I have a customer who bought 3 properties after her husband died quite young. A new build 3 storey house and 2 apartments, all in nice areas, but she’s still had problems with tenants and since sold one of them. Similarly my mate bought a place in Wakefield, had it for years and sold it. Just about broke even in the end:
It's nothing new Years ago I got gazumped not once but twice...On properties I had verbally agreed the price with the seller on Its Always been the same Until those contracts are signed sealed and exchanged you haven't a leg to stand on should someone come in with an higher purchase offer. Most if not all estate agents will do their best to crank up the offers, more commission to be had plus it gives them good publicity for the next clients
Or a place in the sun on channel 4. Yvonne and Brian from Hartlepool have a budget of £50000 and are looking for a 3 bedroom holiday home with swimming pool in St Tropez. They view 3 properties with no intention to buy but get a free holiday at the broadcasters expense.
Gazumping is one of the most abhorrent practices imo. Most of the houses in homes under the hammer are unsaleable to the normal buyer. Extremely Difficult to get a mortgage. Due to the work needed. Or loans even. So completely out of a renters option. And would lay empty. Council houses. Rent is taken but the property is theirs to sell. (Even under the rent to buy eventually. Has its fallbacks. Valuations rise etc.) As for gazumping. Got gazzumped in 1984 only to buy the same house 2 yrs later. A few grand more. Legal in England and Wales. While technically legal in Scotland, gazumping (a seller accepting a higher offer after accepting an initial offer) is less common and considered unethical, with solicitor estate agents bound by regulations that discourage it.
"Tara and Peregrine are looking to move from the city. Their ideal home will have 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a granny flat for Tara's mother, plus space for their 7 dogs and Peregrine's vintage car collection. Oh, and a completely separate space for his drum kit and huge fùcking ego. They have a maximum budget of £2.7m, but are so desperate to live in the country that they can't even be arsed to do their own property search."
Sorry Fitz, we’re clearly coming from different viewpoints on this one. I think it’s the smugness of the presenters and the ‘portfolio’ builders that get my goat. I can see that the boat may have sailed for easy money on this one, but my daughter is paying over £1200 pm in rent for a fairly ordinary 3 bed and it’s hard to see how she can get on the ladder with landlords vacuuming up all the potentially affordable places.
I’ll raise you 10 that one where they pretend they want to emigrate to oz. spend half the show pretending to be interested, then find out they can’t get a job, the houses are too expensive, auntie sue is shown crying on a phone call home and the kids want to play out with there friends…. meanwhile you and I have paid for their 2 week holiday in the sun.
And as soon as they move into their country estate they send a solicitors letter to the Parish Council demanding an end to the ringing of the church bells and the smell of cow poo as it spoils their enjoyment of the countryside
Amazing Spaces on channel 4. Next week we meet up with Derek from Carlisle who has transformed a 1980s fridge freezer he found at the bottom of the garden into a 3 bed semi detached property with en-suite.
Eamonn Holmes under the Hammer. That would be a good watch, as ex wife Ruth Langsford bludgeons Eamonn - in his Manchester United replica strip - with a big mallet. Could be a wee feature on Loose Women or is it too dark for midday television?
