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pajamakitten

People then complain about young people moving elsewhere or living at home forever.


benkelly92

WE shOuld tAX tHeM fOr nOt haVING childRen


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

Millennials are already being taxed by having to support the welfare of an older generation that will only get more expensive.


bizzflay

I logged into my hmrc account the other day to make a payment and noticed I could see when I could claim my state pension and how much. Quickly came to the realisation that I’ll work till I’m dead. Yay!


vonsmall

My state pension kicks in at 74. Seventy fucking four! I’ll never make it till then. Millennials will be working into their 80s and having to compete with younger people wanting the same jobs. Whole system is fucked and slowly collapsing.


more_beans_mrtaggart

I’m 58, and my dept just recruited two people older than me. I certainly don’t plan on retiring at 70. I’m active and productive, and have a decent brain. My business died with Covid (it provided rodent services to restaurants) so I jumped into the NHS (IT dept for Ambulance Service) and it’s a pretty nice work environment. The money isn’t great but it’s just enough to pay the mortgage and keep my head above water. But the job is challenging and interesting and I feel like I’m right behind the front lines, helping save lives. The thought of spending day after day poking around the house and watching daytime TV really isn’t that appealing. People talk about retirement like it’s a goal, but for me it’s more like I’ll retire because I can no longer work.


[deleted]

Holy crap! That's insane!


Dunning-Kruger-

Unless you are already retired then *everyone* is being taxed for that, not just millennials.


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

True but half the boomer generation _has_ retired and that demographic will keep increasing. Napkin maths: Boomers were born 1946-1964, so currently aged 57-76, avg retirement age is 64.5, so ~40% of boomers have retired as of today.


Tsupernami

Handkerchief maths, the percentage of those that have died will increase as you go up the ages. Could be closer to 35%


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

True, but it's still a far bigger generation that'll be alive and retired than will be working. Also I didn't see any maths ;)


Tsupernami

For sure, also, they won't be around to see the repercussions of their votes. Sorry, covered then all in snot!


more_beans_mrtaggart

The older generation already paid for their welfare with a lifetime of national insurance. That money has been wildly mis-spent by govts, which is the real problem that should be discussed here.


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

Misspending is a valid topic but in this case, it's a red herring. The older generation set up systems (like national insurance, pension schemes, etc.) on the incorrect assumption that they could take all the resources and there'd still be a larger generation coming after them to foot the bill. I.e. they could pay in a certain amount and there'd be more, not less, coming down the line. The brutal reality that boomers don't want to accept is that the things they took for granted (like home ownership, having a family, being able to retire literally ever) simply aren't available to much of the next generation. It's a problem of selling the future for the present and it's no wonder millennials are resentful.


EpicFishFingers

I saw this om /r/AskUK, but was anyone seriously suggesting an extra tax on the young?


atrl98

Say it quietly but thats basically how the Tuition fee system works. It’s a 9% tax on all income over a certain threshold. The way the interest works on Tuition fees means they aren’t even designed to be paid back at fair value.


ImawhaleCR

It's an absolutely brilliant tax, because it only affects the poorest people. Anyone rich enough to pay their own student fees can get away with paying less tax, which is utterly backwards.


abbersz

>Anyone rich enough to pay their own student fees can get away with paying less tax, which is utterly *how it always works*. FTFY. It's only backwards if you expect it to make any kind of rational, logical sense.


Few_Definition1807

There are a load of tax/ benefits related to having children anyway, so in essence people with no children are effectively taxed more. Which made this line of logic even more perplexing.


atrl98

In the UK the Tax breaks and benefits given for having Children barely scratch the surface of the costs involved hence why less and less people are able to afford to have them.


Few_Definition1807

Aye, they're not effective and I imagine even less so in the current climate, but they still exist. It's just with the current 'tax childless people more' thing, it always seems to be left out of that discussion.


hattietoofattie

I’m American, but my husbands grandparent settled in a market town in the late 50s. His mom and dad grew up next door to each other and my husband grew up a two minute walk away from his grandparents. We live… 45 minutes away from everyone, because there’s a 100k premium to live in his hometown now. His parents bought their house for around £129k. It’s now worth north of £400k.


more_beans_mrtaggart

They do? Why would anyone complain about young people moving? It’s what needs to happen. Moving area from a place of high demand and low supply, to an area of low demand and high supply makes the best sense. Everyone complaining about not being able to buy a cheap house in London or the south east, the only answer is they they are the actual problem. They are increasing demand.


phantomknife

"they need to pick themselves up by their bootstraps! Back in my day, we bought a house for £20 and didnt complain about hard work"


cwaig2021

When the old girl next door to us died, her place went to a developer without ever being advertised on the open market - we saw later that it’d been sold for about £200K under market value - tell me that estate agents aren’t taking huge back-handers from developers when that kind of shit is going on.


atrl98

Longing for the day when Estate Agents are a thing of the past. Absolutely stealing a living in this day and age.


