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Original poster

Would this put you off?

33 replies

AlwaysSomethingThere · 30/01/2019 06:52

Going to view a small house tomorrow. I looked at the history and the current owner only bought it in 2017. Immediately put me off as I assumed neighbours must be vile but I phoned estate agents and they said the man living there is a long term tenant not the owner and that the landlord is having to sell due to a change in circumstances. No idea what that means. Maybe he's getting divorced and needs the money, maybe he's found a £20k subsidence job on the house.

I've never bought a house and am very intimidated by the whole process. Not sure what to make of this...

OP posts:
Gunpowder · 30/01/2019 06:55

You just ask! As you said could be loads of things.

PenguinPandas · 30/01/2019 07:01

I am always very wary if a property has changed hands very recently though if it was bought with a mortgage (Land Registry check for £3) there should have been a basic valuation at least done and a check to see it was mortgageable. My guess is he is getting divorced but change in circumstance could just mean it doesn't work as btl so changed mind or he's realised his neighbours are noisy. Would stick look. Also found people doing this have unrealistic view of price will get quite often, understandably as they want all their costs back but can put it over market value.

Happilyacceptingcookies · 30/01/2019 07:05

No it wouldn't immediately put me off. Is the asking price now similar to when he bought it or at least in proportion? People do change their minds. Did the owner renovate it before selling? It'll it's a single person rather than a family then quite believable that he might have a change of work location or circumstances, perhaps he was recently divorced. Things like subsidence would come up on the survey. How long has it been on the market for? That's more of an indicator of a problem.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 30/01/2019 07:06

No it wouldn’t put me me off. The Landlord isn’t living there so would have no idea about the neighbours. He probably needs the money. Or doesn’t want the hassle of being a ll.

Mayrhofen · 30/01/2019 07:07

This happened to DS just this week! House he was interested in only sold in December 2017.

I was very very and was the first thing I asked the agent. Turned out the owner had lived at the house for seven years.

In the meantime his relationship developed and him and his GF decided to move in together and buy a new build. They sold her house and did a part ex with his.

It is the developer therefore that is selling the house that has sat on it a year and left it empty.

There may be a simple explanation.

keepingbees · 30/01/2019 07:08

I think a lot of landlords are selling up due to the government making it harder for them, and maybe everything with brexit etc. Or it could just be something personal. It wouldn't put me off but be wary.

Original poster
AlwaysSomethingThere · 30/01/2019 07:11

It's been on the market since November last year and was reduced by £5k early Jan. He bought it for much less than he's selling it for even though it's cheap. The house looks nicely decorated but not a show home or anything... I guess it could have been absolutely terrible before he'd bought it? There doesn't appear to be a great deal of interest in it but it's small and the parking apparently is a bit shit so probably puts parents / families off whereas I'm a single person so might suit me.

OP posts:
bigandbumpy · 30/01/2019 07:14

I'm sure it's absolutely fine. I wouldn't be put off by the fact he bought it two years ago then has changed his mind. Seems strange to forgo easy money if it had a long term tenant but we don't know his circumstances.

wowfudge · 30/01/2019 07:14

They mean personal circumstances - not language an EA would use to describe finding subsidence imo. But ask.

Happilyacceptingcookies · 30/01/2019 07:16

It hasn't been on the market for ages then, allowing for a dead month of December in terms of the housing market. If he bought it for much less then you need to ask the EA what has been done to the property? Perhaps he has had it rewired and re-plastered. Or the garden has been improved. As a PP said he might be looking for all his money back.

bigandbumpy · 30/01/2019 07:16

@AlwaysSomethingThere - is it a terraced house? If you want us to look at the house then just post the right move link?

Original poster
AlwaysSomethingThere · 30/01/2019 07:19

I just don't trust estate agents, people, anyone! I don't have a lot of money or any fancy relatives to bail me out if the shit hits the fan. I only have a little deposit and funds for legal fees and I've put myself through hell to scrape it together. The area isn't fantastic but not the ghetto either and I have to be realistic as a single FTB. I even asked on the community Facebook page what the street was like, was pleasantly surprised with the responses! Just want somewhere quiet and to feel safe x

OP posts:
Mulberryandthyme · 30/01/2019 07:22

It's fine. Sounds like a distress sale caused by one of the 3 Ds - debt, divorce or death.

