OT Moving house - rant

[Ade B]

What is it with this country's petty greed, small mindedness and lack of honesty (or honour for that matter!).

Find a flat Saturday we can actually afford which we actually want in a location which is just about acceptable, put an offer on it, get it accepted...

Come Monday agent rings up, higher offer been accepted, do we want to raise our offer

No is our reply (with some swearing)

Some months pass, agent rings us up, the deal has fallen through, are we still interested - we say great, original offer still stands... offer accepted off we go... (beginning of September)

Get mortgage (no mean feat - both self employed company directors, teeny profit/salary etc...) Get solicitors, get mortgage survey etc. etc. all good...

Solicitor gets stuck waiting for info related to poxy double glazing installation agreement.... weeks pass, we get pissed off and shout at agent, more weeks pass, vendor informs agent if we don't agree to exchange, putting the flat back on the market... Our solicitor goes on Xmas holiday, we shrug shoulders and wait some more...

Speak this morning, can't get hold of solicitor, speak with agent - vendor got the hump having paid for 6 months more building insurance or some such thing... our solicitor is prevaricating...if we don't exchange by 15th blah blah...

Speak with solicitor, they have received most but not all of answers to queries but they are happy we proceed with the exchange..

Great we think, ring up agent - guess what - the vendor has put the asking price up by 4k

More swearing, stick it we say - or words to that effect.

Waiting to hear back tomorrow. Not sure who is the biggest crook, the vendor (a policeman) or the agent.

In the meantime property prices have marched on and we can no longer afford an equivalent spec flat in the London area (2 bed with garden with side access for bikes)

Currently considering emigration options.. what a bag of shit.



and its raining.

Ade.

[bigblackfalco]

But apart from that....it's a bed of roses.....

[PBBoxer]

That sounds shitty mate.

Is your Solicitor chasing it and communicating with the vendor or their agents as much as they should be? Sounds shite.

Move North, it's cheaper and the people don't stare straight through you! You wont believe it, but they even talk to you!

Hope it comes off for you anyway.

PB

[madman]

Or emigrate and join us 10% of the UK population who have gone.

[woofboxer]

Sounds like your vendor is being a bit greedy and trying to give you the bums rush for an extra 4K. Stick it out, you've incurred all your expense now, if he really want's to sell he'll cave in. You didn't say if you have anything to sell, but assuming you're a first timer he wont want to let you go. Best wishes Andy

[Ade B]

cheers guys

yep, we're first timers so its all new and fun...

think the solicitor has done a squeak over the minimum so I don't really blame them, think its more a classic case of sabre rattling threats to steal a quick buck - I suspect the agent started it...

does any other country engage in the farce that is property purchase over here?

re moving up north, I've thought about it a lot, I'm from the north west & have family and friends up there still. Our business is based down here though and my wife doesn't want to leave London - she's a city gal... and we've spent 6 years building it up.. whilst not exactly a money machine, we're carving a niche..

Anyway, just watched Apocolypse Now on telly - could be worse (I always fall asleep at the end and miss the complicated bits...)

stick to bikes they're much more straightforward

Ade

[RiceBurner]

Stories like this are what make me really NOT want to buy a house.

Why does it have to be so sodding complicated??

[winger]

Best thing i ever did,bought,paid for,get on with the rest of life!!!,the big problem is moveing up the ladder,when your happy were you are,but it's money in the bank,when you want to down size at a latter date.

[oyster]

You have to stick with it and hopefully the £4k is still worth it. Talking to a building society manager yesterday, he is in a good position to see the way prices have been going up around London. He said most are lucky to find a property to get on to the ladder inside the M25, prices really are going up weekly, so a few months delay could push the price/location further afield. There is a real shortage of property in the London area, new build are outrageous prices. And not bike friendly. So despite all the current anguish, council tax, congestion charge (goes further west in February, whole of M25 by 2015) crap public transport facilities, traffic jams, M25 rolling car park between 07.00 hrs and 10.00 hrs., ludicrous restaurant prices, £2.85 for Guiness and pigeons, it's really worth it. I think.