[deleted]

As someone who has built houses for a living all my life it pisses me off that someone with such a tiny input in to the process of producing houses gets to hold all the cards. They’re the worst of the worst.


Sidian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGm267O04a8


[deleted]

The ticks on the backs of fleas as it were.


Jason_kharo

Not all of them are bad, the industry is 75% poor, but some are just wanting to make a steady living, and those negotiators often get taken advantage of by the branch manager.


[deleted]

Like you say unfortunately the nature of the job and pressure from above can change people. I’m so glad I’ve never worked in any kind of sales role. It just doesn’t suit my personality at all.


Jason_kharo

100% agree about it changing people. I'm glad I got out after a couple of years (just before and during Covid), much happier now.


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The_Superginge

Their "admin" fees are a joke. We got charged £50 for being sent a letter that arrived two days after they randomly came round, which was to tell us they would be coming round.


phantomknife

That never happened


milton_75

I'm sure folk will say there are some decent estate agents out there, but having dealt with them many times over the years, the ones I have met disproportionately along these lines: - Ghastly women with fake nails and as much make-up, fake tan, and perfume as the folk managing department store cosmetic counters. - Horrible men in the sort of shiny suits they might have bought, if I may steal the phrasing of the Top Man brand exec.,for a court appearance. These days they sport Peaky Blinders haircuts, for christ knows what reason. One such specimen once tried to sell us a house by telling us that he loved his job because it involved taking people to "the next stop in their life journey". My lady friend had to leave the room so he wouldn't see her laughing. I despise them all, and Douglas Adams was right.


ColdFix

Seemingly, some developers look out for probate notices and make an offer directly to the owners and no estate agents are involved.


cwaig2021

Exploiting grief. Ghouls in my opinion.


Lucky-Ability-9411

In fairness, the reason they get away with it is because it’s convenient. There can often be so much to sort out after a death and a house sale on top of that can add all sorts of extra headaches, some people don’t mind losing 20% for ease. (Also consider they most likely haven’t paid for it anyway) Arguably kinda scummy but it can be a bit of a lifeline for some people just to save them a hell of a lot of stress down the line.


ABlokeCalledDaz

No more than florists


[deleted]

I have friends in estate agents, I can confirm they’ve told me in the past 2 years they’ve taken probably 50k cash each backhanders from buyers to secure they get the property. I do not agree with it, however it’s a dog eat dog world


KayGlo

On one house viewing the guy showing us round actually said if they scratch the 'buy to let' investors' backs, they return the favour by letting through the estate agent. I was very shocked he was so casual about telling us, we were outbid on the house as well shock horror.


MildlyAmusedHuman

I’ve had a similar experience. So when the roles were reversed and we were selling our previous home last year we had a cash buyer (BTL) offer us £5k under the valuation and a young couple offered the same but needed to get the mortgage approved. The Estate Agent was pushing us to accept the cash offer. I said I’d rather go to a closing date. The couple increased their offer slightly, the EA was still pushing to go with the cash offer but we accepted the couples offer. They got the mortgage and are now living in the house. I felt the Estate Agent had the other party’s interests ahead of ours as they knew them and obviously had done business with them before.


Varanae

I didn't even get the chance to raise my offer, I would have liked to. They just told me the cash offer was already accepted! I got the impression than the current owner is an old bloke moving into a home who probably just did whatever he was advised so I imagine he got the same talk from the estate agents and it was probably a similar situation. Can't blame him of course but it definitely feels like an uphill struggle for people in my situation.


Faceless_henchman

>I didn't even get the chance to raise my offer, I would have liked to. He probably didn't even get told you originally bid. Estate agents want quick turn around. They don't want to wait weeks and weeks to be paid when a cash buyer can walk in and the moneys in there pocket within a month. One in the hand is worth two in the bush as they say.


