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Original poster

How to choose which house and what to offer

27 replies

Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 00:00

3 houses on the same estate.
House 1 is a 4 bed that has been rented out and is in need of a new kitchen, bathroom and carpets as well as general redecoration. Garden is SW facing. £380000
House 2 is a 3 bed next door to house 1. It is in move in condition. Garden is SW facing. £355000
House 3 is the same house type as house 2 but the garden is SE facing and it needs a new kitchen. £350000

These are in an area of slow house market. Two have been marketed before a few years ago without selling.

My preference is house 2 but I’m worried house 1 will go for a lot less than asking eventually as I can’t see it getting £380000 for the condition it is in. This would affect the value of the 3 beds. And if I could get house 1 for lower then it could be amazing.

So which house and where would you start with offers?

OP posts:
SeaToSki · 21/07/2019 01:25

DO you want/need 3 or 4 beds. Do you want to do renovations? DO you have the time patience and budget for them?

Leggyfrog · 21/07/2019 02:09

House 1 is massively overpriced if house 2 is the comparator.

How much more would house 2 be worth if it was 4 beds - 375/380?
If you budget £25-30k for renovations that would make me offer £350 for the 4 bed.

Is the additional bedroom worth the extra expense and hassle of renovating?

JoJoSM2 · 21/07/2019 06:21

Do you know the sq footage?

Is house 1 literally 1 bedroom/boxroom bigger or has it also got bigger living areas, an extra en suite etc?

I agree it would be between 1 and 2 for me.

Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 08:35

House 1 is 2050 sq ft
House 2 is 1609 sq ft

The extra bedroom is a small one but house 1 also has lots of extra living space.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 08:35

Sorry house 2 is 1659! Typo.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 08:37

£380 for house 1 if it was perfect would be okay but it’s been damaged by being let out. It’s not huge amounts of work but definitely more work and expense than house 2.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 08:39

House 3 is empty and EA told me that the vendor will be flexible on price whereas house 2 had the vendor living there wanting to sell but as far as I can tell not needing to IYSWIM.
House 1 is empty after being let.

OP posts:
LegoPiecesEverywhere · 21/07/2019 08:39

House 1 is 25% bigger than house 2 so I think the price is justified. If you can afford it I would go with house 1 with a starting offer of £370000

Tingface · 21/07/2019 08:39

House 1.
Offer 350 and explain that it needs new kitchen, bathroom and carpets. I think up to 10% under asking is considered non cheeky so you’d be well within that.

It’ll be declined. Go up to 355 and then 360.

Treacletoots · 21/07/2019 08:47

Agree with Lego. House 1 is worth the extra, you will get it back when you sell with the 4th bedroom and will cost you more to add to a 3 bed.

It depends on whether you need a house to be perfect showroom condition for you to live there or whether you're fine with doing it up as you go.

Also, do you need 4 bedrooms? The added cost of council tax and bills can be quite significant.

I'd personally offer a starting bid of 370 for the 4 bed.

PurpleWithRed · 21/07/2019 08:49

I would offer £340,000 for house one and see what happens expecting a No, then work up from there. What’s your budget? House 1 is going to cost you £15-25k to make the way you want it. I wouldn’t bother with house 3 as I like to renovate and I like a SW facing garden.

JoJoSM2 · 21/07/2019 08:49

There are some spacious houses in your area!

I do like the sound of house 1. Are you sure it’s as bad as it looks? (ei damaged). I can imagine it might be very dirty, limescale built up, filthy grout, maybe some loose screws on kitchen cabinets etc? That sort of stuff can be sorted with a few pounds and a bit of TLC.

catndogslife · 21/07/2019 09:48

House 1 has the most space if that's what you are looking for.
It's not just about kitchens and bathrooms but also about the stuff that you cannot see.
If house 1 has been rented out there will be gas safety certificates and electrical safety certificates. How old is the central heating system in houses 2 and 3?

DotOnTheHorizon · 21/07/2019 10:08

Can you link to them so we can see layout etc?
Also what are your needs? Family size (now and future). Do you need en-suite for teens? Do you need a big garden for younger children?

What about parking etc?

Have you asked why 3 are up for sale and why the ones that were for sale previously didn't sell? It could be there are management fees for grounds maintenance or done leasehold issues which will be problematical.

CoffeeQueen24 · 21/07/2019 10:10

House 1

Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 10:17

I think they’ve not sold because they are expensive (for the area). They are recent new builds and these prices are above what was paid as new builds in an area of no or negative or very little growth. They were build in 2008.

House 1 vendors moved away for work. It didn’t sell so they let it. Now they want to sell it.
House 2 vendor wants to downsize as children have finished school (houses are in a good school area)
House 3 unsure. EA was vague but I felt it was because she didn’t actually know the answer rather than trying to be evasive!

OP posts:
Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 10:18

With the sq footage I think house 1s double garage is included. House 2 has a single.

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Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 10:19

PP asked about damage in house 1. There were some chunks out of walls (like at edges/corners) and very damaged worktops. It would really need new carpets throughout immediately as well.

OP posts:
WhatTheAbsoluteFuck · 21/07/2019 10:25

House 1 all the way. Have they already taken into account the cost of refurb into the price do you think?

Are the carpets so grim that a rug doctor wouldn’t sort them out? Are the kitchen and bathroom liveable?

Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 11:11

The carpets were awful. Kitchen and bathroom are liveable yes.

OP posts:
Gladiolus45 · 21/07/2019 11:17

What is your position though? Do you need to sell at the same time? Do you have a buyer?

If you are a cash buyer I'd go in aggressively at £350k for house 1 and remind the agents you are as scarce as hen's teeth and this is the sellers' chance to get shot of their house quickly - they will be getting no income now it is not let. If you need to tie it to a sale you have a lot less leeway.

Original poster
Nutellaontoast19 · 21/07/2019 12:29

We are STC

OP posts:
Gladiolus45 · 21/07/2019 13:26

I'd think hard about which of the houses you really want to live in. There is nothing to stop you putting in offers on more than one of them and seeing what is the best deal you can do.

I don't really like the sound of the sellers who aren't fussed about moving though, would you need to wait whilst they found somewhere and do you think they might change their minds? I lost a purchase the day before exchange with sellers who just decided they CBA to move. You really want the shortest chain possible especially in the current market. BUT set against that you will inevitably spend more than you expect on houses 1 and 3.

Personally I'd decide what all three are worth to me and bung in an offer below that and see what I could get. I don't think the garden orientation would bother me either way Given our summers now, I think a cool garden is a plus!

Snowbites · 21/07/2019 21:33

Definitely house 1 for me, but offer less. How would you feel if you bought house 2 and then watched someone else get house 1 for a good price and then do it up beautifully?

Chewbecca · 21/07/2019 21:35

Can you afford house 1 & the work? If so, that’s my choice.