To ask if you think there is a catch with this house?

[whereismormonjesus]

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/57341298?search_identifier=ee83ceb5222b41500122e9029c5cd8bd

Basically that. A young (talking uni age) relative with 30k saved up for a house deposit has seen it and thinks it’s the lucky jackpot.

It's cheap because the area is awful.

Another thing to think of is traffic in Bradford is awful, and looking at the maps to go out anywhere he’d have to drive or take a taxi. Looking at location, it could easily take 30mins+ after getting off the M606 to get there in peak traffic.

"Any number of reasons
Inheritance, parents saving up from when he was little, small lottery win, premium bonds, side hustle selling crack
Is it relevant to the house..?"

I was just curious. I didn't think it was an inheritance or a lottery win because the OP said they were savings.

It looks like the house where Donald Neilson used to live.

You would have issues getting a mortgage on this due to the flying freehold.

It's an absolutely terrible area, that's why.

So think not just about buying it and living there/renting out, think about having trouble selling it later on, when he wants to settle elsewhere and wants his money out.

Places like that are the first to bottom out completely when the housing market dips.

Also - I wouldn't invest a 30k deposit into that house. I'd rather buy in a better area with less of a deposit, if you see what I mean. This isn't a great buy if you have options.

@lazyarse123

It looks like the house where Donald Neilson used to live.

Do you mean Dennis Neilson, who lived in a white rendered mock Tudor house in London?

This is a bit odd in the estate agent's blurb:

You get to buy properties with a mortgage which are normally reserved for cash-rich investors and cash buyers and you get the security of an exclusive buying transaction with a much smaller deposit

That and the "3 generous sized bedrooms" that are 2m wide makes me think that the estate agents are pretty dodgy, if not the property. I'm pretty sure that that description is against the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

They seem to specialise in 30 day auctions. I would guess that if the "offers over £70k" price is below market value, the property will go for more by the end of the auction. He will end up in a bidding war.

He isn’t from Bradford

In that case I'd suggest he does some very careful research

And yes, "what's behind the railings" was going to be my first question too - especially as they've loused up the location map

It's just taken my relative 5 years to sell a terrace in Bradford, for £30k less than they paid. I was born there and that area is a big no!

It's just taken my relative 5 years to sell a terrace in Bradford, for £30k less than they paid

Dear god

@whereismormonjesus

I think he’s better getting an equally shithole terrace but in the inner suburbs of Manchester or Leeds. Somewhere more likely to be gentrified I suppose.

I think you should tell him that, then! Also, no point buying it if he has to then give up his job to live there, unless he will find it incredibly easy to find a new, similar paying, job in Bradford in the middle of a pandemic?

If I were him I'd look in Leeds, plenty of good suburbs with better connection to the city and less crime, but I suppose that's from a woman's perspective, I imagine a young man is more confident in those locations.

I would give it a miss. Driving up and down Leeds road is bad enough I couldn't live there.

I know the area well & it is an awful area. I used to be scared coming down the main road on the bus sometimes after dark! Wouldn't recommend it at all & as pp's have said would encourage him to maybe look in Leeds instead. There are some suburbs where he wouldn't have to pay much more than that albeit for a 2 bed, but I would imagine he will feel much safer.

Though it is a single 20 year old man intending to move in and keep it for the investment, not a young family.

IT'S NOT A GOOD INVESTMENT IF HE HAS 30K.

It's the wrong side for the Uni and college too so not even great for student renting.

He would do much much much better to buy in a different city/different location, even if his deposit goes less far.

If it's an investment, location location location.

Better even a 1 bed flat in a better area than a 3 bed house which is just NEVER going to make him money.

@whereismormonjesus can you complete in the 4 weeks? It’s one of those companies that buy cheap and resell quick.

from what I know of Bradford, it's a shit hole and I wouldn't move there in a million years.

I havent RTWT but my friend in Bradford has said it's not a nice area, to the extent it would be hard to get your car insured.

@Pukkapiesrule

I know the area well & it is an awful area. I used to be scared coming down the main road on the bus sometimes after dark! Wouldn't recommend it at all & as pp's have said would encourage him to maybe look in Leeds instead. There are some suburbs where he wouldn't have to pay much more than that albeit for a 2 bed, but I would imagine he will feel much safer.

agreed with Leeds suburbs, which I know a bit, much nicer, and feels much safer to Bradford.

Especially if buying as investment and renting it out.

It’s a back to back. In Bradford. I actually really like Bradford but there are parts I wouldn’t even consider going to. Tell him to buy in Leeds. Kirkstall & Burley are good investment areas.

I would want to know if prices are likely to increase in the near future and if so, he can make a profit. Better than keeping money in a bank anyway

Have they read the strange speed-sales conditions at the end of the house description? That would put me off.

Don't be tempted to buy in a bad area just because it's cheap. My friend is desperate to move away from her estate as she feels really unsafe - there has been a shooting and stabbing recently, she was burgled, her car was stolen etc. etc.