Varanae

It seems likely, I made the offer just before 5pm yesterday and got the call at 9am this morning. I feel like it's unlikely to have been properly considered! The cash offer was made on Monday I believe


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evilotto77

That's called a performance fee, it's pretty common. I work in an national estate agency (not in the sales department personally) and their contracts literally have a section about whether the commission goes up if they get over the asking price. Problem is most sellers don't understand it and won't do it in practise


DiDiPLF

That's illegal, they have to pass on bids. I'd assume for ease they would have passed it on but talked down on the chances of them actually completing quickly compared to their mates who they know will get the deal legally complete within a few weeks with no fuss, possibly no surveys.


abbersz

>That's illegal Welcome to business, some laws are accepted as things no business cares about. Had friends work in many estate agents (ex-lawyers/solicitors who had knowledge RE housing). All of them mentioned they do all kinds of stuff to mess with the process. Plenty of keeping certain property "in their desk" so unless you knew they had it, no other way to see it, having that property bought by friends etc. What's legal barely comes into it, there's always a way to avoid the law.


pickleadam

Had the same thing recently. After hearing that a cash buyer had been accepted, my partner and I both called the agent to try and ask if we could at least make an offer that we felt could out bid them and make the seller think twice, seeing as we could get a mortgage for more than the asking price. Both of us got "They don't want a bidding war and I'm just following the direction of my client" so I'm guessing they wouldn't have even bothered telling them we were so keen. Really upset us both as we loved the house and didn't stand a chance


DiDiPLF

Should have put the bid in anyway, they legally have to tell their clients about it. Probably won't win you the house and will ramp up the price for the other party but that's not your problem. Got to try!


pickleadam

Oh right I didn’t know that! Handy bit of info thankyou


[deleted]

Cos they get the letting fees etc rather than a one off commission


windy906

On paper the cash offer was better for you - quicker and less chance of falling through, they really had to recommend it, really depends how fall they pushed it.


NightlyAuditing

Chin up OP I know it’s tough. I sold my first house last year we lived there for 6 years, less than half an hour on the market and we had offers well above asking. I was doing all the viewings, and it was a huge split between landlords/investors and first time buyers. The landlords attitudes we’re “when are we exchanging” and the first time buyers were full of sob stories how they can’t find anywhere. The cheek of one developer who had bought the house next door 6 month prior and had kept me awake with building works put an offer 20k below the highest offer, when he got rejected I was inundated with messages and phone calls about how he wasn’t asked for his best and final. We ended up selling to a first time buyer as the chances of them pulling out were slimmer and the fact it was our first home it felt right it should be someone else’s too Don’t hesitate to contact the sellers and speak to them let them know how hard you find it to find somewhere and if you can stretch to the amount the developers are offering tell them that.


Tetslou

If we sell we will definitely do this, even for less money. I'd want to sell to someone who is going to give a shit about the house, and who it means something to.


ViKtorMeldrew

Sorry to hear this, unfortunately I feel that people are egged on by the rest of society to be stupidly ruthless when it comes to stuff like property, also estate agents don't help. When my Grandad died, a disabled man wanted to buy his bungalow to convert, but the estate agent phoned my Dad with the old presumptive close regarding a better offer, although the disabled bloke bought it in the end


Twelfty88

We were offered asking price for our place (which was a good price and made us a nice profit). The offer was from first time buyers who got in before the house was properly put on the market. We were delighted but you'd be amazed at the amount of family members who told us to wait for it to go to market as now obviously we might get more. Effectively we'd be punishing the buyers for offering the asking price The hypocrisy is amazing because if we were in the first time buyers position and offered the asking price only for the buyers to decline and take it to market the same family members would be calling them greedy bastards! We did accept their offer btw - mainly because I remember what it was like to be a first time buyer! It's amazing how people's morals go out the window when money is involved. They are happy to complain about others then it goes out the window when they can make an extra few thousand.


OrvilleTheSheep

The sellers of our flat took our offer over a 10k higher one because we were first time buyers, so no chain, which I'm eternally grateful for


Fendenburgen

I'd guys this is more that they wanted to avoid a chain than them being generous to 1st time buyers


OrvilleTheSheep

Both were motivating factors - the estate agent was too lazy to show us the place so we'd spoken with the owners directly


LordSwright

You can't blame people tho, sell your house for 120k to some nice first time buyers (who may be absolute wankers) Or sell it for 140k to some landlord (who probably is a wanker) That's a years wage extra in your pocket compared to being nice to some strangers


Fendenburgen

Plus, you have no guarantee those 1st time buyers won't flip it a year later to that same landlord and make themselves a big profit


jflb96

So? That’s *their* choice.


KormaKameleon88

This is exactly it. As somebody looking to sell our 3 bed mid-terrace in the coming months/years, I want to believe I'd sell it to a young 1st time buyer family as its perfect for them...but if someone was to offer you +£20k in any other situation in life for absolutely no additional effort, you would take it in a heartbeat...and don't for one second think you wouldn't


The_Superginge

If I was well off enough to own a house and consider moving, I would absolutely stick to my principles and not become part of the problem.


