Bricks And Mortar Bombs

Surely the area in which a house is located is the number one factor when choosing one. Location. Location. Location. So important, they named a TV show after it.

Yet, every time an Estate Agent calls me, I have to listen to them wax lyrical about the quality of the abode, and then have to ask them where the property is.

Just start out by telling me where it is. And if it sounds like somewhere that could be the venue for a riot anytime soon, I'll save your time and mine by saying I'm not interested there and then.

You could be trying to sell me a palace. But if it ain't where I wanna live, you ain't gonna get a sale.

Sellers Set To Outnumber Buyers

Word on the street, avenue, glade, cul de sac, wherever, is that this year's going to see the number of sellers overtake the number of buyers.

As a novice at this house hunting malarkey, I've no idea if that's a good thing, or if that will drive down prices. Maybe it'll make it a buyer's market, a phrase I've heard banded about but have no idea what it means. Maybe it means I can offer sellers a lower price as there'll be fewer people putting in offers.

It's all ifs, buts and maybes (actually that was the first 'but' of the post, but there were some ifs and maybes).

Terraced House Overload

It's hardly worth me checking the floorplans of places I can afford. I know before I even look what they'll be.

A door that generally opens straight into a lounge which is separated from the dining area by a staircase steeper than some parts of Everest. And off the back of this dining area, a kitchen, usually with a bog attached and a strip of green beyond that which passes for a garden.

Up those steep steps is a door either side, leading on to similar-sized bedrooms.

And that's all you can get for £200k - £240k where I'm looking.

Pah! Pathetic...

At least they're having a go

I'm not even an HSBC customer, but I have to say they are doing their best to offer mortgage hunters new and interesting deals.

A wrap around in tonight's London rag is evidence of that. Yes, you needed an 80% deposit to get anywhere with it, but even so, fair play to them.

Seems the rest of the banks (including my own) don't know what to do with themselves. Or worse still, they have nothing to offer.

Er, hello... Any new mortgages out there?

So... as we're allegedly emerging from the recession, I'd have thought by now that more banks would have tabled better mortgage deals, designed to help first time buyers like me get on that so-called ladder.

From what I've seen, only HSBC have bothered, and their offer is only valid until tomorrow. What about the other banks? You gonna pull your fingers out and present us with a decent, fair deal that doesn't require upwards of a 20% deposit?

Hello? Knock. Knock. Tap. Tap. Echo. Echo. Silence.

[Tumbleweed rolls by]

Exeunt.

Narrowed Down

Think I've narrowed down the area in which I can afford to live and want to live. There are several roads that fall into this area, each with the kind of 2-bed, small garden, terrace houses I can afford.

It's the subtle differences that'll seal the deal, I reckon. A parking space would be nice. An upstairs bathroom would be preferred. And a price south of £200k would be very nice indeed.

Oh, and a secret, underground swimming pool, sauna and three-bed luxury basement apartment would be welcomed with open arms and an open wallet...

Lively market

Certainly seems to be more houses coming up for consideration.

But it's not that there's loads more ones I like.

Totally gone off maisonettes. Why pay so much for what amounts to half a house?

They look good in the photos, but not so much when you realise half of it ain't yours.

Let's hope a few more banks do an HSBC and come up with a decent first time buyer mortgage.

I.E. At least 85% allowed to be borrowed. No fees. And no ridiculous interest rate.

I'm not holding my breath.

Newspaper Property Sections

I don't why I bother, but I am fascinated by these.

Features on impossibly posh houses, with the odd one on a 1-bed flat.

Row after row of properties for sale under Estate Agents' banners, about 2% of which I might be able to afford. The rest I'd have to live and work until I was 126 before I could rustle together a 10% deposit.

Still, it's always nice to have a nose around someone else's yard and dream 'one day, maybe one day...'

The lure of the countryside

There's always a temptation to up sticks and just move to the country.

You get more for your money, housewise, but a longer commute.

But what if that dream country home turns into a mare? What if the locals drive you away with pitchforks for being townsfolk?

What if there's no running water or flowing electricity? What if some bizarre cult has been holding ritual sacrifices on your land for centuries and you can't stop them carrying on, else you'll be the next victim?

The town it is for me then.

Just Over The Budget Borderline

It seems just a few grand north of my budget lies a range of houses that would really appeal.

3 bedroom jobbies. With decent gardens. Off-road parking. In areas that are fairly decent.

Maybe this is a case of me peering over the neighbour's fence and wishing I lived somewhere like them.

But for an extra 20 grand, it seems I'd open up a whole new world of property opportunity. Time to crack open the piggy bank and forage down the back of the sofa.

Prices creeping up?

There doesn't seem to be any fall in asking prices.

Even the properties I saved online a few months ago that still haven't sold, haven't had their prices reduced.

The fact they're not going down is getting me down.

The fact they're creeping up is getting right up my nose.

Who'd have thought people would attach such value to having a roof over their head, their car parked right outisde their lounge window, and their stinky bathroom next to their kitchen?

Spring bounce in housing market?

