Anyone offered on a repossessed house before?

[Offerdecisionneeded]

Hi
Just this really- looking for experiences.
Sold our house last summer and we’re in rented.
Got a good deposit and mortgage in principle.
Found a house in perfect location, ticks many boxes but downside is it needs a lot of work. It’s a repossession too.
It’s under budget but the savings can be used to modernise it.
As those who know a bit about repossessions, they’re actively marketed even when an offer has been accepted up until exchange. The bank just wants to make as much money as possible.
We’ve seen it twice, put in multiple offers - 9.5% below, (rejected) then increased to 5.5% below (rejected) and this afternoon, 2% below. Another bidder offered a smidge more (1.5% below) and their offer was accepted.
The accepted offer will now be made public in the local press to attract other bids and the idea is anyone can counter bid for 7 days.
We are hoping to counter bid.
Just wondering if anyone wishes to share their experiences, I’m aware we’re in for a bumpy ride here..

A friend did, once they'd moved in various problems emerged that hadn't been apparent during the viewings, and I'm pretty sure that would check the obvious things (opening and closing all doors, flushing the toilet, looking for leaks in bathrooms and the kitchen). I think they knew the boiler would need replaced. It's probably sensible to anticipate that the home may not have been maintained, so budget to get the gutters cleaned, roof tiles checked etc if you buy. I do think the house should be cheaper than one that's currently lived in and well maintained. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thank you for sharing!
How did your friend find the period after getting an offer accepted? Did you know if she was having to increase her offer to ward off other bidders until exchange?

I think they were the only people interested in the house, so the sale went through smoothly. I suppose the main thing is not to pay more than you're happy with, and plan that more will need fixed than you expect (plan for the worst, hope for the best!)
My friend was happy to live with the house until they could afford to extend (replace an ugly, badly built extension with a better one) . In the meantime they did find that pretty much everything in the extension was broken or causing issues. The downstairs toilet couldn't be used (the plumbing had been done badly), they had a leaky roof that collapsed, and some of the radiators had been plumbed in badly so they never received enough hot water to heat up (something to do with how extra radiators had been added to an existing setup). In addition the kitchen needed tlc, most of the cupboard doors fell off and the drawers were bad too. They were however prepared to live with this for a while as they liked the location etc and eventually changed the extension from single to double height, so it's now a fantastic house. I suspect that if the extension had been OK they'd have lived with it. They did feel it was a bargain price though.

We bought a repo. The previous owners were understandably angry about the situation, so they had done things like cut the cable on every light fitting, damaged all the kitchen units and cut holes in the carpet. It was basically a shell, everything had to be replaced.

Thanks everyone

handsoffmysweets did anyone ever outbid you in the public notice period?

thereinmadnesslies sounds annoying and costly! Hope it’s now your dream house and was worth it in the end!

Ours wasn't repossessed, but bought while the owner was going bankrupt.

I've spent a lot of time telling bailiffs/ TfL chasing fines/ weird blokes that turn up looking for him that he no longer lives here.

It wouldn't put me off, but do factor in some of this hassle.

Are the previous occupants definitely out (and not able to access the property - lock change)?
If so, it's worth getting a full survey done.
It is quite common for people to sabotage a property on moving out of a repossession. (I viewed one that had wiring removed, boiler broken deliberately, never mind that changes to the building without permission.)
If it's still a good proposition then go for it.

How does the price compare to other recent sales of comparable properties?
The last few repo's I've seen come up have gone for full market value, they don't appear to be the bargain they once were.

Was going to say like other pp, beware of the property being sabotaged before it was repossessed and make sure you get gas/electricity safety checks.

In our previous house a neighbour was repossessed and the weekend before they got all their family round to completely strip out every single thing, boiler, copper pipes, wires, the kitchen, smashed up the bathroom in situ etc. They left dog poo everywhere and after they left there were often dodgy people turning up to the house. They were violent alcoholics so not everyone will be as vindictive as them, but be prepared for the worst and a bit of hassle unless you know all the circumstances.

It was a cash only sale due to the condition and the new owners got it for around 70% of the true value so financially it was a good move for them, but hard work for them

70% of the ''true value'' for a house that has been comprehensively wrecked and stripped out doesn't strike me as being much of a ''financially good move''

We did, the house hadn’t been wrecked as people describe above but it was run down & we did renovate it (which was what we wanted to do anyway). We loved our house & definitely got a bargain, it had been on for a while & the bank had dropped the price by £49k. We had to complete within 28 days as a condition of the sale.

The house next door at our previous house was re-possessed. They stripped everything out- radiators, kitchen sink baths etc. Also left their dogs in there for several days. we had all sorts of people knocking on the door wanting to know if we knew where they had gone- for at least a year after they had gone. Some more or less accused us of lying and covering up for them. ( No chance - they were horrible neighbours) Be prepared for that.
Look very carefully at recent sold prices before you make another bid.