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Original poster

Found the dream house - now what to do

41 replies

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 14:40

I've just been to see a property that ticks every single box for me. Beautiful house, beautiful street, great location. It's fairly unique due to its history so probably won't see another one like that coming round again soon.

The EA has said they have had 50 viewings (who knows if that is true) and they're asking for everyone to submit offers by Monday. It's probate so they've said they'll just take the highest offer.

I'm really torn as to what to do. It seems like a pretty crazy time to buy a house at the moment so I'm wondering if I'll live to regret it. Secondly if I go in above the asking price then I will have less cash to do it up. The place needs a complete revamp as it's a real granddad house that's been lived in for about fifty years.

One thing to note is that I'm a FTB with a fairly sizeable deposit so could potentially be a more attractive offer than someone who needs to sell their house right now.

What would you do?

OP posts:

ChocoTrio · 29/05/2020 14:51

FTB means you won't have to pay stamp duty on the first £300k, so that saves you about £5k already.

Do you have a mortgage in principle?

If it is a bidding process then I suspect any buyers who are 'ready to go' and are making a decent offer stand the strongest chance.

doughnutmuffin · 29/05/2020 14:54

You've said something like it won't come along anytime soon plus if you're going to be there for years to come pay what you think it's worth and what you can afford and don't worry too much about the market at the moment. Is it sealed bids or if you want to up your bid can you?

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 15:03

Yes I've got a mortgage in principle ready to go. I don't know about sealed bids, all the EA said was "I'll be calling you on Monday and we'll have one round of offers and we'll take the best offer". Is that the same as sealed bids?

I'm pretty green here (can you tell?!) which is why I'm looking for a bit advice from someone who knows what they're doing. I don't want to pay over the odds but then again I'd be gutted if I didn't see anything like that come up again.

OP posts:

maxelly · 29/05/2020 15:13

Sounds like sealed bids to me - I agree that as its a unique property I think all you can do is put in the maximum that you think it's worth and are able to afford (taking into account essential work that will immediately need to be done on property). Then if someone offers more good luck to them, they are paying over the odds in your opinion.

Make sure you do let the estate agent know your circumstances, sometimes vendors will take a slightly lower offer from a buyer in a position to move quickly, but sometimes the EA will have instructions to just go with the highest bidder, sounds as if this is a probate sale (i.e. the previous owner died and the house is being sold as part of his/her estate?) in which case speed may be less important than getting the highest possible price esp if the proceeds may have to be divided amongst heirs who may not agree on exactly what it's worth...

Also remember under the English system having an offer accepted is not the same as exchanging contracts/buying a house at auction, its really only a provisional sale and you will want to get a full structural survey done as well as legal checks and searches etc. If any of this reveals problems you weren't aware of (e.g. structural issues with the house that will cost a lot to fix) or the market tanks in the meantime, you can pull out and will only lose the fees you've paid to your solicitor and surveyor, no deposit...

Knittedfairies · 29/05/2020 15:48

Put in an offer that seems right to you, that you can afford, then just sit tight. Do not move yourself in in your imagination; that way madness lies...

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 16:12

Ok this is really helpful thanks. I think I will just offer at asking price (or slightly above) and if it's meant to be it's meant to be. You're right that I need to stop moving myself in in my imagination - there will be other houses in the future.

OP posts:

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 16:14

And yes I think there's every chance something could come up in a survey as it's looking seriously tired so that could give me a bit of leverage. Thanks everyone.

OP posts:

Barkingfuckingdogs · 29/05/2020 16:18

There will always be other houses. Always. Take the good advice given above but keep looking elsewhere at the same time.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 29/05/2020 16:24

The Estate Agent has told you there will be one round of bidding. You need to ask them what happens if two parties bid exactly the same amount.

Say the asking price is £350,000. If they have really had 50 viewings then that suggests the EA has undervalued the property somewhat. House prices = supply and demand and obviously that house is very much in demand due to the amount of interest. I would bid something like £361,259 or something like that if I wanted the house that much. You have to forget about the renovation budget - properties are usually put on the market with renovation costs factored into the asking price.

GreyishDays · 29/05/2020 16:26

Obviously add a bit to your offer so it’s not a round number.

BlueGreenYellowRed · 29/05/2020 16:27

We were in a similar situation and put in an offer which was just a few hundred above the asking price, with the reasoning that someone else was likely to offer exactly the asking price. It worked and we got the house! The estate agent said she'd never seen such a small amount of money make such a big difference!

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 16:36

Yeah I think the number of viewings is because it's undervalued. The place looks like the last time it saw a paint brush was the seventies and I guess that's factored into the valuation. But it's so unique that I guess it's piqued a lot of people's interest.