ElvisParsley · 30/01/2019 07:24

Could be any number of reasons, but it won’t be the house as the EA would have to tell you. E.g. owner has a new job overseas and needs his money back, or now wants to buy with a partner, or needs the capital to invest elsewhere, or is elderly and needs the money to pay care home fees. I can speculate any number of changes in circumstances that could lead to rapid re-sale.

Anything to do with the house should get picked up in a survey.

PenguinPandas · 30/01/2019 07:24

Sometimes you can find the advert for when he bought it online still on Rightmove etc - worth seeing so you can see the difference. Ask what work has been done, if its none I would be very wary. We came across one like that - no idea what had happened but quite a few sales fell through on it and they were insisting cash only but said nothing wrong - didn't believe it so walked away. I would check its mortgageable - sometimes you get a big discount if a house isn't and that could also be why he got it for a cheap price.

TitusP · 30/01/2019 07:27

The government have bought in a lot more restrictions on BTL landlords in the past couple of years and around where I live they are dumping their portfolios in droves. When looking I think I only looked at 2-3 houses that weren't currently tenanted.

I would say that I found those previously owned as BTL were superficially fine but everything had been done to a budget (understandable I guess) so cheap flooring laid over cheap flooring and poorly maintained on the whole, one had a hole in the roof! So this put me off BTL more than the selling quickly.

Also yes to what someone said about about overpricing. We looked at a house on the road we now live on which is still for sale 2 years later because the landlord won't admit the house is not worth double what he paid 3 years ago. It was a definite theme of the BTL's we looked at!

lpchill · 30/01/2019 07:37

If it was previously advertised by either Zoopla or Rightmove. You can sometimes get on the computer and see what it sold for and the previous listing with pictures. I don't this for a few properties we looked at to see if the prices reflected any work that was done. One flat we looked at had less than two years from the last sale and looking at the pictures not much was done at all but they wanted an extra £40k.

ForgivenessIsDivine · 30/01/2019 07:40

Consider the price carefully. What has the prices of other property done in the last 18 months? How does it compare to other properties in the area? It is possible that he bought a bargain and is flipping it for a profit having done a bit of work.. (think homes under the hammer) in which case consider the value of any renovations done and look carefully at any survey. Was it rented out before? Or perhaps owned by one person for a long time? It might have been in a poor state of repair but the landlord put in new kitchen and bathroom for 20k but added 30k to the value.

Tappyfeet92 · 30/01/2019 08:32

Were currently selling a flat, oh has owned it for about 2 years (if that). He hadn't met me when he bought it, we now have a ds together and can't move to live in it as my eldest has additional needs and needs to stay at his school. So we're having to sell with a quick turnaround.

Just ask, it could be any one of a number of circumstances x

mum2015 · 30/01/2019 08:34

May be his tenant isn't paying rent and he is struggling to evict him.

Stringofpearls · 30/01/2019 08:38

I wouldn't be too worried about subsidence, that would come up on your survey normally. I agree with others it sounds like it's more about personal circumstances than anything with the actual house.

keepingbees · 30/01/2019 10:17

Zoopla should have its sales history on and usually has previous Rightmove photos. He probably bought it as a cheap buy to let and done it up. But bear in mind, it probably won't have been done to a high standard. Landlords will usually use the cheapest materials and tradesmen.

Original poster
AlwaysSomethingThere · 30/01/2019 12:42

Keepingbees - to be honest if that's my only worry and as long as there's no major urgent work, plumbing boiler etc, I'm not bothered. I can do it up myself in time x

OP posts:
Original poster
AlwaysSomethingThere · 31/01/2019 21:46

Well I viewed the house and I really like it. The house is freehold. Next door neighbours house is freehold. But the garden is a strange one... I own the left. They own the right. The path down the middle is communal between me and them. Somebody must actually OWN the path though 🤔

OP posts:
Jorgezaunders · 31/01/2019 22:05

Not necessarily. We own the access passage between our house and the next terrace in common with our neighbors.

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