Property ‘mistake’ that makes people ‘far less likely’ to secure ‘dream home’ | Personal Finance | Finance
People contemplating listing their property because they’re planning to relocate frequently commit the same fundamental error, an expert has cautioned, resulting in them missing out on their ideal home. It’s a blunder that sellers across the UK make repeatedly – and subsequently regret when the property that meets all their requirements is purchased by another buyer right under their noses.
Michelle Lawson, director at Fareham-based Lawson Financial, said it was something she witnessed constantly and it nearly always ended in disappointment.
She says: “Far too often, prospective sellers do not put their property on the market until the property they have always dreamed about appears on Rightmove or Zoopla. They click on the property on Rightmove one evening, fall in love and that’s the trigger that makes them finally instruct an agent and formally start the sales process the following morning.
“The problem is, getting valuations from a few agents and then having the agent you ultimately go with arrange the pics can take time and finding a proceedable buyer doesn’t always happen instantly, by which point the property you have fallen in love with has usually been snapped up by someone else. After all, if you fell in love with it, chances are someone else has, too.”
Michelle explained that sellers not only underestimated how long it takes to get their property listed, but were also left disheartened when the estate agent marketing the home they desperately want declines a viewing because they aren’t in a position to proceed.
She said: “If a property is highly sought after, the agent may decide to only offer viewings to people who are proceedable, namely cash buyers or those who are already on the market at a minimum and usually under offer. Just because you have instructed an agent is often not enough.
“They also may restrict viewings to prospective buyers with a mortgage agreed in principle, a process that again can take time, especially for borrowers who may have a more complex income.”
Michelle noted that what she described as ‘Dream Property Syndrome’ was so widespread that it hampered the broader housing market.
“People around the UK suffer from Dream Property Syndrome and the result is that so many properties that should be on the market are not. The result is fewer transactions and a market starved of stock.
“If people were organised and prepared, they would put their homes on the market before their dream property comes onto the market, which means they would be far more likely to secure it when it does.
“Unfortunately, Dream Property Syndrome ends up leaving many prospective buyers dealing with the nightmare that they have missed out and being forced to choose from properties other than the one that got away.”
