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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Did you regret buying an overpriced house?

80 replies

ohblahdee · 08/07/2019 15:55

The housing market is dire where we need to buy. Nothing has come on for over a month. We are renting so in prime position. There is a house with loads of potential for future and in great spot, would we be mad to pay over the odds for it at this brexit clouded time? It’s been on the market for a few months.

House is on at 450k and has been modernised but not to a high spec. They bought it for £350k two years ago : (.

I think I might feel angry at giving these greedy people my money but it’s such a good house...

OP posts:

BlueSkiesLies · 08/07/2019 17:28

I bought a house in 2008.... massively overpriced!

Do I regret it? No.

The house was fab, amazing location and suited me perfectly. I had a happy home for many years and stability I wouldn't otherwise have had.

Probably wouldn't have got the mortgage on anything post credit crunch anyway, even if there was a cheaper property.

Sold it for 10% less than I paid for it 8 years later... still don't regret it.

BlueSkiesLies · 08/07/2019 17:29

Obviously at the point of purchase, I didn't know the GFC was about to cause the housing market to crash...

MikeUniformMike · 08/07/2019 17:37

What they have spent on the kitchen and bathroom is almost irrelevant. They are often replaced by new owners. You can install a new bathroom for about £1.5K if it is just a basic one. Carpets are often replaced by the new owners, so unless immaculate is irrelevant.
Repairs like windows, roof etc will make a place more sellable but not necessarily add to the value.

SciFiRules · 08/07/2019 17:43

Truth be all houses are over priced. It's all based on notional value. The more the cost the more people "need" to get paid, the more people are paid the higher the cost of housing. It's long term "south seas trading" in my opinion. ..but as a home ownerI'm part of the problem too!

missyB1 · 08/07/2019 17:43

We bought in 2017, yes I would say it was about £30k overpriced. Do I regret it, yes in some ways, but we will stay here for at least another 5 years so hopefully by then it won’t matter. If we sold now we would make no profit whatsoever.

Ticklemeelmo · 08/07/2019 17:47

Property prices are meaningless unless someone is actually willing to pay what they are asking. Make sure you look at recently sold prices in the area as that will give you a better indication of the real value.

I would also start your offer as low as you think they would possibly entertain- you can always up it but you will never know if they may have been prepared to accept lower. And there is always another property available.

Grace212 · 08/07/2019 17:50

OP I'm sort of wondering the same thing

I'm looking to move to be close to my elderly mother. It's currently about 90mins+ each way.

I think waiting for Brexit or the effects of Brexit will be a very long game, I'm conscious I could end up overpaying but I have to balance it against the necessity of being near her and I don't know what to do really. At some level, you do have to see a home as a home IYSWIM.

mangocoveredlamb · 08/07/2019 17:52

We probably overpaid to the time of £30/£40k. I do not regret in in the slightest, this house is big enough to last us for the next 20/30 years, and in that time the 5% overspend will be negligible.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 17:53

£10k for a new bathroom, kitchen and a carpets?! Are you joking?

You live in a dream world if you think you can do all that for £10k!

And you're the horrible one calling them Greedy.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 18:00

I suggest you find out exactly what the works were before you assume.

They could have spent £20-30k, naturally that would increase the house.

Ours was valued £100k less if we kept tenants in. We kicked the tenants out, new painted walls, carpets, new bathroom and we got £95k more. Was valued at £100k more after all that work and we settled on £5k under asking price!

dontdoxmeeither · 08/07/2019 18:00

@Wisteria654 that's totally doable. Especially if you fit the kitchen/bathroom yourself or family member etc. It might be the lower end of quality and design but certainly not impossible.

TumbleTwit · 08/07/2019 18:10

We fitted a high spec kitchen for around 3k by doing it ourselves. If I'd gone with materials from b&q we could definitely done it for 1.5k. IKEA and similar wanted over 8k to do it for us.
Bathroom is similar, the materials I want come to about 1.5k. A fitter wanted 6k to fit it! Sod that.

We bought a house that was probably the right price 4 years ago, but I notice neighbours in the same houses are paying up to 60k more in the last 2 years. I dont believe prices have gone up, but if they are willing to pay then I guess that's what the price must be....
This is in surrey. A couple of those houses flooded before they were sold. Lack of availability leads to mad decisions!
I now wish I had bought a larger more expensive house, but can be more relaxed knowing mine should devalue less if the worst happens and that my mortgage is very cheap.

AriadneesWeb · 08/07/2019 18:37

They have at best spent 10k on new kitchen and bathroom, new carpets and painted walls
The average kitchen costs about £8k. Plus a couple of grand for appliances, a couple of grand for decorating and flooring, and at least £1500 to fit it. So you’re probably looking at £12-14k just for the kitchen. A bathroom takes the total closer to about £20k. Each room was probably about £300 to skim the walls, plus decorating and skirting etc, and even the cheapest carpet would’ve cost about £300 per room. It can easily add up to £10k if you decorate and carpet a full house. So they probably spent about £30k assuming they haven’t changed windows or done repairs to the building or roof. Why not ask them what they’ve done to the house since they bought it?

