Landlords... opinions please?

[ladybee28]

At the start of the year I moved into what is, for me, a perfect home.

Love the location, love the decor, the layout, the space... it's just... idyllic.

Only issue is that it's an old house and it's been converted into two apartments – I rent the ground floor and garden, and there's a couple who live on the upper floor. Because of the traditional flooring etc., I can hear them ALL the time – but if it weren't for that I would have zero complaints.

Ever since I moved in I've been daydreaming about investing my savings into buying it. But I have no idea if the landlady would even entertain the thought, and I'm not sure how exactly I'd ask.

The roof needs a lot of work and I think (talking to my upstairs neighbour) that historically the landlady's been quite hands-off with maintenance (there's a slow leak in their bathroom that hasn't been handled for a year already). So I have a hunch that there might be some negotiation room on price, IF she's open to selling at all.

I thought about buying the whole place and renting out the top level as an Airbnb, or converting it into a single house... and I've also wondered if just buying the lower apartment would be an option, or if that would cause more trouble than it'd be worth.

If you have tenants, would it be weird for them to ask you if you'd consider selling? Since I only moved in at the start of the year, is it too soon? What should I be thinking about that I'm not thinking about?

(House is not in the UK, in case that's relevant)

If you did buy it what happens to the couple upstairs

It depends a lot on why she is renting I suspect. We rent our flat in the uk as we used to live there and toi a job abroad - to be honest if our tenants wanted to buy from us right now we’d be likely to say yes as we know we won’t be moving back there in August as planned and to be ho eat the whole thing is a bit of a hassle.

But she may rent out for income.

Ask - the worst she can do is say no and you’d be in no worse position then when you started.

There’s nothing wrong with asking, the worst that can happen is that she’ll say no. We asked our landlady earlier this year if she’d be interested in selling. It was a very clear no, but in no way did I have the impression that she minded us asking.

I wouldn't sell, but I'd have no problem at all with you asking.

not clear, do you mean to buy just the flat you live in. is the upstairs flat owned by your landlord.
could you ask the upstairs neighbours if they can put down insulating underlay, perhaps if you have the money, and it will be more to your benefit than theirs, you could offer a contribution.

It’s not weird at all to ask. I fell in love with two rental properties in a row, and put offers in on both of those when they weren’t up for sale. Funnily enough both times the landlords said they weren’t selling at the time, then years later when I was ready to move on they changed their minds and ended up offering me the properties for less than what I originally offered. I didn’t want them at that point though. The property I’m on now is a very long term rental, I have no plans on moving for the next ten years at least due to its location by the kids schools. I’m considering putting an offer in on this one, though in the past the landlady has said she’d never sell

I wouldn’t buy just one level btw. That seriously complicates things when it comes to maintenance issues, of which you already have. It’d be all or nothing for me.
I’d ask the landlady by sending her an email asking if she’d ever consider selling the property as you where interested in putting an offer in

It's totally normal - I've been asked a couple times if I'd would sell to a tenant. Are you sure one person owns both units?
But as the problem is the house, just buying the bottom will not resolve that. You can put insulation between floors from below, but it's a more destructive process.
Look at the market around and see what a house like that would sell for. Then approach the landlord (or go through agent if it's managed). If amenable she will have to serve notice to the above tenants which is six months now.

Make sure you've really looked into the finances and that you can afford it before you offer. You could annoy her no end if you thought you could buy the whole thing and rent out the top flat, only to find you can't do that.

Buying a part of a house is possible, but it's a true pita to negotiate every single repair etc so I wouldn't recommend it.

Oh, I'm not talking about buying it to solve the problem of the lack of noise insulation – it's literally just because I'm so happy here. I only mentioned the sound of my upstairs neighbours to demonstrate that it's the only issue there is, and to be honest I'm largely getting used to it.

She often asks if I'm happy here and if everything's ok, so I might just tie it into that conversation: "I really do love it here – if you ever think of selling, please do let me know."

I have a hunch that it's probably a family property that's likely been passed down – people in this country tend to try and keep houses 'in the family' even if it doesn't make the most financial sense – and if that's the case I don't really fancy my chances.

But you never know... and it's reassuring to hear from so many of you that it's perfectly normal.

@FlitterMouse I think the couple upstairs may be looking to buy a house fairly soon in any case – I've overheard a few conversations about mortgages floating out of their upstairs window while I've been in the garden.

I'm not sure why I feel a bit embarrassed to ask her – I'm not usually like this!