To ask what you would offer on a house?

[PurpleFlower1983]

Hi everyone, we’ve had some unexpected inheritance and have been round the houses (literally) with how to spend it. We considered buying abroad and staying in our current home which I love but is too small downstairs really now we have our DD.

We have seen an amazing period property, it’s on at £420k (Yorkshire). We viewed it yesterday and it is stunning, 12ft high ceilings, original features, gorgeous. There are compromises though, only 2 bedrooms on the first floor, 2 more in the attic and they’re not ideal, quite small space in terms of full head height and a spiral staircase to access. The boiler works but is coming up to 20 years old. There are damp patches in the corners of the upstairs rooms, probably to be expected at this age of house but needs investigating as it has damaged the cornicing in places. Also the original land has been cut up and sold meaning the garden is quite small for what you would expect at this price/property and the drive at the back has to have right of access for the two flats next door. It has been on the market for a year, we are hoping to keep our current property to rent out so this will mean we will be pulling out all the stops financially to get it as the mortgage will only be in my name. Plus there will be over 20k of stamp duty to factor in.

What do you think would be a good opening offer? The seller said he had had a couple of offers but the estate agent didn’t mention them. She said he was open to offers and ready to sell.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@Freddiefox You are right and of the 3 houses we saw yesterday it was the only one where the amazing photos actually didn’t do it justice and it felt bigger in real life. The others all felt smaller.

The bedrooms are an issue though and realistically you would beer a new staircase and a dormer to make it work properly.

[PurpleFlower1983]

*need

[PurpleFlower1983]

@DontTouchTheMoustache 😆

[Truthpact]

Main Street, Kirk Smeaton, Pontefract, WF8
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-93163628.html

This one is so much nicer to be honest and doesn't have the drawbacks, and it's cheaper. You don't have to do building work to redo the stairs with kids, don't have a damp problem that could be an easy fix or likely a very difficult one, and don't have the shared access.

[Blursula]

I’m definitely a ‘heart’ person when it comes to houses and a real sucker for period charm. I can see why you love it. I’d be intrigued to know why it’s been on the market a year though - have you asked if any potential buyers have gone as far as getting a survey done?

I’d go in at 375. Good luck!

[chocolateequinox]

It sounds lovely but the damp and the shared drive would stop me even viewing it. There will be other houses.

[LittleRen]

I am amazed you can get a house like that for that price point!! Jealous!

You say there are flats next door - are they attached? If so are they rented? Just be careful with rented flats on the other side of the semi - as you don’t know who you will end up with next door.

I would always buy detached after living in both. We went from a Victorian semi with beautiful features to a 1930s big detached with features but not as grand, it’s our dream
house with no comprises tho. If I were you I would sell my current property and buy my dream home with less compromise. But you aren’t looking for that kind of advice!

[OhTheRoses]

£350,000 taking into account shared drive, etc. Subject to full structural survey which will indicate what needs to be spent to bring it up to snuff. Estimates for the essentials and reduce price further. If they don't play, you walk.

[LittleRen]

Don’t let damp or boiler put you off - we had both in this house and easy fix.

[sergeilavrov]

Given you’re going to be heavily mortgaged, I’d make an offer of £390k contingent on the boiler and stairs being replaced by the original owners at their cost, as well as a damp proofing course or whatever needs to be done. At the same time, I would state that without this, I would offer £360k given that you would have to gradually do the work.

If you like a house, you like a house. You asked for offer advice, not ‘to buy or not to buy.’

[PurpleFlower1983]

@sergeilabrov We will be heavily mortgaged in the first instance but would likely sell our (now) rental which we own outright to pay towards the mortgage so would be looking at a mortgage of around £100k which I don’t think is too bad.

Thanks for your advice re offering, I think we will look to do something like that.

[PurpleFlower1983]

We would still have our current home as a rental/investment.

[tealandteal]

Personally I would not due to the damp, if it has been carefully restored it would have new boiler and the damp fixed. We have had to replace the boiler in both our houses, it's a pain and can be very expensive. It sounds like you are comprising a lot, the small garden etc. Be wary that you may be unable to sell your current property for whatever reason and could have to maintain that level of mortgage for a while.

[CuppaZa]

£0
Too many negatives and issues

[Pipandmum]

Ok only read first page of this thread so apologies if I'm repeating another poster.
Has the price been dropped since first listing? Are the top floor bedrooms legal? You mention compromised head height and spiral stairs- there are certain building regs now, and I think it's the case that even if it was done before regs they have to meet them now in order to be called bedrooms (of course you can still use them as bedrooms but cannot call them that, which is why some are described as 'loft rooms' or 'storage rooms').
Damp is generally a reasonable issue, but it depends what type and how pervasive it is. If it's just a matter of gutters then not difficult, and actually replacing cornicing, even with plaster to match, is not that expensive. How about the windows? Original single glazing? Factor in replacing them with double glazing in wood to match. I've done this and it was £800 a window.
If boiler is 20 years old have a good look at the plumbing. And electrics. They could cost thousands to bring up to date.
Old houses are lovely (mine is 150 years old) but can be real money pits just to maintain them. Plus those high ceilings mean expensive to heat! That shared drive would also really put me off.
If you love it go in at £370k, they may come back at £400k, cap it at £380. Get a survey and think about renegotiating if really negative (do not quibble about the odd thousand here or there - but if roof needs doing - for example - as well as everything else you need to also consider disruption and time).
You would definitely need a full structural survey. O

[mrsmummy111]

@Truthpact Someone posted the same link earlier and the OP advised that she actually already looked at that house and loved it....until she saw the one she’s asking about now.

[felineflutter]

The bedrooms would put me off OP. My per hate are odd shaped bedrooms it would drive my crazy.

It hasn't sold. It is not worth £420 in my opinion too quirky. It is spacious, but has a ungainly, unhomely, feel to it. It doesn't flow well IMO.

[felineflutter]

The bathroom is bizarre! Who needs one that big! I wouldn't buy for that reason alone.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@felineflutter We were actually wondering about the possibility of that as a third bedroom and repositioning the bathroom!

[PhilTheGroundhog]

I absolutely love it.

Doesn't help you, I know.

[chocolateequinox]

You'd have to lose that bathroom to put a proper staircase in to the attic wouldn't you?

It's really only a 2 bedroomed house and the loft rooms have little head room. I also wouldn't want a bath in the bedroom and certainly not when I could have a bed there and see the views from my bed each morning.

[480Widdio]

Don’t purchase at the moment,give it a few months.Massive price crash coming.Anyone who thinks it won’t happen is living in cloud cuckoo land.

[Ickabog]

PurpleFlower1983 You do seem to have fallen in love with the house. I know your heart is ruling at the minute, but definitely consider some of the points raised, especially in regards to houses like these being money pits, and the need for a full structural survey. It is interesting that the seller has done a full renovation, but hasn't touched the boiler or sorted the damp.

I would also have a chat with the agent, and find out if there have been any other offers. After a year on the market there must be a reason it hasn't sold, especially when several people are supposedly interested

[ahhsnap]

I love it but I feel as though the layout isn't great for family life - that spiral staircase in particular.
That said, to answer your question I'd probably start around £360/370k. On the basis of the work that needs to be done and the current climate. Plus in my experience where both parties are chain free there's often a good deal to be done.

[Ellisandra]

If you don’t like a house enough to decide for yourself with asking randoms on the Internet... you don’t like it enough to buy it!