Hi there,
I live in an area that has a very competitive housing market.
Have been looking for 2 months and did not win best and final on 3 houses. I
saw a house I liked and although I recognised that it was a little unloved in
that it appeared the paint work and carpets were old and tired, the kitchen (
which is an offshoot galley kitchen) was in need of a refit and basically everything looked like it needed to be tended to...I put an offer in and then this went to best and final. I ended up putting in 27 thousand over the asking price and it got accepted.
I was thrilled when I was told I had won the house, thinking I
don't have to go through this roller coaster of a bidding war. I also thought
about the house and how lovely it was but always had in the back of my mind
that I needed to spend about £30.000 to get it looking good and feeling loved.
So, I recently had a survey done on the property and he started
the conversation with......this is a complicated house....His main concern was
around the attic space and whilst it has been advertised as a 3 bedroom
property, the 3rd attic bedroom is of concern as it was possibly( can; t be
confirmed by the vendors) renovated on the 70's and there are no Building regs.
He also stated that the renovations were done to a very basic standard and the
flooring is chipboard put over undersized joists which accounts for the unevenness of the flooring in there. He also expressed concern about the levels ofinsulation in the attic space and that the staircase up there does not have
walls or door and that this is a fire risk and because of the reasons outlined
can't be classed as a 3rd bedroom.
The second primary concern is the roof, and he has highlighted
that the roof is very old and is in need, in the short term, of a few tiles
being replaced and that in his opinion that the whole roof will need to be
redone.
Other concerns highlighted were repairs that were needed to the
sash windows ( gaps), no gas or electrical checks for 4 years. Faulty electrics
in the attic room ( when I went to view the property it had a sign up saying
'don't use, faulty will get fixed').
I guess what I am saying is that all of the original thoughts I
had about the property feeling unloved have now become massive considerations.
After having the most horrendous agonising weekend mulling it
over, I decided to withdraw my offer and not to proceed with the sale. The
vendors responded with a revised offer of £12.000 reduced and advised that they had also had an offer of £7000 to purchase the old toilet block which is
situated in the next door neighbours garden( this is typical for Yorkshire houses
where there is an old toilet, now outhouse in neighbouring garden)
So my dilemma is that a house I was purchased thinking it need
TLC and upgrades in terms of carpets, new kitchen etc...has now turned into me
having to contemplate an attic upgrade and new roof and all the others factors
I mentioned.
It anyone has any advice; I would be most grateful.
Gina