Really fascinating. My neighbour sold her house to a landlord in a day for the full asking price. Im sitting waiting for the sucker punch. Hopefully there wont be one. But after one day i was concerned it was to eager on they're part.
Solicitors - yes - can make a huge difference. Lack of pro-activity on the legal side during the conveyancing process is often a major problem. I would particularly mention buying Leasehold (as opposed to Freehold) property. The terms and conditions of the Lease need to be fully understood and their future implications. The Lease is a legal document and if your solicitor is not experienced in Leasehold property, expensive mistakes can be made.
The desire to feel that you've got a good deal applies to both buyer and seller, obviously. This is why, unless the seller is desperate to sell quickly, you always market the property at 3-5% more than the seller will accept. This allows for negotiating room with both ending up feeling that they've done OK out of the deal. So if the seller will accept £500.000, you market at £515,000 - £525,000 depending on the seller's attitude and the Agent's view of the state of the market.
What’s the deal with estate agencies making phantom bookings ? We have had two bookings this evening and one was running late by 15 mins. They never turned up. The second one didn’t even turn up or make a phone call. This is the third booking from eight potential viewings.