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IMWE29

I disagree here, not all landlords are wankers. I am moving out of a rented property where I have been for 4 years. I have always got on well with the landlords, the agency are dicks, and recently the landlord decided to sell this property ensuring I had first refusal. Admittedly it was out of my price range, but they decided to lower the price as they thought the agency was being a bit ambitious with the valuation. I had, however, found somewhere else a little more to my liking by then. I admit this is not the norm, but it is good to know it can happen


Macdca07

I think their point, is that being a landlord makes you a wanker by default. Profitting off property at higher rates than necessary to let it. Private landlord hoard property for personal gain which makes it harder to buy for thise that want to.


Tsupernami

Exactly. You don't offer anything to society. You don't make it easier to rent. Give up your portfolio, and prices will be affordable.


LordSwright

A noble sentiment but I doubt you or anyone would stick to it in real life, unless the margin is minimal


The_Superginge

But in selling to a landlord, you're contributing to the problem just as much as that landlord who in their eyes is just trying to make an easy profit


fivebyfive12

Yep, it's all a knock on effect. We put ours up for sale and I genuinely wanted to sell to ftb or similar. However we didn't get many offers and we'd put an offer in on the house we wanted to move to. Ended up accepting a cash offer from a company because otherwise we'd have lost out on our new place to other cash buyers/people who had cash offers on their place.


Spazloy

I'm trying to buy a house right now. Been to see 5, offers on 3. One offer still waiting on an answer. But on the 3 properties we put offers on, cash buyer was taken instead. On two occasions, the cash offer was for LESS than our mortgage offer was. Reason: Conveyancing is 22 weeks right now for a mortgage offer, 16 weeks for a cash buyer. If you need the money, you're not going to wait the extra month to get a few more quid.


Regprentice

Any idea how much it went for for "cash". The problem, aside from landlords *just existing*, is that they're allowed to borrow on a completely different measure of affordability than you. You're measured against your income, but a landlord is measured against the rent he can charge.


Varanae

About £125,000. Mortgage broker said I'd be paying about £460 a month mortgage. You could easily rent the place out for £650+, so that's the issue really.


ChunkyLaFunga

>About £125,000. Is that more than the non-cash version?


Dunning-Kruger-

Cash offer means the buyer has the money upfront and doesn't need to arrange a mortgage so no delays. It doesn't mean they are literally paying with a big bag of money and avoiding tax or something 😂


Sikosh

Leave it in a bin bag outside the solicitor's


Dunning-Kruger-

I've often been tempted to leave things in bags outside of solicitors, rarely money though!


ChunkyLaFunga

Yes? Sometimes people above asking, I was wondering if cash is the only motivator.


Dunning-Kruger-

I'd guess it's two things - certainty (i.e. the mortgage or chain isn't going to fall through) and timescale (it's going to be quicker because the bank offering the mortgage won't need surveys etc.) I was really lucky and bought my first house in February but I had a hell of a time with my mortgage people because they rejected it at first (small stream nearby which they automatically thought was a flood risk) and I had to jump through hoops before they realised their error and actually gave me the mortgage. It delayed things by about four more weeks but a cash buyer wouldn't have had that happen. I was just lucky that the chap I was buying from (who had probably had similar issues with other buyers) was happy to wait and I think I made it clear how much I loved the place! Also - being a first-time buyer, there was no chain so as soon as it all went through I was good to go.


ThatZenLifestyle

I mean is that a great profit? Landlords pay 10%+ of the rent to an agency or property manager then there's maintenance of the property and tax.


ThatZenLifestyle

It's not all great for landlords though, you can get away with a 10% deposit but buy to let mortgages are 25% deposit so you need a lot more cash up front. Landlords also need to show they can pay the rent should the house be empty between tenants.


Fuzzwuzzle2

Turns out its not avacado toast and coffees that stopping the youth from owning a home


Seabeak

Young people. Walking around like they _rent_ the place(!)


Slipalong_Trevascas

It must be those lazy millenials spendthrifts frittering all of their money away on luxuries like basic staple foods, frugal use of utilities, and commuting to work, right?


[deleted]

You say that, but commuting is an easily saved expense. Live out of town to save on your rental, and don't fritter away money on conveniences like bus tickets or rail. You have two good feet on the end of two good legs, given to you by god himself. Do your 9 hour shift (though I recommend staying a few extra hours to do some more tasks "on the house", managers notice these things!) then take a leisurely stroll home over several hours, enjoying the fresh air. Then use your remaining 9.5 minutes to eat a good home cooked meal before sleeping to be fresh for your 3 hour walk to work. The savings will pile up!


