Landlord has asked if dd( mid20s) wants to buy the flat she is renting- Clifton, Bristol

[thesandwich]

Hello, my dds landlord has asked if she wants to buy the flat she’s renting- he’s getting out of rental due to his age.
Id very much appreciate any words of wisdom/ pitfalls/ questions from folk who know the area/ market or have done the same. She loves the flat, can afford the mortgage, was looking to buy soon.
Thoughts welcome! Thank you.

This looks to be the relevant legislation: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance

ETA: I have only heard about landlords selling up third hand. The first person was a colleague who is having difficulty finding somewhere to rent. The other was a friend whose adult daughter is looking to buy and is surprised the number of properties available at lower than expected prices in a desirable area.

Thanks again all! Really good food for thought.

https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate You can search for the energy certificate here.

What’s he like as a landlord - is he quick to fix any issues with a high quality solution? If not then she’s definitely better looking for a different flat to buy.

Where did I say to restrict the search to Clifton? I said to see what she can get in budget house wise - heaven forfend they may have to stray into Redlands and beyond

It's Redland.

But yes of course you're right, houses in other areas might be available for a the same price as a flat in Clifton.

I've been looking at flats and 2 bedroom houses for a while as something small will be fine for me as I'm single.

There's just no value in them. A decent flat in shropshire is £150000. Then annual fees are about £2000.
A decent 2 bedroom house is £200000. Again no value when a decent 3 bedroom house can be bought for about £250000. So I'll keep saving and go for the 3 bedroom with a small mortgage.
The only way they will fix the housing market and help our youngsters get on the housing ladder is by mass building of decent council houses and a well thought out right to buy scheme.
But the government refuse to fix anything.

She ideally wants to see 5 years of service amd understand if the freeholder has entered into longterm contracts with services providers.

she or you shluld review the charges carefully so she can understand rate of escalation....

I'm a landlord. I'm selling up. Loads better to sell to a sitting tenant.

Good advice already in previous posts.

Maybe answer our questions ...

Thank you all- you’ve given me loads of helpful advice I’ll share with dd. Location is one she prefers- and is well aware other areas are available😉.

I always think if you can afford a flat but you can stretch to a house, then go for a house even if it means more months of savings. I appreciate she loves the desirable location but she could be stuck there for a long term, if she chooses to sell and she can’t. You have more options with a house. But I haven’t looked at the market in Bristol and perhaps the market is buoyant in Clifton (have a feeling it is - it’s a lovely area). The market in England, generally speaking, is currently not great.