House buying today.

We sold my Mum's house through an invite to bid by a certain day. We certainly wanted to know the buyer's intentions. It was an old house with all the original fittings and we just wanted to know that it wasn't going to be a builder who would come in, tear it down and build soulless boxes. Our family had lived there for over 75 years so we were emotionally invested. We only sold it to pay for Mum's Nursing Home Fees.
My cousin's did the same with their father's property. Once again, his family had lived there for 70 years.
I'd be more worried about the terms of some of the estate agents' sales these days. My daughter looked at a house and she had to make an immediate non-returnable deposit before survey, pay loads of different fees and if her property sale fell through, she would be liable for costs if the other side didn't want to delay the sale whilst she found a new buyer.

This property is a small semi in Stockport.
Not much to commend it but the price and the excellent condition for a young couple starting out with their first house.
I may win a million tomorrow on the Premium bonds….. then again I might not.
If I do they can start upping their criteria.

fancythat

But when?

Why has it not been done already?

And the biggest issue of all, and especially in light of the request of a reason to buy as well, does the daughter really want to sell. In her heart of hearts.

4th I suppose - why has she dragged her heels thus far in emptying the house/getting it ready for sale. Properly ready.
Though there may be excellent reasons for doing that,

Agree fancythat, I'd worry that the daughter was maybe too emotional. I've moved a dozen times and never been asked to write anything such as this.
I have known of a few people who've written a few lines for the agent to pass on to the seller, because they have fallen hard for a property though!
This senario sounds like a reversal of this.

I'd just say,well we need a home,and its in our price range,if youre willing to accept our lower offer we hope to lavish attention on it.and leave it at that.(it really is nothing to do with the sellers why you want it,but maybe theirs was the lowest offer so they might be persuaded to let it go for less if they know its to be cherished?)Personally if i was selling i wouldnt care why if they met my price.

We bought a flat in a rapidly rising market - it doubled in value in 18 months. We had 3 offers and asked the agent about the bidders. We chose the local young couple even though it was slightly less than the highest bidder because we had made our share, and they needed a home to marry. Highest bidder was buy to let

My daughter and her partner bought their first house last year (in Cambridge so their two bed is worth more than my four bed 😳).
There was a “guide price”, which they offered but there were several such offers they had to offer more.
They did eventually get it at around £8k over the guide price - but theirs wasn’t the highest offer.
They had to fill in some kind of questionnaire and stated that they were first time buyers. The highest offer was from someone who wanted to buy to let, but the vendor had himself bought the house as a first time buyer and wanted it in turn to go to another ftb.

Kirsty Allsop from location, location, location often advises people to send a personal letter to the seller, explaining what the particular house would mean to the purchaser. Let’s face it buying a house involves a lot of emotion and sentiment. If as is said the sender is going into a nursing home, I feel sure it would bring them a great deal of comfort to know that their treasured house full of memories will be loved and cared for, for years to come. I wish your GD and BF every happiness with their new adventure of owning their first home.

We had this once, people asked to submit proposals for what they were going to do with the house. The seller knew substantial work needed doing and didn't want to be messed around so they did this to ensure the buyers were fully informed of what they were buying, and the costs of renovating, when they made their offer. It was a lovely romantic house that would have attracted a lot of attention from novice renovaters. I also have a friend who was vetted by the seller to ensure she wanted the flat to live in and not develop into an Airbnb etc, he was thinking of the neighbours he was leaving in the other flats, really sweet man.

Doodledog

It is perfectly normal not to be able to view without a mortgage in principle. Some EEs won't show people around until their house is sold, or under offer.

There are a lot of time wasters out there. My sister's house was for sale a while ago, and she had a lot of people looking around as part of a day out, as she lives in an area of natural beauty. some even knocked on the door without an appointment and asked to look around 'while we're in the area'.

