Can someone talk me through buying and selling houses?

[jmh740]

I have inherited some money which is enough to cash buy a house. My oh and I have looked at some houses and have fallen in love with one. I bought my house 21 years ago from the person I was renting off. So there was no chain and it was all quite simple and easy. Oh has never bought a house in England last bought in Scotland over 20 years ago. I don't really know where to start. We've had 3 ea round today to value our house who all gave very different valuations. It's needs a bit of work doing, mainly replastering we had a few leaks which have all been sorted and dried out but we never got round to doing the cosmetic work to finish it off so 4 rooms need differing levels of plastering and then repainting and the kitchen floor needs replacing, my ideal would be to move out and do the work when the house is empty. Oh thinks it's not worth doing the work as we wouldn't recoup what we spend. I think it will put people off and would take longer to sell if we sell as it is.
I've had a second viewing today of a house we both really like, I took my parents they were both really positive until Dad found out it was leasehold and then said that would put him right off.
If we do want to buy the house do we put in an offer to the ea, or do we need a solicitor who then deals with the sellers solicitor? When do we do surveys and things like that?
Can anyone talk through it with me?

I would steer clear of a leasehold house. Have a read up on the current problems with multiplying ground rents which can make them a very poor buy.
I would make sure you house looks fresh and clean before sale, and that would include fixing any obvious problems. Why give buyers the opportunity to beat you down on price for the sake of a few cans of paint?

I agree - I would tidy up the house first. It sounds like it shouldn't be too expensive. On the other hand, if there is a house that you want to buy available now, then you may need to list as-is.
Offers are made via the sellers estate agent. If/when the offer is accepted you will need to appoint a solicitor relatively quickly, so you might want to think about that in advance. Then once both solicitors are in place you can go ahead and organise a survey and the searches are organised via your solicitor. You should find out your sellers position too. You might not want to invest too much in terms of surveys etc unless/until they have a confirmed purchase/move themselves.
Leasehold houses: I can't help much with that. The terms, length and likely renewal cost of the lease may help you to make a decision. I wouldn't necessarily rule it out on principle.

I'd make the repairs to your house, make it more attractive to buyers and get a bit more for it.
I's also never buy a leasehold house, lots of new builds are doing this, the builder makes a bit more money of each house, sells the leashold to some other company who can up the ground rent annually, for doing pretty much nothing. Unlike a flat where they have a building to upkeep.

I'd do the repairs but not replace flooring etc, or anything cosmetic that might not be to a new buyer's taste.

I found the money advice service web site very helpful when I was a first time buyer and knew literally nothing about it all
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/first-time-buyer-money-tips