How we became homeowners
ACCORDING TO a survey done by ING Direct, house-buyers in the UK take an average of just 17 minutes to decide on whether to buy a property they have viewed or not. This is an interesting finding to keep in mind when it comes time for us to sell.
I don’t remember exactly how long it took us to decide on the house we are now living in, but then again it was such a hectic period when all we seemed to be doing was visiting other people’s houses and finding faults with them. We discarded houses that did not appeal to us within seconds of walking through the front door and, in some cases, just by driving around the neighbourhood.
When we started, we picked properties that were in the region where we were living in London, but after viewing countless properties and managing an offer on only one one-bedroom flat that still required a lot of renovation work, we realised we were not getting good value for money. We retracted our offer and started looking elsewhere.
Elsewhere was literally a random location picked from a map. By pure coincidence, “elsewhere” turned out to be Farnborough, a place that I had driven to only once before at night! We called local estate agents and booked about fifteen houses for viewing in a single day. We set off early in the morning, forgetting that we did not know the area. Of course, we got lost and were late for the first viewing. We stopped at a petrol station and bought an over-priced local map and, wisely enough, the only food we would eat on that day — two cold sandwiches and a bottle of water.
We received a call from the estate agents informing us that the first house we were to view had just been sold. We had missed it by about 30 minutes — a testament to how fast good houses were going. Fortunately, the rest of the day went better. We not only visited the houses for which viewings had already been arranged, but were also being directed to other ones that were coming on the market while we were on the road. There was a good feeling of genuine co-operation between the estate agents and us.
By the end of that single Saturday, we had found two houses that we liked, something we had not managed in MONTHS of viewing in the London area. It took us until the following Monday to decide on which of the two houses we preferred and have our offer accepted by the vendors. Then, we were ready to start the paperwork. But, little did we know that it would take us another four months until we would move in, during which time we had moments of doubt and nearly pulled out.
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Powered by WordPress and Eddy Young.
Is it true that Londoners or the British are not as emotional as we Mauritians when they acquire a house? They do not start from scratch as we did. There is already a market for property and due to mobility of work, one does not remain in the vicinity for 10 years as here we do.
Estate agents are beginning to crop. I did not personally see the reason for their existence some time back when we knew that when one need a house, one simply need to get a plot of land and start to lay the foundations. But as the work goes hectic, one no longer has the time to look for houses, in newspapers for houses to rent. Just ring an estate agent and book an appointment and the rest is history.
Comment by clive — Friday, 24 August 2007 17:26 GMT #
Looks like nice house you got. You could never have got something like that in london, unless you pay exhorbitant price. Estate agents have a reputation for being least trust-worthy profession!! You’re right, sometimes just a neighbourhood can put you off. I was renting near a bunch of chavs, scums, trash… and it was a nightmare; especially the kids, they can make your life a misery… banne parents pas prend responsabilite ek zot pas conne mette difer are zot, bizin fout zot rotin bazaar…
Comment by yune — Friday, 24 August 2007 19:48 GMT #
Clive –
People are emotionally attached to their homes, but they accept moving as being a necessity.
Actually, many people build their own houses here. In fact, it turns out to be cheaper almost always. However, it is very time-consuming to manage the construction, and the planning requirements are very strict. So, most people move in existing properties and renovate them. Property developers have become rich by doing just that: buying old houses, re-doing them, and re-selling at a much higher price.
Eddy
Comment by Eddy — Friday, 24 August 2007 21:30 GMT #
Yune –
Thanks. We had to re-do almost everything in the house. The previous owners left it in a very bad state after the sale was agreed.
Eddy
Comment by Eddy — Friday, 24 August 2007 21:32 GMT #
Found a house in two weeks after checking 15-20 houses (in 3 days). After the first (visiting) day, I had a better idea of which postal code I needed to live in. You know the story (unlike yours).
Comment by S — Saturday, 25 August 2007 14:11 GMT #
“homebuyers in the UK take an average of just 17 minutes to decide on whether to buy a property” - this is very interesting and your right Eddy it takes ages afterwards to sell your house in my opinion since people get worried if they will be able to find a new house or not.
Comment by Central London — Friday, 7 September 2007 09:42 GMT #
This is very obvious on my street; there have been very few “for sale” signs since we moved there two years ago. I realise how scarce properties must be with so many people relunctant to sell for fear of going through the house-buying process all over again.
Eddy.
Comment by Eddy — Friday, 7 September 2007 10:03 GMT #