Am I missing something with this house??

[Chachi1]

Hi. Wondered if I could pick some brains? So we have decided to move house as our current house has no parking and it has become a real issue. After looking around we've found a house we like in a lovely area on one of the most sought after streets in the town. The price is high but it seems about right for the area. It is v close to a great primary school. It is 5 bedrooms/3 bathrooms, driveway, garage. It is all v well proportioned and the house was only built 10 years ago so it is all modern. Only downside is a smallish garden but tbh we don't garden much and there is plenty of room for the kids to play etc. So it has been on the market for 3.5 months which is this area just outside London seems a long time. There is no chain as an elderly gentleman who lived there has passed away. I also did a bit of digging and found it had been on the market in 2011 and 2012 without selling. Am I missing something vital?? Why does no one else want to buy it and why taking so long to sell. Does anyone have any ideas? TIA

[NotSoDesperateHousewife]

Get a survey, I suspect you'll soon find out!

[Mintyy]

Absolutely impossible to tell without a link! Why don't you ask the Estate Agent anyway?

[MrsMummyPig]

Can you link to details?

[WhatsGoingOnEh]

Maybe it's just destined for you?

Sounds like you could make a very low offer and have it accepted.

[BifsWif]

Have you had a full survey done like a PP mentioned?

[SoupDragon]

It would surely be unusual for a new house to come up with something awful on the survey though. not impossible, but unusual. It was only 6 years old at the first attempt at selling.

[wowfudge]

I wonder if they tried to sell so he could move to somewhere smaller or to a home, but for whatever reason couldn't secure a sale. It's possible potential buyers have been put off by the need to wait for probate.

Is it actually in the catchment for the primary school? Proximity is not always the same thing.

Ask the EA. if there's nothing that puts you off then any issues should show up at survey.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

Perhaps the old guy had to go into sheltered accommodation and the house was put up for rent or sale two years in a row.

Ask the agent?

[WipsGlitter]

Agree you need to ask about previous sales falling through.

[MsRinky]

It might have been willed to a dozen different people, half of whom aren't talking to each other, but who have to agree on the sale. We tried to buy one of those once...

[car0line123]

It's difficult to answer without more details, what else has been on the market at what price? Same size house with a bigger garden maybe? How close to the school? If it is on the same road, that can put off a lot of people (traffic, etc).

You said that the price is high, that might be the reason: people made offers that got rejected by the vendor, and where not willing to offer asking price. If you like it, go for it! (if price is right, survey ok etc..)

[KetchupIsNearlyAVegetable]

We tried to buy a similar house except it had been on the market for 3 years since the owner had died. His son had decided it was worth (much much more than it was actually worth) and refused all offers below that, which was all of them, including ours.

He didn't need to sell it, it was an inheritance, he already had his own home. I believe he eventually sold it for the price he wanted after about 6 years, simply because the market had risen.