So having got the wedding out of the way, we've been looking for our first home. We've got a decent deposit, a mortgage AIP (thanks Ben @ Power Mortgages) and afford to pay up to £250k (strictly speaking, based on what we can borrow we could go up to £275k but on a worse mortgage deal and it would be really stretching things a bit too much, not to mention the extra stamp duty).
When I started looking on Rightmove around 6 months ago in the area we are looking (Chelmsford/Billericay) this would have given us loads of choice. Now it seems to be slim pickings, with fewer new houses coming on the market, prices slowly creeping up and buyer competition going crazy.
I think we've seen about 17 houses so far. We saw one last week that we came very close to making an offer on (it was a weird, period cottage that had been extended and done up to a very high standard) but its location and potential issues over construction put off us in the end.
I've just arranged a viewing for a property we're both really enthusiastic about - I'm fairly confident we'll make an offer on it. That's if we even get a look in - 15 other people due to view on Wednesday evening besides me, with a second "viewing event" scheduled for Saturday morning. I've been advised to put an offer in on Wednesday with best and finals being taken on Saturday afternoon.
3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Mountbatten Way, Chelmsford, CM1
I can just see us viewing this, confirming how much we like it, putting in an offer and being beaten by a cash buyer willing to take the extra stamp duty hit. And I expect we'll find ourselves in the same position every time a half decent property comes on the market around there. We've been to places that have had 20+ people view on the same day. Everybody suddenly feeling flush or the market flooded with buyers with 5% deposits using the Help To Buy scheme? I'm wondering why we bothered saving up for a 20% deposit...
Is it normal to take so long to find somewhere decent?
When I started looking on Rightmove around 6 months ago in the area we are looking (Chelmsford/Billericay) this would have given us loads of choice. Now it seems to be slim pickings, with fewer new houses coming on the market, prices slowly creeping up and buyer competition going crazy.
I think we've seen about 17 houses so far. We saw one last week that we came very close to making an offer on (it was a weird, period cottage that had been extended and done up to a very high standard) but its location and potential issues over construction put off us in the end.
I've just arranged a viewing for a property we're both really enthusiastic about - I'm fairly confident we'll make an offer on it. That's if we even get a look in - 15 other people due to view on Wednesday evening besides me, with a second "viewing event" scheduled for Saturday morning. I've been advised to put an offer in on Wednesday with best and finals being taken on Saturday afternoon.
3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Mountbatten Way, Chelmsford, CM1
I can just see us viewing this, confirming how much we like it, putting in an offer and being beaten by a cash buyer willing to take the extra stamp duty hit. And I expect we'll find ourselves in the same position every time a half decent property comes on the market around there. We've been to places that have had 20+ people view on the same day. Everybody suddenly feeling flush or the market flooded with buyers with 5% deposits using the Help To Buy scheme? I'm wondering why we bothered saving up for a 20% deposit...
Is it normal to take so long to find somewhere decent?
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