Our lot were opposite NZ col – despite being told *NOT* too by solictor, agent and developer, they had booked a removal truck, loaded it, then called us at 3pm in the afternoon and basically said ‘so, are we on?’ 😯

I was away, the mrs turned up on our doorstep to scream at mrs_oab, saying it was costing a fortune to have stuff in removal truck and hotel (5* Doubletree Hilton, obvs) etc until we were completed, and that we were clearly about to back out the deal (despite it being three days before the agreed date…).

Thankfully, our bank and solicitor pulled out the stops and completed the next morning….

This were the same lot who left the rubbish, tore out the bed, and told the whole world the house was worth £20k more than it was. Thankfully some backhanded dealing meant they got £20k more for their house from us, paid £20k more for the house they bought, and the same £20k dropped back in my account the same day from the housing developer. 😆 We all ‘won’ that one.

Nutters. The world is populated by them.

My kids are grown up now but looking back being able to walk to school was a real benefit. Personally I also cant live with traffic noise.
The rest I could compromise on.

Neighbours
Noise at night
Flooding
Garden aspect
Parking

nuggets of jobby ??!!

Personally I wouldn’t buy a house that stood the slightest chance of being flooded. So nothing near the sea at sea level, not near a river, on a floodplain, and preferably some way up a slope.

I live 850ft up a bloody steep hill, and unbelievably was flooded in the winter storms of last year, there’s no such thing as “not the slightest chance of flooding” you can choose carefully, but it’s not definitive.

If you’ve a gram of common sense you won’t need a survey, the estate agents are on commission and will give you the hard sell.

There’s some excellent advice on here but this is just nonsense.

What has the estate agent got to do with it! Find a good surveyor and instruct them yourself.

You’re about to spunk god knows how much on a house-pay the £400 or so on the survey! It may show something up that significantly alters your view of the property.

We’re just in the final stages of buying and we had certain criteria that had to be fulfilled and others that were on the ‘nice to have’ list.

This way we knew what we could compromise on and what we couldn’t.

We have ended up on what in the photos was the least attractive property but in the flesh is everything we wanted so don’t count anything in or out based on the listing-you’ve got to go and see it.

Use Zoopla to see what other houses in the area have sold for.

Off road parking
Walking distance to shops/schools
Manageable garden
Usable space
High speed Internet
Quiet area
Check crime statistics
Ok journey to work
Nice local 🙂

Many thanks again for input on this thread. A good few things to think about and some of which I hadn’t considered.

Some which I had, and it’s good to know I’m not alone in now needing a garage.

nuggets of jobby ??!!

That’s right, in case anyone has made a mess of it and instead of striking (metaphorical) diamonds of truth found they had made a terrible mistake, unearthing (perhaps literal?) wee nuggets of shite. (and so on, and so forth).

If you’ve found something you like take a cynical or honest mate to look with you. They’re more likely to see the problems with it than you are (in my experience). Something to do with them not being clouded by a desire to find the right place I reckon.

Surprised no-one’s mentioned price yet. I guess it depends where you are but I wouldn’t go anywhere near asking price at current levels – London/SE and anywhere within commuting reach of London is bubble levels and you want to be offering low enough to protect yourself from negative equity.

Exhibit A:

The gap between asking and sold prices now at 27%

Location, Location, Location!

The first three most important items on your list. As others have said buy something that has long term options such as a complete rebuild or scope and space to extend. It may be years before you can afford it, but because you are in a good area, it will be worth waiting for and you won’t have the same grief with moving house/area again.

I guess it depends where you are but I wouldn’t go anywhere near asking price at current levels

This TOTALLY depends where you are. Round our way if you don’t pay asking price, or even above, you’ll loose out, as there will be 5-10 other people in the same weekend who will! Supply and demand!

He’s still waiting for the big crash.

He’s been harping on about it for 5 years. He was looking at a house or a flat at the same time as me. I bought and he predicted prices to fall through the floor.

Last I read he was having landlord issues.

5 years of rent is a hefty chunk of equity paid off…

Lol. Well if prices do crash, you might not be able to afford to move, but if you have chosen the right house in the first place, you still have somewhere nice to live 🙂

a house is a home not an investment 😉

My view is that if there was a crash there will be plenty of damage before it effects me – but then i didnt take anywhere close to the max the bank were offering and bought a modest older house rather than a 5 bedroom mchouse from monstrosity and co the builder.

Having good access to school, pub, park and shops is great but you don’t want to be on the way to[/I] those places, or you’ll suffer noise, litter and dog shit.