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.

[EmbarrassedUser]

Doesn’t sound that great @PurpleFlower1983 However, if you like it I’d go for £390k to be cheeky and take it from there.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@Ellisandra Read the thread, I was asking what randoms on the internet would offer, not if they liked the house.

[Ellisandra]

There’s no need to be rude with your @PurpleFlower1983 I have read the thread and my comment still stands. I didn’t say you were asking randoms if you should buy it. Asking randoms what you should offer, also - in my opinion - shows that you’re just not sure enough about it to buy the house. I wasn’t being rude to you - I think gut is very important, and your gut isn’t strong on this. So I think - walk away.

[acatcalledjohn]

My concern is why anyone would do up a house so beautifully but neglect to sort the damp?

Several years ago DP made an offer on a property which had been newly decorated. It looked perfect. Then the survey came in and it needed a full rewire.

He walked away as the seller refused to negotiate.

As nice as the house looks, the damp alone would make me worry about what else has been hidden behind a pretty facade.

So to answer your question: I wouldn't make an offer.

[WonderWebbs]

In answer to your question OP I would start with £385K then move up to £390K if you really want the house. In my opinion it is not a sellers market so I would stop at £400K. Disclaimer I'm not an estate agent and have only bought four properties!

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

10 perc off because no offers. Take off price of all repairs and get this costed. Add 20 per to repair bill and take off. That is where you should be starting. And say why. This will be why it hasn't sold

Totally with you on that, ClareBlue - it's why I suggested an initial offer of £350k with a ceiling of £370K
It's clear nobody will touch it at the current price, so either the sellers accept a little reality now or accept it could be even harder after a probable post-Covid, post-Brexit price slump

Their business and their decision of course, but a lack of sale's almost always down to the price and I'd say that's doubly so here

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

The damp is to the left of the property above the en-suite where the roof is almost flat. There is probably a recess or something that needs addressing

With an "almost flat" roof it's more likely to be something to do with that
As a PP said, if it was a quick fix they'd have done it themselves ... unless the place is a "builders' do-up" and they've prettied up the visible bits hoping buyers won't notice the damp?

It also looks incredibly well cleared and prepped for sale - so well in fact that I wonder if anyone's lived there since the work was done (hence my question about builders)

[Truthpact]

@mrsmummy111

Yeah I know, I was quoting the post that op put. Just think that one is the better option.

Kind of agree though with @Ellisandra. If you're so sure you know best and have enough experience op, buy it for a price you think is right. Not many on here like it so wouldn't pay anything for it which doesn't really help you.

The sellers are unlikely to drop down below 400k if they think it's still worth 425k after a year, so you're scuppered there. Best you can do is offer 410 I'd guess and even then they'd probably say no.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@Truthpact I’m not sure I know best at all and I’ve taken on board everyone’s comments! I was just asking for opinions which I have got from lots of people. This house is great but only at the right price, it’s just hard to know what the right price is as there is nothing else like it.

[PurpleFlower1983]

We won’t offer more than £375 as we don’t think it’s worth it.

[onceuponatimeinsuburbia]

Sticking my oar in, but have you thought about the impact of having flats next door? If your bedrooms share a wall with someone's else's reception room/s or vice versa then that could be disruptive because of staggered sleeping/waking times especially with children. That could be a reason it hasn't sold. And if it's a conversion then you can't rely on old houses = thick walls, which isn't necessarily true IME. Old houses are often money pits even when they've been well maintained. I'm afraid this house (lovely as it looks ) has too manyred flags for me but if I was going to offer it'd be at least 15% below asking price at best and subject to renegotiation after a full structural survey. Remember making an offer doesn't commit you to buying so if you can afford to risk losing the survey costs, go for it.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@onceuponatimeinsuburbia Luckily the hall is in the middle so noise wouldn’t be a problem but it may be upstairs. We know this has lots of red flags and we’re definitely not over them just not ruling it out as it’s lovely. We would only go in low as like others have said it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay and at the moment no one has got it.

[Sushiroller]

If it's been restored "beautifully" they should have sorted the damp.

I am with everyone else. You can love a house doesn't mean you should buy it.

Keep looking.

[PurpleFlower1983]

I do take everyone’s points! The damp a concern as is whether it would feel ‘homely’ not just grand.