We first viewed the house I live in without an appointment. We had travelled 50 miles to this area and found that estate agents didn't open on Sundays, unlike where we lived at the time so couldn't make an appointment. We knocked on the door and appologised for not having made an appointment but asked if we could see round. The owners agreed and kept appologising for things being untidy! We did view again with an appointment once we decided to make an offer and I still have contact with the wife of the couple over 20 years later as she plays trumpet in the local orchestra and I sing in the chorus!

I agree with Nannan2's advice. Maybe the relative is hoping the next owner will love the house just as much. After our offer had been accepted (owner passed away) we'd arranged to go back to take some measurement, the estate agent said the daughter would be at the bungalow rather than them as she wanted to meet us to see who would be living in her mum's home. Clearly on meeting her she still had emotional ties to her mum's old place

I don't think there is anything sinister in this. There could have been a lot of offers but the owner wants it to go to people who will love it even if the offer is lower.

The elderly couple from whom we bought our family house in 1979 certainly wanted us to have it because we fitted their idea of the family who would live in their house. Also, we were the energetic young(ish) couple who could bring it up to a then-modern standard. We lived there for 30 years until it was time for the house to have a new family.

Very unusual and I just would not to it!

Alison333

I don't think there is anything sinister in this. There could have been a lot of offers but the owner wants it to go to people who will love it even if the offer is lower.

I absolutely agree with you. The family members selling the hous would prefer a letter so that they can show it to the elderly owner, now in a care home.

Alison333

I don't think there is anything sinister in this. There could have been a lot of offers but the owner wants it to go to people who will love it even if the offer is lower.

And if the young couple decide to move out in a couple of years, what happens then 🤷‍♀️

Doodledog

I've never heard of that, but there are houses around me that are advertised as being for sale only to people who are going to live in them (ie not Air B&Bs or holiday homes). Maybe it's something on those lines?

Good point
Lots of rackets and scams around buying and selling houses. Especially from Overseas Buyers

Besides Air B&B etc. Worse still
.Think houses that are turned into Houses of Multiple Occupancy and Student Accomodation.

I think these Summary things could
be a kegal thing for the future really..Maybe a good idea?

petra

Alison333

I don't think there is anything sinister in this. There could have been a lot of offers but the owner wants it to go to people who will love it even if the offer is lower.

And if the young couple decide to move out in a couple of years, what happens then 🤷‍♀️

The previous owner may well have died and time will have passed since she moved out.

But, as I said up thread, even a moving letter and convincing information can still be other than the truth.

No,never heard of that,very weird.

knspol

Very unusual and I just would not to it!

Well you won't be getting the house then, I suppose!

NotSpaghetti

knspol

Very unusual and I just would not to it!

Well you won't be getting the house then, I suppose!

Strange outlook.

When I want to buy a house, I really really want that house and do whatever it takes to get it.

I think people are overthinking and overcomplicating a very simple reuest by those who are acting for the elderly lady who has presumably spent most of her married life in this house, loved and looked after it and who wants it to go to a young couple who will love it and care for it as much as she did, even if it means accepting a lower offer.

The reuest for a letter is because the elderly owner, in her care home, probably is not computerate, so the best way to let her know about the potential new owners is to ask for it in print on paper.

M0nica, just for once , I think you are right!

my older son has just started renting and i honestly couldn't believe how much he had to go through, including most landlords requiring guarantors despite being above earning threshold . It's really difficult for young people

Am I strange in not giving a jot as to who purchases my house when I a selling it - only caring if they are going to proceed with the purchase as swiftly as possible. What they then do with their property is their business and absolutely nothing to do with me.
I have no sentiments around bricks and mortar, my memories good and bad of time in a house come with me = in my head.

JaneJudge

my older son has just started renting and i honestly couldn't believe how much he had to go through, including most landlords requiring guarantors despite being above earning threshold . It's really difficult for young people

Once you are a tenant now, he should have some protection. My son went through the same when he left Uni and was just about to move when the Landlord, having agreed everything and signed a contract, just changed their mind to rent to a friend who would pay more. Whilst my son was devastated at the time, he found a much better place with a better landlord. Hopefully your son will have the same luck.