Does the weather really affect when people look for houses?

Seems the better the weather the higher the sales.

But when it's nice out, nosing around inside other people's property that I can barely afford isn't my idea of fun.

Misrepresentation

There's a few houses that get offered as being in one area, when anyone with a little local knowledge knows they're in a completely different area.

It's an obvious tactic. No one's gonna take a look at a house in an area they don't like. But by stretching the truth a little, not to mention a few postcode boundaries, you might get the odd stray looking at details they otherwise wouldn't.

Me, I just find it annoying. I look at price first, main photo second, then map. If it's in an area I don't like, it's game over. Simple as. And if I've been deliberately misled about the location, I growl a little.

10 years before most can afford first home

Another snippet of news I picked up somewhere today. Again, hardly a surprise.

I've served my ten years and have saved a bit during that time - enough for a deposit on a modest 2-bed terrace, assuming I find one for around £200,000.

But I never had a problem with renting. Never felt a desperate need to own my er... own place.

i guess all good things come to an end. Alack, it's time for my rent boy days to end!

More sellers than buyers

So said some online news report I read earlier today.

Well, it's hardly surprising.

Sellers are expecting to make as much, if not more on a house they bought when house prices were at their peak.

These people need a wake-up call. Either knock 20 grand off your asking price, or take your house off the market for a couple of years. You're not going to get what you want for it.

If you want to keep it on the market, expect people like me to put in offers that are at least 10% under your asking price.

The Best Is Back

The best house I've seen so far is back on the market.

Despite recently being labelled Sold STC. The arse obviously fell out of that deal.

That said, the house remains at the top end of my budget.

Have viewed it. Liked it. Wanted it.

But with a reasonable mortgage rate yet to be offered by anyone (except HSBC) it's unlikely I'll be making a move for this one anytime soon.

Not so Grand National

House hunting has meant I've had to ease up on the occasional betting I do.

Including the nags. Now, when it comes to the Grand National, I bet on the same number horse every year. Usually 20 quid on the nose.

But this year I thought I'd better be a bit more responsible. So I only bet a fiver each way on it.

And yes, the number I bet on every year is 6.

If only...

One of the Estate Agents I've registered with has sent me a property which they believe suits my requirements.

It's a nice house in a fairly good area. Only problem? The asking price is over £35,000 above my maximum.

What are they playing at, dangling such carrots before my eyes? Is this a deliberate tactic to make me save harder. To sacrifice another night out? To forego a Pret lunch for a Sainos?

Cos if it is, it's working. 99p Egg Sandwiches ain't that bad.

The New Furniture Quandry

I know I'm going to have to move soon. I also know I desperately need some new furniture.

However, anything new I buy is effectively going to cost me two lots of money.

Firstly, the original purchase price. Secondly, the added cost of having it moved.

I shall have to sit at my new dining table and weigh up the pros and cons...

The green green grass of someone else's home.

There's never going to be total agreement when there's two people involved in choosing where to move.

But I have to say from what I've seen, the quality of a house goes down if you're looking for one with a garden stuck to the end of it.

I could get a pretty decent flat for the money I'm looking to spend. But a garden is pretty essential, given I've got dogs. So that rules out almost every flat, except ground floor ones with gardens, or those with a decent-sized balcony.

There's a property come up today. A flat. 2-bed. Ground floor. With patio. All in an area I wouldn't mind living in. Worth further investigation methinks... dunno if the other half would concur...

Too much

That's at the root of the problem.

Houses are too expensive. So are flats. Maisonettes. Even hovels cost over £150,000.

Some of the values people slap on their houses are a disgrace.

But what makes it worse is the people who buy them for such over-inflated sums.

And I may be one of those people in a few months' time.

Removals

Not the big man and big van type. Removals in the sense of houses you've saved as a favourite online being removed from your list.

Normally means they've been sold. I always get a little pang in the gut. Like I've missed an opportunity. Like there's a house I quite liked gone to someone else. Like there's somewhere I'll never live.

Got to keep believing there's something good out there. But recently I've had more properties removed from my list of favourites than I've added. Hmmm.

Half decent

As I perused a local freebie yesterday, I happened upon an ad for mortgages, targeted at first time buyers. A rare sighting indeed.

First time I've seen such a beast in all the time I've been house-hunting.

Turns out this beast, which did offer the best rates I've seen for just a 10% deposit, is an elusive one.

For a check of the print that was a bit smaller than the rest of the small print, revealed that the beast was due to return to its hideout somewhere deep in the house hunting jungle in just a few weeks time. Maybe to never be seen again.

Sadly, I won't be able to move quick enough to catch this beast. But I hope to see it again, or others of its kind, sometime soon.

Who was offering it? Here's Saturday's Big Clue.

NIMBY

Where and when I move, I don't want to be overlooked by all and sundry in my back yard.

And I don't want the seemingly obligatory barbecue set rusting away in a corner.

I don't really need a shed for wasps to nest in.

And grass or decking, I don't mind either or neither.

Cos I doubt I'll be spending much time out there.

Not in my back yard.