Me again! Like the house not so desirable area

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

We just viewed this house:
I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/64212273



Pros:
Lots of space, it's quirkiness of all bedrooms being accessed by their own staircases play in our favour. Decent condition and kitchen.

Cons :
No garden (although we barely use it). Decoration needs to be completely redone. TV and speakers are built into the wall so that needs to be replastered. Damp everywhere (although apparently that's normal in Cornwall). Location is not very desirable (although I don't mind it).

We're thinking of offering £190k to at at £195k.

[PancakeAndKeith]

So many staircases!

It’s the shared yard that worries me. I can see that ending in a lot of paperwork.

[PickAChew]

The bedroom set up sounds a pain in the arse, tbh. A lot of wasted space, with the stairs and, even if the kids are a bit older, what if there's a fire? How would you round them up and make sure they're safe? I wouldn't feel comfortable unless doors were installed to interconnect all of the bedrooms, somehow.

And the garden is basically an open yard, directly overlooked by the neighbours' extension. Potentially problematic if the kids play out.

Also, if you hated it, you'd have a job selling it.

A bit of damp isn't unusual in a house that age, but if there's a lot of it, that could signify bigger problems and would require a lot of effort to keep the mould at bay. And it would feel cold in winter. Probably not as cold as up here in the NE where I've never set foot in a property without any damp at all, but cold enough to feel miserable. I was wondering about the wall thickness because one of the downstairs windowsills looks nice and deep, but one of the bedroom ones looks really shallow.

If you do make an offer, go for an all singing all dancing structural survey because there could be some horrific stuff in there that you might not have noticed.

[swissmilk]

I like the house, but hate the photos! Why do estate agents use that fisheye lens...?

[BubblesBuddy]

Because it’s small and they are trying to make it look big! This house has too many issues. There must be something better?

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

@PancakeAndKeith it fits in the dining room, although I'd prefer it in the front room, but at least it fits!

The house is actually quite big, maybe not the best comparison, but it's double the size of this one: I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/56184060

Yes the garden is a communal yard, not ideal I agree, but with the right paperwork (some written agreement from the "farmer") more things could be done about it.

There are two doors, so the ones sleepy Ng in the front bedroom would have to exit through the front door and the other three bedrooms would have to exit through the back.

Potentially an understairs toilet could be fitted or the front bedroom is big enough to have an ensuite.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

Btw, thanks for your input. I think given it's so quirky I feel I can start with a low offer.

[user1474894224]

So there are 5 of you and 1 loo??? How old are your kids? We moved last year from a 3 bed with 3 kids and 1 loo --- my main desire was for another toilet - it's fabulous.... especially when getting ready for school in the morning. I would keep looking. (Are you really the baby grand lady? If so how have you gone from the last house you posted with the garage conversion to this? Completely separate style. Make me think you aren't actually clear on what you want and are a little lost in your search. As you are swapping completely between types of home and ways of living. Maybe take a deep breath, go back to your original reasons for moving and your original wish list. Don't get blindsided by all the different properties on offer.) Good luck finding your new home.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

Yes that's me! The one with the garage conversion only had one toilet and to me it was so, so small. I would have hated eating in the kitchen every day. It also had to be heavily reduced for me to be happy with the compromise if eating in the kitchen for God knows how many years.

We're moving for two reasons 1- mortgage is cheaper than rent and 2- we need the fourth bedroom.

Most of the children (3 out of 4) only live with us half the time.

[HardAsSnails]

I quite like the layout. Grew up in Cornwall and it wasn't that unusual for original staircases to be left when old miners' one-up-one-down cottages were joined to make bigger cottages. We had 2 staircases for 3 bedrooms.

I think it's been over-modernised though and would want to create some 'character'.

[MrsKittyFane1]

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it:

Why have both your links got this before them?

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

@HardAsSnails yes I agree about the character
@MrsKittyFane1 I copy the link form the app and it adds that

[ChangingMyNameFromMUUUUUMMMM]

That house was on the market when we bought ours a year ago! We went and looked at it and obviously it wasn't for us.

