Advice on prospective purchase

[Dru77]

Hi,

I've been looking at a grade 2 listed house. It's lovely but has not been maintained very well by the owners. It's been for sale for 18 months at £450k which is around £50k more than they paid 7 years ago. If the house were in good condition I would happily pay the asking price, but it's really not. I took a builder on my second viewing and he reckoned I'd be stupid to pay any more than half the asking price due to the amount of work it needs.

The owners have previously rejected offers below asking price. They seem in no hurry to move but also unwilling, or unable, to spend the necessary money to maintain the house. An initial estimate is that it needs substantial roof repairs incl. Replacing all the slates, rewiring, new sash windows, and substantial stone repairs to the facade. In addition, the drainage had obvious issues and the cellar was visibly damp.

Would I be mad to make an offer? I can't imagine any owner accepting an offer almost 50% below asking price.

 

[Maddie-Rose]

Hi I guess it's weather it's 'worth' the monies asked to any buyer that just wants the house because of maybe its uniqueness. A bit like buying a property at auction, some property's fetch much more than what they'd be valued at on the open market, just because someone wants it, iykwim

I assume they don't really want or need to sell unless they get the price they want. It's a difficult one, and more about how much the house is 'worth' to you in your heart

 

[plasticpigeon]

I wouldn't trust a builder to value a property or judge the housing market. I wouldn't trust most builders to do building work!!! I'm afraid your question is a bit of an impossible one to answer! I suppose you have to decide whether the house is what you want and whether the end result will have cost you a reasonable amount for what you end up with. I apparently paid over for my place, but that was because everyone else saw it as a place that needed to be gutted. i saw it as a place that didn't need all the old stuff reinstating so it was worth more to me!

 

[88v8]

Hello and welcome

We went to see a listed cottage. An open day. The owners were sitting in the garden, very nice garden, offering viewers a glass of bubbly. They seemed confident of selling there and then, and were not happy when I began pointing out the decrepit paintwork, rotted wood, rusted rainwater goods, etc. The house was on the market for two years off and on, the price sinking.
But 50% below? Not going to happen, realistically.

I wouldn't trust any builder who suggests that all the slates need to be skipped. That's not a conservation approach. And as Plasticpigeon is demonstrating, sash windows can be repaired. Just two examples.

Are you a confident DIYer? If you are going to depend on a builder for everything, I'd be inclined to steer clear and spend a few years polishing your skills before you plunge into the murky depths of repairing a period house, especially one that is listed as that adds another layer of complication. When you have your own competence, you will be more in control of the costs, able to evaluate what needs doing, and better able to judge the expertise of anyone you might wish to employ to help you.

Ivor

 

[Bevmarley]

When we moved into our house we found a man from a heritage place that came up and looked at our house. He was brilliant and advised on a few things . He obviously only gave his view but it did get a lot of things into perspective on things we were worried about. Is there anyone locally that may be happy to go and look at the house with you. It won't be a survey but may help in your decision . Or maybe you need a specialist surveyor to look at the house but that will expensive.

 

[Flyfisher]

Would I be mad to make an offer?

Certainly not. Offer whatever you're willing to pay (for whatever reason), just don't automatically expect them to accept it (for whatever reason).

From what you've said, it seems pretty certain that a deal is not going to be reached. Regardless of the actual numbers, the vendors will always (well 99% of the time) ask a price a little over what they are prepared to sell at. Let's say 10-20%. It's their way of saying what they consider is necessary to tempt them to sell (again, for whatever reason). Sometime this figure may be 'over the odds' if the vendors are in no hurry to sell (or can only sell at that price) and are prepared to let the market 'come to them'. But second guessing the vendor's motivation is almost impossible and, ultimately, pretty futile. All you can do is offer what the property is worth to you.

Buyers will have a figure in mind that they can actually afford. This will usually include a figure for the purchase and a figure for the work needed (in their opinion, not the vendor's opinion) to make the property suitable for their own personal requirements. There are also emotional factors that can put various pressures on the actual numbers, but I think this is a fair summary of the basic situation.

In general, it won't be possible to tempt the vendor outside of their pricing 'comfort zone' and likewise with the potential purchaser. If the two parties' own numbers don't overlap a little then a successful deal is unlikely to happen - which would seem likely in this case. But on the basis that 'you never know' I can see no harm in making any offer you feel is valid for you. If you wish to justify a much lower offer then by all means explain the reasons to the vendor (or their agent), which would at least show that you've thought about things carefully and are not just 'having a laugh'. As for the builder's opinion, it might be worth getting a second one. My (very limited) experience is that builder estimates can vary quite a lot, for all sorts of reasons.

Ultimately, YOU are the one who must be happy with the property and the price you are prepared to pay for it.

 

[Hobden]

If you do decide you really want the place, and are prepared to pay to get it, make sure that all the features mentioned in the listing are still intact. You don't want to have to be paying out even more to resinstate things that have gone "missing" since the listing was done.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Those problems sound pretty standard to me. Is it huge? We paid 50k for a new slate roof - by which I mean they took off all the old slates, insulated, re used all the old Swithland slates and added 30% more because there hadn't been sufficient overlap. It's a 4 bedroom house with a big roof. That also included new lead gutters all round and lime rendering of chimneys.

Stone repairs to the facade may also be expensive but I expect chucking 50k at the problem would make it go away.

Windows you can do yourself slowly over time. Damp can also be sorted out and is usually less difficult and expensive than people realise. We didn't have any of the skills but it isn't rocket science! Rewiring isn't difficult either and I think electricians a total waste of money personally when you can DIY it.

If your budget isn't vast, as ours wasn't, then DIY is really the only option. If you love the property I'd offer 400. Why would the owners drop below what they paid? I certainly wouldn't.

The builder sounds very unsympathetic to old houses to me.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

 

[Dru77]

Didn't make an offer but am keeping my eye on it as they haven't reduced the price in almost a year.

They bought it knowing the roof was buggered yet haven't ever fixed it so I'd expect any sensible person to expect it's value to have dropped as the condition deteriorated.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

I have a funny feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye---what on earth are they doing--what does the estate agent say on behalf of the seller and buyer? Could you have the building surveyed and make an offer according to that?