Your opinion on this house...

[Andeh13]

Some good advice there, thank you Saracen!

We are trying not to think of it now, and want to be patient and see what happens with it. We will give it a month, and see if it's still available and maybe contact the vendors to see where they stand/what their situation is with Estate Agent fees/contracts! I will post for suggestions/sanity check closer the time there though!

As for Banbury, it is very convenient for our needs, I work in High Wycombe (south) but the industry I am in (Engineering) is very much based around the M40/Leamington/Coventry etc. As a result I don't want to move too far from there. Several friends work in Gaydon and I have interviewed successfully for a number of companies in that area should I find myself in need of a new job/step up - my current contract is until September with a good chance of being renewed though. Gotta keep my options open.

Leamington Is out of our price range, Birmingham/Coventry is too far north for my current job/from OH's family and anywhere further west is to far from my daughter. There are always going to be good areas and bad areas of places, we are just hoping to find a good area! Surrounding Villages/area is open to us though!

As for areas to avoid/good neighbourhoods/bad ones etc I would be very grateful for any suggestions!

[Andeh13]

House has sold STC, my mum rang up enquiring if it was still available (she was going to have a nose round before we went in for a higher offer) and they informed her they had a lot of demand in the last 2 weeks (I must have triggered something...) and had accepted an offer 'near to asking'. Damn bugger and swine.

The search continues!

[razer121]

Bit late to reply but, bretch hill is possibly the worst area of banbury (saying that the grimsbury area just over the bridge is full of idiots) but anyway so yes bretch hill worse area and i personally would stay well away from it due to all the tracksuit wearing lowlifes who live there haha, granted there certainly is some really nice people who live on the bretch hill estate but some of the people...

shocking really ruscote area is nice and most people wont look at you like your worthless and will actually say good morning as they walk past, cherwell heights is also a nicer area of banbury, and if you can afford the bodicote area its possibly the best although is on the outskirts of banbury.

P.s good luck with your search i've yet to look for my own house so i have no idea how hard it must be!

[Saracen]

House has sold STC, my mum rang up enquiring if it was still available (she was going to have a nose round before we went in for a higher offer) and they informed her they had a lot of demand in the last 2 weeks (I must have triggered something...) and had accepted an offer 'near to asking'. Damn bugger and swine.

The search continues!

Remember, it ain't over 'til it's over. A significant proportion of accepted offers never complete - they fall through. That's WHY you, as a cash buyer, unencumbered by a chain, are an attractive prospect for a seller.

It is certainly not beyond possible that the "near asking" offer falls through, and the place comes back on the market. If it does, and you're still interested, that's a good time to stress the advantage of a cadh buyer when making your offer. Maybe the vendor will be thinking, stung once, cautious second time.

But of course, it may not come back on the market. So, move on, carry on looking, but keep an eye on that one, if you still really want it.

[peterb]

When I bought my previous house, when we initially looked at we were told by the agent that it was under offer. We carried on looking elsewhere but didn't find anything we liked. A few months later I rang the agent on the off chance (as the house I was selling was now sold stc)

I discovered that the house was on the market again. We bought it at less than the asking price 3 months earlier.

[Andeh13]

Cheers for the responses guys. The buyers are apparently 'not cash buyers, but are not in a chain' so whilst there might be a slim chance of it falling through we are moving on. I will give them a ring in a few weeks in case there is any change but for now we have accepted it as the one that got away.

It is so so gutting though, there are so few houses that match our requirements (4 bed, 2 garage, detached, £275k-ish) on the market around Banbury. Sods law, 'stretching' our budget would have got us that house for asking price but we were hesitant as it was the first house we had liked! 12 months on the market and it goes 2 weeks after we come across it!

Live and learn I suppose, but fingers crossed more will come up.


Any recommendations for good ways of finding a house? I am burning through Zoopla, Right Move, Prime Location etc's website several times a day and then trying to check all the estate agent websites i can find!

[Andeh13]

What do people think about me writing a letter and dropping it through the doors of houses we like? Being totally honest, explaining our position and trying our luck?

