Best Offer Wins
Highly Desirable
Very Slowly All At Once
Most Wanted
The Dream Home From New Zealand to SOUTH WEST FRANCE – a story of adventure and resilience
Property and house-hunting horror stories
27th January 2026
Catch up with the latest novels that immerse the reader in the horror of house-buying. Property and house-hunting horror stories
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (Washington DC / Maryland)
“House-hunting is a special kind of hell”
How far would you go to get the perfect home?
There was a time when Margo thought she knew. But that was before a soul-destroying eighteen months of house-hunting hell.
Now she’s not sure. Her life, her marriage, her family, her career are dangerously out of control and all she needs is a new home to get them all back on track.
So when the ideal house comes up, desperate measures are called for. A little online stalking. Some sneaky surveillance of the property in question. Befriending the owner. All reasonable enough, right?
But soon it’s clear that nothing is off limits, because when your best offer might not win, then you just need to do what it takes…
Highly Desirable by Anonymous (London)
Spanning the course of a year, Max – the alias of London’s most exclusive property agent – guides us through the unimaginable highs and bank-breaking lows of his business, where houses sell for up to £170 million and discretion is key.
With a client list that includes a Booker Prize winner, several Oscar nominees, a stadium-filling musician, an HRH, two national treasures, a supermodel, a Duke, a Duchess, and untold FTSE board members and titans of business, there is never a dull moment for Max and his team – John, Damien and Natasha – as they negotiate both huge property deals in the office, and their complex personal lives outside of it.
Offering an insider’s view into the hidden machinations of this exclusive market, Highly Desirable sees Max attempt to balance his team, his own needs and, of course, the books against his ever-demanding clients, as he showcases the good, the bad, and the downright bizarre nature of the real-estate market of the super-rich.
Very Slowly All At Once by Lauren Schott (Ohio)
Mack and Hailey Evans are on the cusp of living the American Dream. Established careers, two beautiful children, and a new house on a coveted lakefront estate.
But modern life is expensive, so the anonymous payments they start to receive are spent before they know it. Could this money be from Mack’s estranged father? Or one of Hailey’s clients? Does it really matter?
Then they discover that this mysterious benefactor expects a return on their investment. How far will the couple have to go to pay them back?
As it turns out, the best things in life are not free. And the price is far steeper than they could have imagined …
Most Wanted by Andi Osho (London)
All Naya and Jake want is their own home. An island in the kitchen. A wine cooler, maybe… Nothing fancy really.
With artisanal coffee shops and microbreweries popping up on every corner, prices are skyrocketing. And as Jake and Naya tour property after property, one thing becomes clear: unless they want to share their home with black mould, they need to find a way to make the market crash. And fast.
There’s only one thing for it: they’re going to have to take matters into their own hands. But how far are they willing to go?
Set in fictional Wickstone (aka Walthamstow)
The Dream Home by T M Logan (Nottingham)
Adam and Jess move into a new house with their three young children: a rambling Victorian villa in a nice neighbourhood right at the very top of their price range. Before long Adam discovers a door hidden behind a fitted wardrobe, concealing a secret room . . .
Inside Adam discovers a collection of forgotten items: a wallet, an expensive watch and an old mobile phone. Jess thinks they should simply throw them away. But Adam resists. He is fascinated by these items and how they came to be inside the hidden room.
But like the house, Adam has his secrets too. And soon he will find himself setting in motion a series of events that will place his family in terrible danger . .
Let us know about any further books that we could add to the list!
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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