would you pay over the odds for a place?

[DelGirl]

Market obviously in downturn esp where I am in Europe but seen a place I think I could be very settled in though tis just a shell, literally, upside it will be as I plan it within normal limitations. One agent I am speaking to (not the vendor agent) keeps trying to put me off I think, though he says it's a solid house, as he doesn't want me to lose money.

I am investing for the long term but see it as a place we can be settled in and there are no other places like it for sale and in this position and if any do come up they are very few and far between, it ticks a LOT of bo

oops, ticks alot of boxes. So, would I be very stupid to go ahead, assuming I can get it for the price i'm thinking which is already 40k under (stupid) asking price of 110k.

Agent that is selling thinks it would be worth 200k once done and t iwould cost me in the region of 160/170 to buy and do it all. Other people think it would be worth more but the other agent (who admittedly doesn't have property in this village) thinks it will be worth less! gah !

any opinions ? though i know what my heart says and that is stronger on this than my head. The other agent thinks it could go down by 20k in the next 2 years, after it's finished but if I'm thinking 20+ years there then it is a bit irrelevant isn't it? Has anyone ever thought the same? I think our happiness is more important in this instance but I could be being totally blinkered.

We did. We knew the area was right for us (same street we were already living on) and that houses don't come up here very often. Also that we would stay put for a long time.

Totally agree with your last post.

Just be VERY honest with yourself about your reasons, and whether you'd definitely be willing and able to afford to stay in it for ever if necessary.

It only really matters what a house is valued at at any given point if you are looking to sell. If you genuinely can see yourself staying put then it is kind of irrelevant as long as you are sensible financially. The place we are buying was downvalued by the mortgage surveyoir, but to a stupid price that we knew was crazily low. We are buying anyway (vendor knocked a few K off but not down to valuation) as we know it is a solid house for us, that it gives us scope to stay indefinitely etc.

No-one can predict the future market, especially at the moment.

That is what I think. It will definitely be a home for the next 5 years at least. If I decide to come back to the uk (mainly thinking for secondary education) then it will be a long term holiday home. Fortunately, I still have a home in the UK and would hope not to need to sell either, though of course no one can know for sure.

One agent I am speaking to (not the vendor agent) keeps trying to put me off

Does he have another house he wants you to buy instead, by any chance?

I think we probably paid over the odds for our place. We needed to move at that time and there was not much on the market that fit the bill, and the vendor was not particularly bothered about selling, so little scope for negotiation. We took the view that getting what we wanted, when we wanted, was worth paying a bit more - rather than waiting or compromising and perhaps paying less.

no, not in this area anyway and he is a sort of friend of my brothers and he hasn't come up with another property. However it has crossed my mind too but no, I don't think so.

your last sentence has summed it up nicely thank you!