offering 25% less on a property

[Abbienurse1987]

i have a question. i am interested in purchasing a property. i have fell in love with its age and quirkiness it was built in 1870 and has amazing old features, 4 bedrooms and very large. however, they are asking for £179950. now here are the issues.

1. it has a mine shaft in the rear of the garden within 20metres of the house.

1. its been on the market three years and hasn't sold.

1. it has damp, needs damp course and replastering throughout.

1. needs a driveway built and garden maintenance.

1. no one has lived in it since it went up for sale

6.needs new rads and boiler eventually

1. they have 2 extensions with flat roofs that are collecting water and causing damage. need replacing.

1. also new windows and kitchen

lets just say needs about £40000 pounds spending on it. which i don't mind i like a doer upper.

am i within my right to offer £40000

i feel cheeky

just says thickness and diameter on report

Could be the cap - the shaft should be deeper, but hazard maps show shallow mine workings in the area and coal outcropping at the surface.

it just said on the report that the house is outside the zone of possible movement

Has anyone a link to it?

With regard to damp, you need to identify the cause. Chemical DPC and replatsering could actually make things worse in a property of that age.

of course if i go ahead i will have to have a full structural report and then damp proof and its single brick house. no cavity

I am very much of the mindset that if you don't ask, you don't get and that you can always increase your offer but it isn't as easy to decrease.

I think I found it on RM and it is a lovely house, excellent proportions and good sized rooms. One thing I would say that has already been mentioned above is that you would need to be careful when doing some of the work in a house of that age as modern building methods aren't always suitable. In any event make sure you get a FULL survey from a surveyor who specialises in period properties.

Where exactly are you planning on putting the driveway? 😕

i havent thought about that yet. thats the least of my worries

It would have to sit at a 60 degree angle if at the front!
It's a nice house but you are braver than me taking that on.

I've found the details.
I was expecting it to look worse, however I don't like the look of the side extension. You certainly would need a full structural report!

yh i wont buy this house without having a full everything. i dont mind the extension it is old though. built in 1996

You'd want to get that retaining wall looked at too.

I can't find it! I'm so nosey!

Found it! Quirky indeed! Don't offer more than you can afford and take into consideration all costs of the work that needs doing & contingency. Definitely don't go too high as there's no going back. ! Intrrestingly it hasn't been reduced since Nov 2014!! Offer what you think and see what the Estate Agent says - given it's been on so long they'll probably be pretty up front about it's worth & vendors expectations of a sale price. Good luck & please let us know!

Do they actually want to sell it? Just that if they haven't reduced it since November 2014 are they actually motivated?

my thought's exactly user1484830599

It's a lovely house. I like the steps leading on to ir

If they accepted 135k it would be a lot less than what they bought it for. I'm guessing that's why it hasn't been reduced much. But 3 years unlived in really can lead to things going downhill. It's amazing how quickly buildings can get dilapidated if not looked after.

I do like it though! Think it's one of those that if you know what you're doing it could be a fantastic house.