Moomin12345 · 08/07/2019 18:50

@Wisteria654 , by the same token, you're being unfair by assuming they're not being greedy. The only way to judge this is to have very good knowledge of the local market. Flippers love to make a massive profit, but thankfully in this market they typically need to get real to sell. Lastly, there's nothing 'natural' about the rate of house price inflation over the last decade. 'Dysfunctional' would be more fitting, and shocking as it may sound, house prices can and do fall. @OP, it's up to you to decide if you want to overpay, by how much and if you're prepared to live with the consequences.

Original poster

ohblahdee · 08/07/2019 20:15

Windows and doors not been done. Standard upvc with cheap upvc door. Bathroom is basic b and q fare - seriously. Their £100 vanity unit with sink etc. Kitchen is laminate top, basic single oven. It’s also a 1960s bungalow, and they also first put it on at 475k.

I think wisteria you may live in a world different to mine. 30k on a kitchen? Never. Some of us do DIY too. Your views are probably quite insightful for the sellers mindset though, so thank you.

I will ask the agent what’s been done though and see if we can tell how much might of been spent. I doubt we would get it anyway but i will be glad to know we tried and just move on. Also I’ll find out if they really do want to move.

Was thinking we leave our offer on the table. For a month maybe?

Bazaar mum, there will be others, I’m sure your right but it feels like such a game of chicken!

OP posts:

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 20:32

I never said £30k on a kitchen. I said walls, carpets, kitchen and a bathroom would be about £30k. So did others on this thread.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 20:34

FYI, if you spend £16k on a house that doesn't add £16k onto a house...

So don't try to add it up and equal it out. You're probably a buyer that offers 20% under the guide price. Then pulls out last minute.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 20:38

And if they've dropped by £25k that shows that they are not greedy AT ALL and have been mislead by estate agents!!! It also shows their motivation to sell.

Not sure why sellers who make money on their house get so much stick on Mumsnet!

Moomin12345 · 08/07/2019 20:48

@Wisteria654, not necessarily. Imagine a place where an average unremarkable 3-bed semi sells for £500k. An 'industrious' couple decide the 3-bed semi that they are selling should be worth £600k because they would looove to retire earlier and live a little. The agent want their custom as there are 20 other estate agencies on the local high street, so the agent goes along with £600k. After a couple of months of zero interest, they drop £25k. 'They're not greedy at all!' - I hear you say. 'Now the house is only £75k more expensive than it should be!'.

People will do this because on rare occasions overpricing works. Everybody is greedy at heart, some are just in denial.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 20:57

Fair enough. It's only because had our house valued at £125k more than we had anticipated after spending £12k roughly on doing it up. We dropped by £25k (after our first chain broke) and sold for £95k more than original value.

A few people were outraged that we could sell at £100k over after spending barely anything but we had three offers all around £90-95k over.

We are not greedy in the slightest and were directed by EA's, so gets my back up when ppl have this stance. We made £95k in 12 months in it by spending next to nothing. And it was just a rented place.

SciFiRules · 08/07/2019 21:07

Its interesting to read people saying things like we have to stay for "x years or we won't have made a profit" and "we kicked the tenants out" to make more money. This is part of the issue in this country that housing has become about making a profit and not about homes for people to live in.
I think we need reform but reform without risking individuals loosing their homes. Perhaps we should introduce a tax with an escalator on "profit" calculated simply on bought and sold price. Start at 2% and escalate by 2% per year until it runs at 60-70%. It would quickly slow price escalation but avoid a crash and refocus our concept of housing from investment opportunity to homes. The very concept of a ladder is a lie we've been sold.

Wisteria654 · 08/07/2019 21:12

We had to sell our property regardless of tenants - but the reason it was so much more money without them is because they moved two cats in without consent, house stank of urine, boxes everywhere, food and rubbish bags. Was horrific!

Also they missed 3 months of rent. They were gone but we didn't know whether to get straight on the market or wait - EA said do it up and get them out ASAP and it will add £100k-£125k to the house!

Original poster

ohblahdee · 08/07/2019 21:19

Sci-fi, yes! you said that better than I could.
Wisteria might have made a massive profit, but what effect has that had on house prices for the rest of us?
‘Kicked the tenants out’ Charming.

OP posts:

TheyCallMeMellowYellow · 08/07/2019 21:20

@Wisteria654 you are awful.

CottonSock · 08/07/2019 21:24

I also bought a house at the top of the market before the crash..taken years not to be in negative equity, but it was for the long haul. We don't regret it. Decided to extend instead of move. It is a great house and pretty unique

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