I feel sorry for my son…

Thats a shame Shinamaebut I suspect now the stamp duty holiday is over that he should find it easier.

I suppose it doesn’t help that we live in North Devon….And we do appreciate living in such a beautiful area believe me but the downside is at the moment a lot of people out of county are buying properties here,sometimes not even seen,just bought out right by seeing the pictures on the Internet, an estate agent friend of mine told me that..

I appreciate the problem and hope he finds somewhere soon. I am a firm believer that if it is meant to happen it will. On many occasions we have lost houses only to find a better one.

They should make a law stopping this. For example in the Netherlands you can only buy a house or flat in Amsterdam if you live there already or work there. The only places you can buy are new builds outside the main city.

dragonfly46

They should make a law stopping this. For example in the Netherlands you can only buy a house or flat in Amsterdam if you live there already or work there. The only places you can buy are new builds outside the main city.

I think that is exactly the type of thing we need here…

dragonfly46 what happens when inner city properties come up for sale, if everyone has to buy out of town new build. Are all older properties demolished and replaced by factories aand offices?

What a shame for your son. I hope there is something he can afford which is not so popular with the rich incomers.
Sometimes it's worth looking at a less attractive property and improving it himself.

How rude to not even let him know he was not successful.

My friend recently bought an ex council flat in a block of 4 which is far more spacious than the modern properties and was much cheaper than a pretty cottage would have been. It also has loads of cupboards.

M0nica

dragonfly46 what happens when inner city properties come up for sale, if everyone has to buy out of town new build. Are all older properties demolished and replaced by factories aand offices?

I think dragonfly probably meant that incomers can only buy new builds on the outskirts..

Grammaretto

What a shame for your son. I hope there is something he can afford which is not so popular with the rich incomers.
Sometimes it's worth looking at a less attractive property and improving it himself.

How rude to not even let him know he was not successful.

My friend recently bought an ex council flat in a block of 4 which is far more spacious than the modern properties and was much cheaper than a pretty cottage would have been. It also has loads of cupboards.

Yes Grammaretto that is the sort of property my son would actually prefer to buy as he would willingly do a place up himself…

Would he consider self-build?
I certainly would if I had his skills.

Your son may find prices will drop, and he will be in a good position to be snapped up as a buyer, soon.
Devon and Cornwall are under pressure from 2nd home owners arnt they?
Good luck to him.

Lots of city dwellers have been buying a second home bolt hole in rural areas. It’s a big problem. They can always bid higher.

And then the properties are empty for most of the time.

We’ve just sold my ex FILs bungalow in Devon. It was a wreck and I thought we’d have trouble getting rid of it but it was snapped up in 24 hrs.

I think if your son waits a lot of these properties will come back on the market as the pandemic panic recedes and people start go abroad for getaways again.

I remember your previous posts about the ransom strip ?

Sorry to hear he’s having trouble with buying a house. I know so many people having trouble selling at the moment too - which is odd because all the news seems to be that houses are going quickly!

dragonfly46

I appreciate the problem and hope he finds somewhere soon. I am a firm believer that if it is meant to happen it will. On many occasions we have lost houses only to find a better one.

Yes, I agree. Although it doesn't help at the time, hindsight has always shown that what we bought later was far better than the one we were disappointed about. A story to cheer all who have had hassle with housebuying/selling ( which is all of us I assume):
An employee of mine, divorced, finding things hard financially was trying to sell the substantial family home that she was living in and finding very expensive to maintain. her exh was putting lots of pressure on for it to be sold. Anyway, finally got a decent offer, accepted, then the morning of exchange, she came to work dreadfully upset because the buyer would only proceed if £30k was knocked off, knowing her position, knowing she was trying to buy another far smaller house. She unwillingly agreed and the reduced sale went through. Go forwards five years, I drove past her house and the beautiful views, fields behind it were covered with builder signs announcing a huge housing development . Karma eh?

As an Australian, I find the fact that a vendor can agree to sell to a buyer and then continue to take other offers.

When an offer is accepted here a contract is signed and a settlement date agreed upon. Most popular settlement is 60 or 90 days.