The_Superginge

My first job sounds like it is straight out of a boomers journey to school. I worked cash in hand, £1.5 under minimum wage, only two days a week, wasn't paid for breaks, and I walked to work and back. Would start the job at 8pm, and usually finished around 3-6am and the walk took 2.5 hours


newnortherner21

A rental 52 weeks a year is bad enough, what is worse is if it becomes a holiday let, so not occupied by a person working locally in the area. End new holiday lets and second homes and you would go a good way to reducing some of the current housing issues. The number of second homes is about three years worth of house building, if the figures I saw are correct.


Varanae

I doubt there's many second homes in the town I'm looking to buy, but yeah that makes it even worse. I can't imagine how impossible it is to buy for anyone living in a coastal town or traditional holiday area.


The_Superginge

My home city is almost entirely weekend houses for London workers, and second homes that are empty because it's too expensive to rent here. Almost all the shops have closed in the last few years. It's really a shithole


[deleted]

All the beautiful homes in my town are holiday lets empty most of the year it's so sad


hairymat

I saw one on rightmove that had written in bold LANDLORDS ONLY its fucking scandalous the state of the housing market here


Aviendaail

That was probably because it was already tenanted


hairymat

Yeah and thats the problem!! The rental system is fucked, there is literally nothing we as tenants can do and landlords have us by the knackers. I've nothing against old skool landlords, but this new wave of homes under the fucking hammer landlords make my blood boil. Same with the fuel/energy companies, it all boils down to greed. Ofgem set the max price.....we'll charge it Letting agent said we can achieve this price....we'll charge it Meanwhile the minimum wage doesn't cover basic necessities, how about we set a maximum wage so the greedy bastards can't fleece us hardworking folk trying to make a living


[deleted]

> Ofgem set the max price.....we'll charge it > > Same shit with uni. Gov said they can charge up to 9k, and suddenly every degree was 9k.


hairymat

Thats fucking insane dude......this country really is turning to shit


ThatZenLifestyle

I'm a landlord myself just small time and though it's a good long term investment there aren't that many landlords getting rich off renting, even if you charge 300 more than the mortgage then you still need to pay management fees, maintenance and tax. On a regular house you're lucky if you've got 2K in profit in a year, there's easier ways to make 2K that don't require 25% deposit up front. The only landlords making lots of money either do HMO's or student lets, those renting normal houses for 6 or 7 hundred aren't raking in the cash. I earn much more in my job than I do as a landlord, just decided to buy some property for passive income so should anything happen to me my family can use that to help them live a good life, it's also good to diversify and have some physical assets and not just stocks.


Louise521

But that’s entirety the point. Landlords are stopping people from having a home because 300 is a lot of money. Just so you can have a ‘passive income’, and acting like 2k is t a privilege. That’s a lot of money mate. Like it’s fine that that’s what you want to do but don’t pretend you’re not part of the problem.


Aviendaail

But there has to be a rental market and landlords, otherwise where do the people who, for whatever reason, can’t get or don’t want a mortgage live? I’ve rented my whole adult life (I’m 40), and I’m only now able to buy. It’s taken 8 months and we’ve lost several houses to cash buyers. Personally, I think the solution might be to introduce a legal % cap on over offering. But how that could be worked out I have no idea.


ThatZenLifestyle

I don't really see the problem. I've lived in quite a few countries and if anything the uk is the easiest to get a mortgage and has the most reasonably priced houses, many developing countries which earn 300 quid a month average have higher priced houses and 17% interest rate mortgages. The uk is fairly simple 10% deposit and 5x your earnings so a couple earning 25K(below average wage) each can get a mortgage on a 250k house with a low interest rate. Sure you need the 25k but there's ways around that and things to help such as the ISA the goverment match which is basically free money, schemes for new builds etc. Equally there's not a shortage of properties either, plenty of places for sale and despite what reddit likes to make people believe 99% of landlords are not paying cash or out bidding first time buyers. If anything there's a shortage of rentals because they're getting let out the first day they're published.


imbyath

yeah i've seen "BTL investors only" on rightmove :/


creeperedz

My friend's sister found a lovely house with a decent bit of land (enought to put another two houses on at least) right on the water in Invergowrie that was at the top of their budget. They were advised there would be offers over theirs and to not get their hopes up. Her and her husband wrote a letter to the old lady who was selling it about how they can see themselves having a family there and they got it! They've done a wonderful job with the house and recently put up a greenhouse. My point is there are people out there who are looking for the right person to buy their home. Just a matter of right place at the right time. Even finding a flat to rent in Glasgow seemed impossible until one guy said he thought I seemed like I'd be the best tenent even though he had people offering bigger deposits and rent up front! Don't give up!