[madman]

winger, the only trouble with the fact that a house is a good investment and is money in the bank at a later date, is that a person might snuff it or not be able to ride a bike before that later date! That is why I took the option of realising my assets when I did, I am still able to ride, do not have to bother with traffic jams, congestion charges, huge council tax bills, road tax, stealth tax and all those stressful things like work.
I "downsized" to a bigger house, more land and all the time in the world to be out on the bike.
The UK is the only market that I know of where a seller or a buyer can almost hold the other party to ransom when a house changes hands. It is not fair and not ethical the way the system works. The trouble is, even if you try and be as nice as you can to the seller, he will still try and squeeze the last £ that he can out of you.

[colin luhrs]

Ade B
You could always call their bluff, take it right to the wire offering all the £££ you need to then reduce your offer just before exchange of contracts.
You will either get the place or teach them a lesson. (Only works if prices are stable tho)
Its a shitty business for sure- good luck you WILL get there
Colin

[Ade B]

After another grumpy conversation where the agent tried to justify the price increase (which he and his kind make up) I ended up putting the phone down on him... childish but very satisfying.

Its become a matter of principle, I've pulled out of the deal, I don't want to live in Crystal Palace that much (unless he backtracks of course )

The property bubble in the UK is nuts and the ludicrous continuous price hikes have to bite at some point...

Having just hooned back along the Westway on the S am going to kick a football around tonight in Kings X and get drunk on lager at £3 a pint..

Ade

(still renting a far bigger and better place than he can afford to buy )

[tripe]

Ade,
Having suffered in the past I really do understand your plight. If you have the time on your hands send the estate agent a bill for your solicitor, surveys etc with a note attached pointing out you went ahead because of the information and assurances he gave you. Mention phone calls on certain dates to make it appear that you have been keeping records, then inform him that if he doesn't settle the account in say 30 days you will make a claim against him and his company in the small claims court. It'll cost you £30 and he will have to waste a day in court with you but you never know you might get something back.

Henry

[winger]

Madman

Me thinks your trying justify jumping ship!!!,i didn't make the houseing rules,but there's only two solutions in the UK,you either jump on the houseing bandwagon,or rent forever and don't own a brick!!!

Ade

If you want an insentive to handle the agro,i paid the £36,500 20 years ago the women(my best mans mom!!!) had it valued at less than that and still wanted more,it's valued between 410 and 430 now,found any motorbikes like that!!!,all we've done is paid the mortgage,which finished 2 years ago,i've simplified things a tad,but thats it in a nut shell,i couldn't see any other option all those years ago and don't now,it's just the way of the world,well the UK houseing market at any rate,grit your teeth and stick with it.

Madman lives in a wonderfull part of the world second to non,and as quick as this country is going down the pan,the pro's still don't outway the cons as far as i'm concerned,and if the day comes it's the other way round,financially were in a position to do something about it.

Chris

[madman]

Winger, you are correct, in some ways. I don't need to justify anything, I made my choice and don't regret it, but what you have to realise is that I have experience of both sides of the channel now, and with respect, most people here only have experience of the UK.
There are many Brits here who have moved and now ask why they didn't do it sooner. I think that it is the fear of the unknown. I am a biker through and through, and a BMW one at that. I bought my first BMW at the tender age of 18 - a new R75/7. Whilst in the UK earning a very good wage, I was changing bikes every 6 months, but I had to work for that and to pay a mortgage, that left little time for riding.
I looked forward to retiring, when I thought that I would have all the time in the world for biking and skiing, but realised that when I am 65 I might not want or be able to do those things, so I took the leap at the age of 46.
If things do not work out, I can go back to the UK and back to the MOD, where I will be back in a job at over £30k pa, but then I would not be free.
My life would not suit everyone and I respect people for their wishes and wants, but it suits Jude and I.
All that I was trying to get over is that there is an alternative to a very materialistic and highly taxed way that many people in the UK live, and if anyone should wish to come and see the alternative, then I am willing to help in an open and honest way.