As ‘Rites of Passage’ go, owning your first home has to be up there at the top, you have flown the coop and can proudly stand there and survey all that you own (well you will in 25 years once you pay back the mortgage lender).To get there be prepared for a hard slog, you may start off full of the joys of this new world but after 4 months, 20 viewings and countless rejected offers you find yourself opening your bedroom door and your mum is standing there “Will you be back for Dinner? and shall I wash your smalls?” – WILL THIS PAIN EVER END ? and errr… Yes, I will be home for Dinner.

You have done all your research and put yourself in the position of being the best buyer out there, but still your offers are getting rejected and you want to know why.

YOU ARE THE FIRST OFFER:

When an Estate Agent is instructed to sell a home, they will ring all potential purchasers to make viewings and even though they have sat down with the vendor and explained exactly how they work to get a property sold, some vendors still see an early or immediate offer as a sign that their home is priced incorrectly – If it is the home of your dreams then sit tight and see what happens or move on to another (after a few days you may even get a call back from the agent to say the vendor is willing to accept your offer).

YOU ARE ONE OF THE MANY:

Multiple viewings on a property can bring in multiple offers and the Estate Agent has to put each and every offer forward to the vendor in the ‘best light’ – by that I mean every single detail that will assist the vendor in making a decision (size of deposit, timescales, mortgage in position, solicitors ready to go), sometimes that is more important than the offer price. If the vendor requires a higher offer then the agent will return to all parties and inform you of just that, but won’t tell you what others have offered (it’s unethical) at that point it is up to you how far you increase your offer. Harsh I know, but when you go to sell a home at least you know which agent to use.

TIME SCALES ARE DIFFERENT:

Maybe you are in rented accommodation and have to be out in 3 months, which although a normal time for the transaction to go through, can cause panic on the vendors side. It might be that the vendor is buying a brand new home and the developers want an exchange of contracts within 4 weeks but the house won’t be built for a further 4 months – Decide what you can or can’t do, if you can change your timescales then fine, but don’t start off the process because if it collapses, it will cost you money!

IT’S ON THE MARKET WITH MANY AGENTS:

You put your offer in and the agent contacts the vendor, at this point the agent finds out that two other agents also have an offer on the property. Everyone is standing in the puddle of uncertainty, the agents are trying to get their offers accepted and you are wondering what you can do to swing it your way, even the vendor is confused at this point. My advice would be to find out what the vendor wants, price, timescale and other stipulations that they want – if you can agree to these you will put yourself in pole position.

YOUR OFFER HAD TOO MANY DEMANDS:

You view the property and make a mental list of everything that you need to make it the perfect home and when it comes to making the offer you produce a 16 page ‘My Offer is Subject To’ list – the vendor won’t be impressed and will pass you over immediately. It is reasonable however, to have a few sensible points but the more you have, the less practical your offer will be to the vendor.

I did say it would be hard work buying a home, even at the offer stage – Always keep in your mind that this is a business transaction for all parties, the biggest one you make, but once you have the keys in your hand and move in the business side evaporates and it’s all about you and your home, and that first morning when you wake up and fling open your bedroom door and there is your mum “Breakfast?” – MENTAL NOTE: DO NOT GIVE OUT HOUSE KEYS ! and yes please mum, a bacon sandwich.