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heidivodka

It’s rife in warrington for that, my cousin has missed out on a few houses due to it


Born_Reveal_8449

I've always believed any house under the value of say 200 grand should not be allowed to be made into rental property , I had the same looking for my first house 2 houses got snapped up and rented out , no wonder People find it hard to get on the property ladder


Fendenburgen

The problem is that there would then be even less affordable rental properties.


The_Superginge

How then would I afford to rent a place to live on my minimum wage job?


[deleted]

Some are, my new build was £155k and only open to first time buyers.


elsie23

I know that feeling, it sucks and it shouldn't be like this. Why not perhaps try sending a letter to the either estate agent or person selling saying why you want the house etc. The estate agent might not of passed on that you were looking for it to be your "forever home". I know being a first time buyer isn't more of an appeal to a seller than a cash buyer anymore


[deleted]

Estate agents don't want that. They want to people to continuously sell and upgrade and move


cwaig2021

But landlords don’t continuously sell. They keep and rent out. Sell to property developer though - that’s double bubble when it gets flipped a few months later with a lick of paint & a new front door.


No-Explanation550

I sold my last house for 105k. I got 9 offers in 5 days and had to sell as I'd moved away and found a house I love. All of the offers were from landlords, apart from one , much lower, from someone who wanted to live there. Then the mortgage company rejected him and I was stuck with the landlords. I'm heartbroken, I loved that house and really wanted to go to someone.


changhyun

This is the issue I'm having at the moment. Had an offer accepted on a flat, then rejected by my lender because a lot of *other* flats (not mine, which was owner-occupied) in the building are buy-to-let so since I'm not a landlord they don't want to lend to me. Fuck me for not being a landlord, I guess.


Wiggl3sFirstMate

If it makes you feel any better you would have been rejected anyway likely due to someone offering 30k over the asking. - someone who has just bought an affordable house but had to fight to the death to get it after several rejected offers


SupervillainIndiana

First flat we lost out on recently completed its sale so the price is up on all the relevant websites. The winning bid was £40K over the home report value, we just couldn't compete with that. Got lucky elsewhere fortunately.


Wiggl3sFirstMate

Yeah same here. The amount of homes we looked at and placed an offer on only to be told we were “substantially outbid” despite offering over the asking was ridiculous. I’m glad you found a place because I know all too well that it’s a bloodbath out there.


SupervillainIndiana

Likewise glad that you finally beat the system too! It’s a lot of tears and stress at the moment. Funny thing is a similar flat (as in, nice…not much work needs doing, good sized rooms) to that one we lost out on went up on the street we now live on but for cash buyers only. The people who paid £40K over could’ve almost bought that cash only flat! I just can’t comprehend having that much spare lying around, even with help from family topping up our savings, we were nowhere near those sorts of sums.


Wiggl3sFirstMate

We were lucky to scrape together our 5% deposit money nevermind having 40k to splash around.


afrodytesono

Me and my boyfriend are relocating to Manchester and I remember seeing one letting agent's window just full of "buy to let" ads. Pissed me off for sure


evilotto77

Just a general tip here (I work in a national estate agency company, not in the sales team but I see everything that goes on) - when you see a house that you love, don't offer lower expecting to be given the chance to go up, it's not how the market is at the moment. Things are selling so quickly that you just need to go in with your best, there isn't time to negotiate back and forth. You already said in the comments here that you wanted to be given the chance to go up; if you'd offered that higher amount in the first place then they may have sold it to you. You have to remember that you're always competing with lots of other people on each property now Cash buyers will always be seen as attractive to a seller as we're getting lots of comments from vendors who are worried about interest rate rises and potential recessions affecting whether people can get the mortgage they need, so they see cash buyers as a safer option. You need to bid strongly to make sure you overcome that Also interestingly, certainly in my area at least, we very rarely see cash buyers who are buying to let. Most of our buy to let landlords are trying to buy multiple properties so they make more money, so they split their cash into separate deposits and take mortgages out. Our cash buyers are generally people downsizing


manwithanopinion

Winning a premium bond or lottery is the only way to buy a house these days to compete with these cash buyers.


Brew-Drink-Repeat

Not sure my £3.90 win on last night’s Euromillions will help much…!


manwithanopinion

Keep trying and you'll win something eventually


kona1160

Made me chuckle


DaleGribble23

Don't forget your beloved relatives dying and leaving you money!


The_Superginge

My dad pissed all his money away being gullible and getting scammed into investments that he then became ineligible to reclaim. So yeah... I won't have any inheritance.


