How much would you offer?

[NewMeNow]

I may be asking how long is a piece of string but here goes:

Property A is currently on the market for £180,000.
Property B is three doors down and sold for £180,000 in December 2019.

Property A
Two double bedrooms
No parking space
Playroom/ study (advertised as a third bedroom but downstairs, off the kitchen, and narrow)
Downstairs toilet
Needs cosmetic improvement

Property B
Three bedrooms - two double, one single
Parking space
Conservatory
No downstairs toilet
Finished to a good standard

Based on this information, how much would you offer on property A?

I couldn't say without more info and being able to see other sales on the same street or nearby comparables.

Difficult.
How much needs doing to get A same standard as B.
If it is just cosmetic then no more than £145 000.
It has one less bedroom,no parking space,no conservatory,and needs cosmetic update.Oh and prices have and will continue to drop.

@wowfudge - I thought that might be the case. Other houses in the area are detached and bigger so aren't useful comparisons annoyingly. What sort of info would you need to make a decision?

If it's in not so great condition I'd probably offer 165, but it slightly depends on the overall plot, garden and upgrade potential.

If property A sold for 180k no way is property B worth that. I’d go maximum 150 but try for 145

Are these semis? How much more do detached houses seem to go for then compare a walk in ready one and one that needs work and see the price difference there?

Does cosmetic work mean redecorating or new kitchen and bathroom too? Maybe look at the cost of what is needed to bring up to the same standard as Property B.

150-155k not worth more than that.

Well how many bedrooms do you need/want?
Can you live without a parking space?
Do you have budget for the "cosmetic improvements"?

A house with a poor layout would annoy me but if you could make use of the study/playroom and make the various improvements you want, why not.

Not if it doesn't tick the boxes though.

I think offering any less than £150k would be insulting. It does depend on the area though.

At a minimum, I'd say new shower, new carpet upstairs and the outside of the house needs rendering.

I was thinking around £145k but dont want to come across as a CF.

£140-145k

What is the difference in overall square foot?

Unless a carpet is brand new fitted for selling you will always need new carpets.

But rendering is fairly major. What’s the condition of fitted furniture/bathroom etc.

@ChocoTrio they're pretty much the same square footage

Are there any 2 beds on the street that have been sold in the last year or two?

@Comefromaway the kitchen wouldn't need replacing immediately but the shower would need replacing straight away. I would also want to improve the bathroom floor and downstairs toilet immediately as, although functioning, they're pretty gross.

Thanks for the carpet tip - I didnt know that.

When furniture is moved it shows up not only dents but discolouration etc. We’ve been lucky. Just moved into a house with brand new master bedroom, lounge and dining room carpets but had to replace the others.

I would say Property A is overpriced for what you are getting and so I wouldn't offer anything, I'd go for B.

B isn't for sale

@AnotherEmma, no the street is all big, detached houses (4 beds +) except for four houses - two sets of semi detached. As far as I can see, the semis were not split evenly so, in each pair, one house is bigger than the other. The one I'm looking at (property a) is the smaller half but has had a downstairs extension to add on the playroom and downstairs toilet. Property b is the bigger half (but of the other pair). The other two houses within the semis havent sold for years and years so no records for them.

145 is definitely too low. I would go in at 163 and expect to be knocked back.

Put the price you are thinking into Rightmove and compare what is available for that price in the same area.

Property B sounds a lot better. I wouldn't offer anything on A and wait for more houses to come on the market.

If they are the same sq foot I also think 145 is very low.

You can try, but I doubt they will accept.

The question is how much is it worth to you?

because whatever you offer the buy can say no. So decide what it’s worth to you, they will already know how much they need to sell it for.

Make your offer, and if the two are close you will be able to find a deal. If they aren’t, then just walk away.

If you want to offer 145k then I’d go for it, who cares if you come across cheeky. At the end the day a house is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. That’s essentially why house prices go up and down. An extra bedroom is generally worth 10k a piece

If it’s rare to market for the price in the area, supply and demand will keep the price up. If it has much interest it could go close to the asking price.