Location is fine, this isn't in any of the rougher parts but you would struggle a bit more with public transport (like most of cornwall tbh!). That might be something to consider when your DC get older and want to be more independent.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

@ChangingMyNameFromMUUUUUMMMM that's a great piece of intel! Do you remember by any chance how much they were asking for it? You've nailed for us the biggest issue is that we'll take away any sort of independence from the DC.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

And I've put an offer in :)

[gnomeisland]

I would suggest you approach this house with a huge amount of caution.
There is an unusually large drain right by the front door, coupled with the slope of the land, would imply that there are potential issues with ground water and possibly flooding at times.
The drain runs underground along the length of the property. There will be no damp course in the property so suspect this may be a major source of the damp you can see.
It is August. If damp is evident now, after the driest, warmest part of the year, then it will be much, much worse in the winter.
There is also a high cement fillet running along the front of the property, which again indicates there is trouble with water ingress.
There is a downpipe discharging directly onto the forecourt.
Incidentally, the access to the neighbouring property appears to be across the forecourt, in front of the living room windows.
The property looks as though someone has done an extensive job of covering up the damp problems, rather than resolving them.
Each room looks as though it has been dry lined with plasterboard. And then a thick layer of cement render slapped over the granite exterior.
I would suspect under those plaster walls are damp, crumbling granite walls. It is not just a case of slapping some paint over. I suspect unless you get the extensive renovation work done, then the property will quickly deteriorate, and you will have trouble selling it.
I live locally and am very, very familiar with this type pf property, having renovated several over the years. It looks like an absolute money pit.
If you do intend to go ahead with it, I would make sure you get a full survey done.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

Thank you so much for your input @gnomeisland.

It's been five years since I last bought a house and my memory is a bit rusty. If I do a full structural survey, and it comes with all of the issues described above even the mortgage company wouldn't lend the money, is this correct?

I'm not a big fan of that damp, and I think it's in a lot of rooms, but now wondering if it's a much bigger issue.
That the EA didn't say anything about our low offer says they know they can't get much for it. IMO

[SnappedandFartedagain]

It was up for £225k in July 2018 and January 2019

www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/springfield-cottage/broad-lane/illogan/redruth/tr15-3hy/50336200

[HeronLanyon]

How brilliant (not for the seller!) to have someone who’s had a survey in the very property you were interested in !! Or maybe still are interested in !

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

Mmmm I'm genuinely behaving second thoughts.... Good thing broker is being slow with the MIP

[gnomeisland]

I can't comment on whether a mortgage company would lend on it at the current time. I know you are wanting to buy as you see it as cheaper than renting. If this property is in as poor state as it looks you will end up spending a fortune on it, which will not in any way be realised in any potential increase in value.
Who owns the property? Are they living there at the moment or is it rented out? When was the renovation done? Who did it?
It looks like the entire interior was ripped out and replaced. Were building regs required and obtained? Quite often doesn't happen around these parts....
Does the whole of the forecourt belong to the property or do you share it with next door?
Who has responsibility for the drain running along the property?
Do you know how old the boiler is? Any idea how much running a gas boiler costs? We've always installed oil fired boilers as found the price of gas can be extortionate - but that may be different now.

And finally, the cottage is called Springfield - just saying

[gnomeisland]

Don't get me wrong. I love old Cornish granite houses, but they need constant maintenance. I don't want to put you off, but I would like you to go into this with your eyes open.
Around the mining areas these houses were quite often built quickly with poor quality granite to fulfil the need for housing for the rapidly expanding communities.
I am currently wrestling with more damp in my kitchen which I thought we resolved years ago. Looks like we are going to have to dig out the side of the building and put a dutch drain in. It's pretty endless really.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

The vendors currently live in it, as far as I can tell they've been living there for 20+ years.

The courtyard is "communal" nothing explicit as to who owns what apart form the garages.

No idea about the renovations.

Boiler looks 5-10 years old. Ive had gas and oil, I still can't decide which one is cheaper.

All very good questions and I very much appreciate your input. My DH thinks that so much damp is normal (I'm not so sure myself) and I'm aware of potential money pits (like my first house was, they clearly just decorated it to hide all the ongoing issues).

[SnappedandFartedagain]

It wouldn't be for me due to the reasons other people have mentioned, plus it looks like the shared drive is an issue. The vendor "believes" there is right of way to the courtyard and garage?!

[BrokenWing]

Layout looks more hellish than quirky.

Front bedroom above living room will have no soundproofing from living room.

The maze you have to go through to get from the front bedroom to bathroom, or even worse back two bedrooms is ridiculously awkward. What if there was a fire downstairs in the kitchen area, how would you get to your children in the other bedrooms?

One bathroom in a 4 bed house isn't ideal. 3 sets of stairs to vacuum!

Big no from me, even before looking at gnomeislands concerns about the property.

[Rainbowhairdontcare]

@SnappedandFartedagain yes that definitely needs to be confirmed before proceeding.