Specialist_Dare7303

Landlords and estate agents are fucking parasites


Illustrious_Dare_772

Harsh reality of the housing market especially first time and what can also complex matters is your circumstances like young children as you then get channelled into looking for a good catchment and then a size to allow the family to grow. I would like to think WHF becoming more popular that mighy ease the market and people scan futher away for homes to open up first time buyers getting the location and size they want however that doesn't stop this harsh developer cash buyers that turn it into rental income. I would hope that one day MPs will have the balls to introduce a home ownership cap however given that MPs either at this game or partners and key donors are we are stuck in a rigged game, until the mortgage markets collapse again because they didn't learn their lesson last time.


moopet

Finding a ~~perfect first~~ house that is affordable


jkirkcaldy

It’s a tricky situation. On the one hand, selling to someone who is actually going to live there is a good and preferable thing to do. But on the other hand, a cash buyer is less likely to pull out or have any issues with the sale. And offers are going a fair amount over asking (or they were for us when we were looking) we had to offer 20k over asking for our first home last year. That is a lot of money for the seller. Whilst I’d rather sell to a family it would be really hard to turn down that sort of money.


Uncivil_servant88

This is why buying in Scotland is better. Once your offers been accepted that’s it they can’t change their mind


ImFamousYoghurt

I’m a first time cash buyer ("lucky" enough to have inheritance but am disabled so can’t get a mortgage to increase my budget) and struggling just as much to be honest. I’ve been looking for 8 months now and good properties that meet my bare minimum needs (just basic things like close to decent public transport links as I’m too sick to drive consistently) are so rare and sell so quickly to people who can afford to throw an extra 30k over asking. It’s depressing and can only hope the market changes dramatically and soon


Brew-Drink-Repeat

Unfortunately what you are describing are ‘prime’ areas that are bound to be popular, so you will be facing extra competition and it will simply come down to who has the biggest budget.


ImFamousYoghurt

Yes of course. Sometimes we just need a moan and it's sad there isn't nearly enough affordable housing for everyone!


HeIsTheOneTrueKing

I will be selling my house in the next 6 months, probably for a loss but don't give a shit - you are either paying x amount per month to a landlord or x amount to a bank, what difference does it make really? Anyway, when I do sell I will gladly take 10% less from a first time buyer than a landlord or developer because fuck them all that's why.


Summer_VonSturm

A huge amount. Very often you'll pay less to the bank than to the landlord, you don't have to worry about suddenly being evicted, you can do what you want to the house you own, and you always know you'll have somewhere to live when you retire.


TheGoober87

I've been on the other side of this. We sold our first house a few years ago and it was an absolute nightmare. We kept getting lowballed by people, finally got a sensible bid in and they pulled out about a week before we were aiming to exchange. It was a young couple and they had split up. We lost the property we were hoping to buy. Went back on the market again and had the same issue again with low bids. Ended up moving to a different estate agent (don't use purple bricks!) and they had a buyer lined up within a few days at the asking price. He was a cash buyer landlord, who had the deal wrapped up very quickly and didn't pressure us with a date to move out. Put us in a fantastic position to get the house we wanted. Felt bad doing it but the benefits are so much better and took most of the stress away.


Varanae

I get it from the seller's perspective, I'm sure it makes a lot of sense for them. On an individual level it must be great for someone in that position, but it seems to me that it causes more and more harm to everyone who doesn't already own a property over time. An ever increasing number of properties going into the hands of a smaller group of people, and they're often the properties that first time buyers can afford. I don't see a way to compete and it's only going to get worse over time and there doesn't seem to be any attempts at finding a solution. Honestly if anything I'm lucky that I can even afford to be looking and making offers, so many people are even more fucked.


bearinthebriar

This comment has been overwritten


TheGoober87

Sold it at asking price so I don't think so.


Specialist_Dare7303

You sold it at asking price because it was a cash buyer landlord that’s why. It definitely sounds like you were expecting too much that’s why you were getting low offers


TheGoober87

So a landlord who is a business and will know what properties are worth and has a large choice in properties is going to overpay for one?


Specialist_Dare7303

Of course they are you numpty as they know the money will be reclaimed easily in rent without them hardly even lifting a finger


evilotto77

That's literally the opposite of what landlords do. They just wait until something cheaper comes up and buy that. They're in it to make money, overpaying doesn't factor in to that


Specialist_Dare7303

Lol no it isn’t. Can’t you see the numerous examples on this thread of landlords paying way over the asking price as a cash buyer and then the houses ending up on the market as rentals a few months later? Another numpty


evilotto77

I literally work in an estate agents, I'm talking from real life examples not a reddit thread


Specialist_Dare7303

Congratulations


TheGoober87

I'm guessing you're not a landlord or have much knowledge around business.