[kristin111]

offer with in 5% of the the sale price.

Also you might find it hard to get a mortgage with the expected recession

[heyholetsgogogo]

I'd offer 360 max
Problems as listed - it's ponte not Chapel Alperton
Kirk smeaton looks better

OP - I know you only wanted how much not options but many nice villages eg wentbridge etc where do you need to be near ?

[MadameEdam]

Think really, really carefully. We are living in a really unusual house -200 year old converted mill. I fell absolutely in love with so many features: the high ceilings, the range cooker / boiler, the river outside...however, these are the things that have given us the most trouble, financially. High ceilings are a nightmare when it comes to changing lights, fixing cracks or painting. If you have a unique house, you may need to shell out extra for specialist repairs. Damp patches are a DEFINITE red flag (could end up being very expensive to fix), land issues could become a real headache, septic tank issues are as nightmarish as you could imagine, spiral staircases are a hazard with little ones around etc. Don't do what I did and be bowled over by the aesthetics. I do think ours is an incredible house, and is a real one-off, but I have learned several very expensive lessons, and we are planning to move when we can.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@heyholetsgogogo Wentbridge would be fine, we’ve looked at Darrington and Ackworth too although character properties are expensive in the latter in particular.

The Smeaton house is gorgeous and we expected to be blown away but we weren’t. It nice but underwhelming compared to the pictures.

[MadameEdam]

I agree that if it had been restored properly, the damp issue would have been sorted properly. I think its probably been patched over and repainted, and if I has been on the market that long, the problems are making themselves known. It is highly unlikely that the sellers would replace and repaint every 4 months.

[PurpleFlower1983]

@MadameEdam This is what I’m a bit afraid of actually! We fell head over heels for this house months ago and discounted it for many of the reasons you said but then saw it and loved it. We are thinking more logically about it now though and going to take a step back.

[PurpleFlower1983]

You’re right about the paint. It was repainted and decorated throughout last year and the damp had obviously made its way through over time. The seller hadn’t been to the property for a long time before yesterday, he went in to dust/mow the lawn before we arrived.

[MadameEdam]

I totally feel your pain. It was me that encouraged (pestered) my husband to put an offer in on our house, which had also been on the market for about a year. The bookish child in me just absolutely fell for the look of the place, and if I'm totally honest, even though I have since had a child who has lived here all his life, it has never felt like home. Resentment has definitely crept in, as lovely as it is. When something goes wrong it is never a quick fix, and there have been times when wee have had to get people to come up from England (we are in Scotland), to do work on it, simply as there just wasnt the skill set for certain things. It's such a hard decision-I would just thoroughly research any survey material, and would definitely get someone in top look the place over first. With old houses, the worry is old wiring and plumbing. Don't write it off, just get as much info as you can. :)

[PurpleFlower1983]

@MadameEdam Thank you, you have really helped to put things in perspective from a point of experience! My husband is probably more keen than I am although we both have that initial rush and then I’m the slightly more sensible one. We will see what happens.

[namechangegarden]

That house is beautiful OP, I can see why you love it. Most of the rooms look so spacious, however the top floor bedrooms would concern me, as would that spiral staircase, with children. If you plan on changing these, including regularising the ceiling height for the bedrooms, you are probably looking at at least £50k. Then you have to factor in resolving the damp issue, which is likely to be fixable, but could be expensive.

My main concern would be the shared access for the flats (did they effectively sell off a piece of their garden???), and I wouldn't buy it for that reason alone.

Coming out of lockdown cash/small mortgage buyers are likely to hold all the cards, and you could get something really lovely and hassle free for a similar price if you can wait 3 months.

However, if you have got your heart set on this property, I'd offer £340k as an opener, and pay a maximum of £350k.

P.S. If it's been on sale for a year, and so many PP have highlighted the red flags just from your description, you'll have a job getting rid of it when you finally do want to sell it.

[Ellmau]

It has been restored beautifully

You mean, apart from THE DAMP.

The spiral staircase would be a deal breaker for me.

The Kirk Smeaton one would be a lot more practical, and has a nicer garden as well. Couldn't you do it up so it had some of the same wow factor?

What about this one? www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86957996.html