I figure we have nothing to loose and with us being so utterly flexible we could offer a seller the ability to become cash buyers themselves and have 4-5 months to house hunt providing they complete the paperwork & we agree on a completion date.

Girlfriend thinks it's ridiculous and people may take offence but I feel the opposite...


Hexus - sanity checking me since 2005

[kalniel]

Hexus - sanity checking me since 2005

How's that been working for you then?

[TheAnimus]

Sounds like your in a good posistion, just relax, and make sure you don't get caught trying to rush it.

I've been negociating for a purchase for the last 6 weeks, I've so far shaved 20% off the original asking, I reckon I can get 30% thou. I am in no rush, if it falls through its not the end of the world to me.

[Zak33]

I've been negociating for a purchase for the last 6 weeks, I've so far shaved 20% off the original asking, I reckon I can get 30% thou. I am in no rush, if it falls through its not the end of the world to me.

then it was far to expansive to begin with bud.... no house should be marked up by that much. Silly estate agent....20% top 30% reduction is irrelevent.. you pay what it's worth.

[TheAnimus]

then it was far to expansive to begin with bud.... no house should be marked up by that much. Silly estate agent....20% top 30% reduction is irrelevent.. you pay what it's worth.

It's not in the UK. It's a new build, they've sold 35 out of 38, mostly at the asking.

[Andeh13]

Hi guys, Can you have a quick scan through of the letter I was going to put through houses we like the look of. Might help drum up some other options for houses...

Dear Sir/Madam,

My girlfriend and I want to move to Banbury within the next few months. I started a new job within commuting distance of the town and we are in the fortunate position of having sold our house in Sussex soon after putting it up for sale. We are currently in rented accommodation in Staines, as my partner is a teacher and has work commitments until July there.

We are therefore, in the flexible position of being full cash buyers and able to move as swiftly or slowly as a seller wishes. Having had a good look around this area, and researched the school system and proximity to the M40, we have found this to be an ideal neighbourhood for us.

Therefore, we decided to be pro-active and approach home owners of houses we like the look of and likely to fall within our price range, in the hope of potentially ‘swaying’ anyone who is considering moving on sometime in the near future.

Whilst this is an unorthodox method, the potential to save £4-5000 on estate agent fees, and the prospect of an easy ‘no hassle’ sale, which would in turn place you in a cash buyer position should you decide to move on, helped us decide to give it a go and see what happens.

Just to re-iterate we are cash buyers, with no chain or mortgage, and a solicitor in mind. We are more than happy to exchange swiftly, then allow a seller five or six months to house hunt as cash buyers themselves before ‘completing’ with us. We are also more than happy to provide details of the solicitor we used to sell our house in Crawley, West Sussex to authentic ourselves and prove we are serious about this venture.

If you are interested in contacting me I would be more than happy to meet and discuss any questions you may have and explain in more detail what we are after and our approach. Again, whilst unorthodox I can assure you we do not want to cause anyone undue hassle or concern.

Name & Name
Full Address of current rented

Mobile Number
E-mail address

[Rob_B]

My first thought was TMI, but you need to show you're a genuine buyer instead of business buying up houses I guess. Maybe too much text before you actually get to the 'can we buy your house' bit?

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Dear Sir/Madam,

My girlfriend and I wish to move to Banbury within the next few months and having researched the area and school system (my partner is a teacher), we have found this to be an ideal neighbourhood for us.

As such we are looking to purchase a property in this area and have decided to be pro-active and approach home owners directly.
Whilst this is an unorthodox method, the potential to save on estate agent fees for both parties, and the prospect of an easy ‘no hassle’ sale, helped us decide to give it a go and see what happens.

To clarify, we are cash buyers, we have no chain and are happy to exchange quickly whilst allowing you five or six months before completing. We are also more than happy to provide details of the solicitor we used to sell our house in Crawley, West Sussex to authentic ourselves and prove we are serious about this venture.

If you are interested in selling your property or know of anyone else in the area who may be then I would be happy to meet and discuss any questions you may have and explain in more detail what we are after and our approach. Again, whilst unorthodox I can assure you we do not want to cause anyone undue hassle or concern.

Thank you for your time.

Name & Name
Mobile Number
E-mail address
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