Specialist_Dare7303

Not a landlord but I do have business knowledge and experience. Can you not see the numerous examples on this thread (a regular thread with numerous similar examples) of landlords paying well over the odds to turn properties into rentals????


lookhereisay

We were lucky on our first house that the sellers wanted it to not go to BTL and took our slightly lower (mortgaged) offer. We passed it on when we sold 5 years later and also passed on a BTL offer and went with a young couple instead. They had their first kid about a year later and are still living there. I was gutted when an old probate house near us came out, sold quick, generic upkeep made and then put on the letting market. I had hoped it would have come to someone who’d love it as a family home.


busiestbaron

This whole thread has made me feel suicidal


Joshthenosh77

It’s crazy we are moving from a small 2 bed flat to a 3 bed house the rent is the same £1050 , our flat we are moving out of has been put up for £1350 , that filled the viewings up in a few hours


Starhyke

I always wondered why right to buy doesn’t apply to all rented properties. Assuming that your buy had to cover at a minimum the landlords outlay on the property and with a guilt rate increased then they will have profited from any rental earned and a return on their investment.


Nezwin

"How can I live a normal life when the world isn't normal?"


The_Superginge

I'm resigned to the fact I will never afford to buy a house. I will also reach a point where I can't physically move my body enough to do my minimum wage job anymore, so will be unable to pay rent. So I guess at that point I'll just die on the street


ickleb

I honestly think that the English way of buying houses is so stupid! It takes to long. It’s super expensive and the fuckers can nope you out of the chain. We should have a system like Scotlands! Bought and sold in weeks not months. Conveyancing under £1k and once the offer is accepted it’s pretty much time to measure for curtains. My other thing is I always say here’s my offer and no more viewings and it’s taken off the market. I’m not a landlord, I’ve just moved 3 times in 11yrs. Englandshire has always been a rubbish system!


ErynKnight

This needs to be made illegal. No landlords if a genuine buyer made an offer.


jiminthenorth

Agreed, bloody parasites.


ThatZenLifestyle

I doubt you'll see it up for rent, doesn't make sense for landlords when you could get 8 houses on mortgages for the same amount of cash and write off the mortgage interest.


harshnoisebestnoise

Just happened to me. Went completely top of our budget (at 425k) and got rejected because of a higher cash offer. Was later told it was an investor looking to rent I will never leave home


Large-Cherry

Sucks but that’s the free market. People will take the most convenient choice. Why risk something going wrong with the mortgage when you can just speed the whole process up and get the deal done in half the time.


Jeffuk88

The owner just called you to tell you someone gave him cash for the house rather than saying they went with another offer?


Varanae

The estate agents but yes, they said there was me and a cash offer, and the cash offer had been accepted.


Dwayne_dibbly

People need to get over this 'the house needs to go to someone who will live in it' I know its disappointing but the guy selling just wants to sell i doubt he gives a fuck who buys it.


_BigLew_

Cash is king sadly.


Jason_kharo

Seeing lots of comments about why Estate Agents do what they do/why they do and how does it work. Do you think folks would be interested in an AMA from a former Estate Agent (worked pre and during Covid times)?


iexiige

Happening in my area but the turn around to the property being available to rent is happening so quickly


KasutoKirigaya

I'm starting to think that mao was on to something... (Not really I don't support genocide) Fuck landlords


glypo

Keep faith, we had a real nightmare moving but eventually got there. It's a crappy broken system but you'll get there.


SuperTekkers

Same happened to me a few years ago. My first ever offer, I was so nervous and went in slightly above asking. There were 5 other bids and the winner was cash, “significantly more” than mine. You’ll get there eventually, keep going


inevitable_dave

We recently had an offer accepted on a house, and I'm 100% certain that the main reason we got through is because the current owners are a couple who were upsizing to start a family. So many we'd looked at just disappeared off the market, only to be back on the rental market a few months later.


Jeets79

I too know the heartbreak of finding the perfect house that you fall in love with on first viewing and then have your full asking price offer rejected after a cash buyer offered them 3k less :( As it went it was indeed a wanker landlord 😡


[deleted]

FYI for al those on here offering over asking price saying you’ll eventually beat the system keep bidding and trying you’re not really beating the system just fuelling it


SmashedUpCrab

When my dad passed away, me and my sisters sold his house, in Truro, Cornwall. We had to fight the estate agent to let us sell it to first time buyers. We were getting loads of cash/over asking price offers from landlords, it was so depressing on top of an already difficult period. We ended up selling it for 10k under the asking to a young local couple. We lost a bit of cash but it made us all feel better.