents are as-well) so saved my money for the most part while working. My budget was anywhere up to around £130k as a maximum (north east) dont earn enough to get anything more.
Went to see a few houses and finally found something I liked. Recently completely renovated inside apart from the bathroom that just didn't need touched. 1950s (ish) End terrace 3 Bedroom 1 Bathroom, downstairs WC converted into a separated laundry room for washing machine/dryer from the kitchen, brand new carpets throughout, internal modern simple design, re-wired, new sockets, replaced all doors with solid wood doors, "walk in" wardrobes in the 2 main bedrooms, new plaster and paint, what I would consider a "fancy" kitchen and a decent size (about 1000sq ft). Lounge is nice and big, the littlest room upstairs is big enough to have as an office/gaming situation and the 2nd bedroom is big enough to eventually convert into a dedicated "theatre room" easily with a 100-120 inch screen. Also has a loft area that has been floored, could turn that into a 4th room in the future if I wanted as its big enough to stand up in.
Had everything I was looking for, driveway, walk in shower and simple square rooms no cut-outs or chimney breasts getting in the way (its amazing how hard this is to find I really hate cut outs in rooms specially chimneys taking a chunk out the living room and the bedroom above). Also has a summer house outside with power and solar panels on the main roof top.
The only issue is the area its in isn't exactly looked upon in a good light, gets looked down upon quite allot from what I can find online and from what family have said. But from someone who a is loner and more than likely going to stay single and just have pets I'm not too bothered. However its on the very edge of the area in a quiet part away from the main roads, front view is overlooking wide open fields, its very quiet standing outside cant hear a thing, which is nice. Plenty of supermarkets, post office, amazon click and collect locations and nearby petrol stations about 2-3min drive away.
The seller is leaving a barely used 3 seat electric recliner and regular (1 seat) electric recliner, along with the bar stools in the kitchen as they match the colour scheme. Also leaving the sofas in the summer house and might be leaving a double bed frame behind also. It does need some slight cosmetic issues fixed (damaged bricks) but the seller has agreed to pay for it after some talks and I have the quote for that to get done once sale is complete (the seller took the price of this off the purchase price to compensate). The only thing I need to do is get virgin installed (the neighbours have it already so easy job) and bring my PC/TV/TV unit/bookcases and the rest of my junk across and can move in straight away. Parents are purchasing washing machine for me as a good riddance gift lol.
The house wasn't on the market long, I had my viewing the morning after it appeared on the market along with 5 other people. Everyone offered asking price the same day and I had to increase my offer. Luckily the seller accepted my offer apparently because the estate agent said I was the safest buyer due to my deposit (only went up about 5% of the asking price after going up in small increments and being outbid twice) but still came in at a good chunk less than my max budget.
My mortgage provider did their free valuation and actually down valued the property by about 8% of the agreed price which was disappointing but semi-understandable due to the area and how much houses are going for in that area (that have not been modernised). I called the surveyor and they just did a drive by as they are not allowed inside due to covid or something (a little odd but whatever). Seller refused to budge from the agreed price, I know fine well what they paid for it, they are making a sizable profit on it.
This made my original mortgage interest rate and payments increase by £5 a month which isn't too bad but kinda miffed about it being down valued in the first place. Its made me question the sale but I can't find anything as nice (to me) anywhere close to the same cost or even a good chunk more, its got me spoiled in what I would expect from a house. Might seem silly to some at what is a cheap house but I wouldn't want anything more.
Currently on 23% complete on the estate agent tracking waiting on solicitor searches to complete but still mulling it over, constantly checking what becomes available on rightmove hahaha