What do you think of this house?

[firsttimebuyerx2]

Me and the OH can't decide, I really like it, he's worried it's to good to be true.
I'd be happy if they throw in that 50's sideboard it's a beaut

Litherland Crescent, St. Helens, WA11
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62911456.html

The sideboard! Love it, simply love it, the price is very nice as well but don't know the area. Seems to be an average price though looking at the other houses nearby for sale.

I'd say it has loads of potential while still being more than liveable. I'd be getting some proper investigation about the side extension though and I'd prefer if you could access the back without going through the house but that's not a deal breaker.

I don't know the area at all either.

Looks lovely, with a huge amount of potential. The only thing is the kitchen roof looks like Polycarbonate plastic.
If that’s the case lm pretty sure it doesn’t conform to habitable room building regs ( not conservatories). So I’d want to inspect the permissions for the side extension. If bought, you may have to put it right.

The kitchen bothers me. There's basically four units in a huge space! You'd need to factor in redoing that in your cost. Also the plastering in the bathroom would need a reskim.

I do love the sideboard.

I think the house is made to look bigger by having very little in it. You won't know until you go and see if though.

Looks good to me.

Room to extend at the back eventually if you wanted to.

That garden could be really lovely with not much spent on it.

Just went on street view and it has an open aspect to the front so it would be nice and bright. I'm personally not a fan of brown window frames and think an eventual change to white would make a world of difference to it.

Great garden, plenty of room to extend, decent bedrooms, bathroom acceptable ( needs a skim over . Scraping your arm on those walls bloody hurts!) , living area good, kitchen needs someone from b&q or similar to do one of those computer plans of how the kitchen could be as there’s no where near enough units. Great price and a superb starter home. And , since it’s been on since November you won’t want to pay asking price.

Do follow advice above though regarding planning permission and building regs. Good luck!

It’s very cheap! Well compared to where we are (south Norfolk, same properties go for about £150k).

I’d have to rip the bathroom out straight away though... really dislike the shell shaped suite!

That is fairly typical of the costs on that street. How long is the lease?

Oh and the windows will need changing soon. They typically only last 15 years or so. So bear that in mind l.

Oh, and i would block off outside door to kitchen I think. Another entrance point is another way in for thieves. I would use the area near the French door for dining and I would have lots of kitchen units put in . Get a builder round to price up putting in a proper ceiling and roof into kitchen too. It’s going to put your insurance up having that roof PLUS you will loose shit loads of heat through it as it’s not insulated so heating bills will be whopping. But on the plus side, these are all points you can use for negotiation on price!

Looks like a lot of house for the money, and although they are clever at photographing to make them look bigger, the rooms do all look a decent size. Good outside space, basically there and easy to improve.

Sideboard is a peach!

We know it needs work, we'd want to extend and possibly redo that side extension forming access to the back garden down the side.
We've viewed it and actually it's a lot bigger than the pictures show and the garden goes on for miles!
Parking is putting OH off even though we could put a drive in the front.

Should of said OH is in the trade so we know the ins and outs of the building regs etc. And cost factors

The kitchen bothers me. There's basically four units in a huge space!
It isn't really a huge space if you have a kitchen table in there too, just a wide angel camera! Look at the door placement to see actual space.

Seems really good for the price. All totally livable until you want to make changes to bathroom or kitchen.

When we viewed there was a long table in the kitchen and it didn't feel cramped at all, it is bigger in person it's very deceiving actually

It isn't really a huge space if you have a kitchen table in there too, just a wide angel camera! Look at the door placement to see actual space.

I'm not sure that's right. Look at the skylights and the outside pictures, it's really quite wide. Wider than the rest of the house.

Obviously they've used a wide angle lens, but I get the impression it's too show more rather than to distort.

Looks as though there is precedent for dropping the kerb so you could make part of the front garden a drive. The side extension seems to have been cheaply done with the minimum number of units in the space. As the back garden is so big I'd look at extending at the back and regaining side access. You'd need to be careful not to go above the ceiling for the street with any improvements, unless you are planning on staying in the house for the long term.

There's an issue with condensation in the bathroom by the look of the bubbling paint to the left of the photo.

Given that it's a bit bare and no chain, plus garden a little bit unkempt, I suspect it's an ex-rental - landlord wanting to get out for whatever (new tax regime etc.) reason.

Have you checked the previous sold price? That can be helpful when deciding what to offer - may have been bought for quite a lot less some time ago.
So I wouldn't think it's too good to be true, though of course you'd need a proper survey to make sure of no lurking nasties.

It's an inherited home, owner passed away last year very unexpectedly. No children or husband etc so it's gone to a random family member, or so the EA says anyway

Ooh, if it's an estate sale, you might be able to persuade them to include the sideboard!

You sound really keen on it, and I'd say go with your gut instinct. If your DP is in the building trade, then pretty much anything should be able to be overcome without significant issue.

Looks like others have driveways (the lamppost isn't too in the way), so that can be overcome too.

I'm sold on it for the side board 😂 isn't it amazing I've been looking for one for agessss

Ah, if it's a probate sale that is explains it.
Whoever has inherited - especially they're not local - they probably want a quick sale, hence realistic price. Speaking from experience, empty properties can be a lot of hassle - insurance often be difficult to arrange, grass needs regular cutting, and in any case they just get more and more forlorn and unloved-looking.

Don't like the kitchen.
Also garden would need to 're doing imho.
However it has a lot of potential.

Needs some love but apart from that I like it