First time buyer..questions.

[Purplecarrots]

Hi,
Hope it’s ok to ask a few questions on here. We (myself and DH) are complete novices to buying property, and very excited about finally buying a house! Anyway, we’ve seen a house on Rightmove that looks really good. I’ve noticed, the property has been listed since December 2016, originally at around £160,000, now dropped to £158.950 (dropped price April this year). However, two properties on the same road have sold around the £162,000 mark, and both sold within a month. One was listed December 2017, sold by jan and the next was listed in May 2018 and sold within a month. So I’m wondering, for those who know what you’re doing, other than the simple question of why is this on the market for so long, what else would you ask? Would there be more specific questions to rule out anything costly?
We rang EA yesterday and have viewing booked for Wednesday. We will be cash buyers, and the EA has also asked for evidence of cash by Monday. Does this sound right too? I understand no one wants time wasters, but i don’t think I’ve heard of this before?
Sorry for the long post, just wary that in our excitement we may miss something obvious.
Thank you

Have you seen the survey/home report? This tells you all about what needs upgrading and any potential pitfalls. If there is something of concern then you may wish to have a level 3 survey carried out (full structure).
Are there noisy/messy neighbours? Have you camped out on Friday night to see what goes on?
Are there building warrants present for any alterations made to the structure?
Is the decor just garish and no one can be bothered upgrading?
Has there been subsidence (structural movement)?

Evidence of the money is usually a matter for the solicitors as they do anti money laundering checks. I'm not sure the EA has the right to demand this but can certainly ask. They usually ask if you have a mortgage promise in place. Check with your solicitor if you need to provide this evidence to EA also before doing so.

It's probably been on the market longer because it needs renovation that the other houses didn't require.

People get stars in their eyes when selling their house. Years ago the neighbor across the street listed her house for $600k because that was the highest sale price in the neighborhood. It was a very hot market and houses were selling very quickly. All the houses were built together in the 1960''s so all were very similar in size and features.

Her house was on the market for two years because all of the other houses had had kitchen and bathroom redos, nice landscaping and gardens, etc. She had spent essentially nothing keeping the house up. She had never even painted, inside or out. Her yard was a disaster.

I think she eventually got $425k for it and the buyer did a gut renovation.

Buyers often have a better idea what a house is worth than the seller because buyers have seen all the similar houses on the market and have a better basis for comparison.

That is not much of a drop for 18 months on the market.
Yes, if you are a cash buyer it is usual to ask for proof at some point.
Presumably you have seen interior pics. I bought a house that had been on the market for over a year, principally because it was filthy and stunk. This was not evident from the rather gloomy pictures.(And you can't smell pictures. God, it was rank!)
It could have bad neighbours, alarming cracks somewhere, or just need everything renewing.
Anyway, viewing is exciting, so good luck.

We've just accepted an offer on our place but the market was a lot slower than in previous years and most properties, ours included have needed price reductions to sell.
When we bought the place it had been on the market for a while because the owners no longer lived in it and were very fussy about who they sold to (wanted to sell to a family). They had built their own retirement home on the South coast, no longer had a mortgage do just say tight and waited for the right people to come along. Nothing wrong with the house st all.
Asking for proof that you're cash buyers may indicate they're nervous about being let down. Perhaps they had a buyer previously who pulled out. Find out more before you worry too much.

Also, if you're getting a mortgage agents often want you to have an agreement in principle, which proves you have the money. I guess they're just asking for the same re the cash situation.

We are cash ftb's too. We had to show evidence of our savings to both solicitor and estate agents. We found a house we both really liked, put an offer in, rejected, negotiated etc etc. Anway, we got to the Home Buyers Report stage and after seeing that we had to pull out. We both felt really guilty about it, but we just felt the home buyers report highlighted too many issues that 1) we were unaware of and 2) had no real concept of fixing/solving ourselves (so everything would take qualified tradesmen). If it's a house you really like, maybe you should get a report done and see if you can proceed from there.

Thank you everyone for the replies.
DH is going to visit estate agent today, to get any more info on property and show evidence of cash if required. The viewing is on Wednesday, and I won’t lie, I am super excited
I’ve had a look at the photos that were first published in 2016, and compared those to updated ones. Things such as furniture has been moved out of conservatory (presumably to show the space), and clothes that were hanging on radiators removed for newer photos. I think I’ve over analysed the pictures
I’m trying not to like the property already, but it’s in the perfect location (2 min walk to in laws- 7 year old would love this as he really enjoys spending free time with grandparents), and a brilliant size.

Once again thank you everyone for the replies, i will probably be back on here come Wednesday with a new batch of questions