The sale can be accepted on agreed conditions such as finance being approved or the satisfactory completion of a Building and Pest inspection. No further offers are then able to be accepted as the contract is signed and legal.

I'm very unsure about areas being ring-fenced for locals. That would be fab if you are lucky enough to have been born in a desirable area and can stay there in social housing, preferential rents, or even sales that are blocked to 'incomers', but it's hard lines for those born in Grotsville who are unable to access any of those things in areas other than those surrounding their place of birth. People from disadvantaged areas have enough to contend with without creating systems that keep nicer areas out of reach in favour of locals.

The second home issue is a tricky one, I think. I don't think that anyone needs (or should have) a second home as long as some people don't have a first one, and I am not keen on a system that allows the 'haves' to make a living by renting to the 'have nots'. I think that the tax system should actively discourage people from having second homes, whether as holiday homes, Air B&Bs or rentals.

On the other hand, there are a lot of couples who get together with a home each, eg after divorce or bereavement, and it's difficult to know how to deal with that fairly. Whose home should be classified as the second one, and at what stage in the relationship?

I believe that all adults should have responsibility for paying tax and should be eligible for benefits based on their own contributions alone, so it wouldn't sit well with me to have a system that treats people as a couple when it comes to home ownership.

This is why I'd make a hopeless politician?. I can talk myself in and out of a school of thought so easily.

OP, my son is in a similar situation. He is hoping that when the stamp duty 'holiday' ends that prices will fall. There are so many people chasing every property just now that it's a buyers' market. The trouble is, of course, that the longer he pays rent the more time it will take to save for a deposit - it is a bit of a vicious circle for their generation.

Thanks for all your responses, what is very, very clear is our whole house buying process needs upgrading And when an offer is put in and is accepted that should be it,maybe like a previous poster said £1000 either way if something goes wrong. I can see people having a proper breakdown because of this as it is such a worry. The system as it stands at the moment is shocking and deplorable.. I think one of the main problems at the moment is people who are buying in areas like Devon and Cornwall have a lot of money and a few thousand pounds is neither here nor there to them where as to local people it’s a lot of money…?‍♀️

Peasblossom

Lots of city dwellers have been buying a second home bolt hole in rural areas. It’s a big problem. They can always bid higher.

And then the properties are empty for most of the time.

We’ve just sold my ex FILs bungalow in Devon. It was a wreck and I thought we’d have trouble getting rid of it but it was snapped up in 24 hrs.

I think if your son waits a lot of these properties will come back on the market as the pandemic panic recedes and people start go abroad for getaways again.

I remember your previous posts about the ransom strip ?

Peasblossom, I think at one point quite recently he wished he had gone ahead with that bungalow ransom strip or no ransom strip…. But he has calm down now and he’s going to bide his time, really there is nothing else he can do….

I know how you feel, my son has been trying to buy, very difficult when they are trying to do it alone and prices just keep climbing.
He did have an offer on a coach house flat accepted the year before last and it was then "I've had higher offer, would you like to increase yours.." from the owner. Ummm no! So he lost out on that one.

I agree about it being so hard for locals to afford to stay in a popular area.
In parts of rural Scotland -Highlands and Islands- this has been an issue for years.

My DD would love to buy her own house. They live in a tied cottage which goes with the job so lose your job, lose your home, and last year that's exactly what happened.
Now they live in a beautiful part of Scotland where house prices are very high.

At least in Scotland there is the Crofting Commission which to some extent controls who can own what. So if you buy a croft you need to live there and make your living from the land.

I watched a film which shows how tensions arise between a local Cornish fishing community and tourists
Worth watching it's called Bait
www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/01/bait-review-mark-jenkin-cornish-fishing-village

Where can I watch that film Grammaretto please?

Shinamae,
That sounds like city dwellers buying either as weekend/holiday properties, or buy to rent.
Both of which can up the prices in your town, unfortunately!
House prices are on the up at the moment (my son is in the same position as yours), but they do waver so your son may get a better deal later on when they go down again!
Fingers crossed for him!!

Thanks Ali ??

The film BAIT seems to be on Netflix and Amazon Prime video and it was on More4.
or BFI player
player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-bait-2018-online
I saw it at the cinema and haven't tried Netflix.