What would you offer

[Alexalee]

House will be worth 400k when work done.
Cost of work will be 50k.
What would you offer?

Full refurb
Windows
Full rewire
Full replumb with new boiler
Full replaster
Reduce ground levels to front and rear
New kitchen
New bathroom
Rebuild rear wall up to 1st floor level
Roof is in good condition though
Asking is offers over 350k
Do people really expect you to do all the work and spend all the time for 6 months for free these days?

That sounds a rather extensive list to get completed for £50k.

if they are saying offers over 350 then I wouldn't expect to be able to get it below 340.
but that does seem a big list for 50k too. just done maybe half of that to mine and spent nearly the same.

Unless you or your partner or willing friend/family are builders I doubt that is all possible for 50k. Things cost a lot more you expect. Trust me I've done a full house renovation.

A lot depends on how long it's been up and other pricing in the area. If it's offered over 350 and there is a lot needed done, then I would offer 350, i accepted a offer on a house for my offers over price.

It's a house my son is looking at... he works in a building trade so sees that as achievable with mates rates... probably would be 50% more with a main contractor.
I dont think the sellers realise the cost of works to bring the house up to a modern standard... the estate agent reckoned it could all be done for 20k ha
My advice to my son was to leave it for now and offer if it is reduced again as we both agreed that 325k is the most you could realistically be expected to pay and at the moment I doubt the seller would accept that. It started at 375k (probably with the agents advice of 20k bringing it up to modern standards)

We paid the full price with our previous house. We knew we’d only break even but the house and the location and everything else was perfect. We’d been looking for months and that was the only house we’d thought was spot on so put the price down to opportunity cost.

It seems a lot to do for 50k even with mates rates. There's usually unplanned extras that come up when you undertake this kind of work.
We've just completed a big refurb and extension and even with mates rates, doing work ourselves and DH's staff discounts and him negotiating numerous freebies from suppliers we've spent nearly 90k.

What's the sellers situation?
We're in the process of selling our old property it needs some modernisation but have a minimum price we want for it so it's selling as offers over that price. We're happy to wait and if it doesn't go for that price in 12 months then we'll rent it out.

It's a probate sale.
Been on since march
Fallen through twice

Most houses aren't really bought on what a properly is "worth" but on how much the buyer wants the dream.

If a house has great potential after the work is done, it's new value probably isn't as high as cost price plus the cost of the work, especially not if it's habitable as it is.

Most people, after all, are buying a home, not an investment, even if they also hope that, over time, it will turn out to be a good investment too.

IME you'll wait a very long time to buy a project that will also make sense financially, unless you're in the trade and doing it up cheaply and cosmetically simply to sell on

Sounds like buyers couldn’t get enough mortgage or got scared after the survey came back. Who knows, perhaps the vendors will see sense and accept 325k. If they’re deluded, there won’t be much you can do.

Is your son a first time buyer / not in a chain? If so I'd offer £325k as a best and final offer, making it clear that he is in a positive to proceed, no chain, mortgage in principle, solicitor ready to go etc. If they've had two sales fall through they may take a lower offer for someone who is ready to proceed quickly.

£50k seems very ambitious even if you did it on the cheap/mates rates.

How big is the house?

It's a 2 bed mid terrace 900ft2 in outer south london.
He seems to think 50k is achieveable... seems a lot of money to me but we haven't had building work done for over 10 years... most trades charge 200 or more a day now apparantly... when we did our last big project in 2008 they were more like 125 to 150, so I'm a bit out of touch

Has he done this kind of thing before?

Ah, a probate sale. The executors are legally obliged to get the best possible price for the property. If they are relations they will probably have an over inflated idea about its value.