Great advice on going in with a random amount, I think that's what we'll do. And then we can have a few weeks while we sort out survey etc. If the market really starts to tank we can always pull out and they can take the second best offer.

OP posts:

DeRigueurMortis · 29/05/2020 17:07

Hi OP I was pretty much going offer the same advice as Blue.

It's situation that's very tempting throw as much money as you can at the offer but you need to try and be as dispassionate as possible - it's very much a head rather than heart decision.

So if the asking price is £300k I'd offer something random like £300,284.

There's no point buying a property you wouldn't have the funds to renovate.

The fact it's probate is interesting.

Given there's no chain and the property is vacant means they theoretically have time on their side but realistically most people want to wrap up probate as fast as possible and don't want to be paying out for council tax/utilities etc on a vacant property, but equally the executor has a duty to get best price for the house so sealed bids makes sense.

The market is fragile atm so that's another reason not to overbid.

If it's any consolation I lost out on the perfect house about 15 years ago. Gutted.

However 6 months later my current house came in the market and it's even better in terms of location whilst having all the period charm/space the previous one did.

It's tempting to think a property is "the one" but it's very rarely true.

User202004 · 29/05/2020 17:21

I am selling and buying atm, upsizing substantially. Yes it's a bit crazy but life goes on, we need to move I don't want to hang around to see what happens. If it's a long term purchase offer what you think is a fair price, fix for a good amount of time, and the market being what it is in this country, it will improve eventually and survive whatever dip is coming.

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 17:40

Ok thank you, this is all sage advice. I've had some more viewings today and they were all more expensive and considerably less nice. The prices do seem to be all over the place (I wonder if EAs are artificially inflating prices as they're expecting lowball offers) so it's confusing.

I'm in a good position financially and not in a rush so I think I'll offer what I think it's worth and if it doesn't happen then so be it.

OP posts:

DeRigueurMortis · 29/05/2020 17:45

I'm in a good position financially and not in a rush so I think I'll offer what I think it's worth and if it doesn't happen then so be it.

That's absolutely the right mindset.

Patch23042 · 29/05/2020 19:43

I really hope you get it! You sound great, and the bereaved family I’m sure would appreciate a ftb who genuinely adores the house and won’t mess them about.

MissLemon18 · 29/05/2020 20:02

Bit left of field - has the house been cleared of possessions yet?

ICouldHaveBeenAContender · 29/05/2020 21:23

MissLemon18 - interesting question. DH is just about to put his late DM's house on the market. We had part-cleared it, would probably have completely cleared it by now if not for lockdown, however it's a good job we hadn't as the advice from all EAs is to "dress" the house, so we'll be moving some furniture back in from the garage and putting on our spare bedding for viewings.

One other point for the OP: I believe council tax is waived for 6 months after death; after that, council tax becomes payable, so if the 6 months is approaching and you are ready to move, it might help your case.

Original poster

homeadrone · 29/05/2020 23:09

There is some furniture in the house but I think it's to "dress the house" as you say. There didn't seem to be many possessions around so I think it's all been cleared already. From what I understand the man died in January and so the family have just been waiting to sell due to the lockdown.

I've had a think about it this evening and I'm engaging head over heart. I do really love the place but I don't want to end up in a position where I've overspent, especially given how unstable everything is at the moment. I'll put in an offer a fraction above asking price and will cross my fingers.

OP posts:

ChateauMargaux · 30/05/2020 18:07

With 50 viewings, it will go above asking price. Clearly people can see potential and can see what you do in it. You have also compared it to others on the market and you know it is a gem. Offer what you can afford if you really want it and are planning to stay long term.

DeRigueurMortis · 30/05/2020 18:43

Assuming it's correct 50 viewings is a lot.

If it's a unique property that's keenly priced I'm not surprised it would attract a lot of initial interest.

That said there's a lot of steps between viewing a property and making a serious offer.

A lot of people like the idea of a fixer upper property but when they see the amount of work involved they back off - not just due to cost of renovations but the time/effort/inconvenience.

I've had multiple houses (on number 8 which is likely the penultimate for me) that I've done up.

Number 8 was similar to what you describe and had loads of interest (which the EA made much of) but when most viewers got past their initial enthusiasm and started doing the maths about the amount of work (so not just redecorating plus new kitchen and bathrooms, but a house not touched in 40 years is likely to need new wiring, boiler, insulation, major garden renovations, potential roofing issues, new windows etc) they pulled out.

Mine needed all of that and to give an idea of scale I spent nearly £40k on windows alone (period property in a conservation area, all non standard so needed handmade windows). Before we even got to the "nice" stuff like kitchens/bathrooms/decor we'd spent £100k on structure/wiring/heating/roof/windows because everything is more expensive on a period property because it's not built to standard measurements and has to be adapted or bespoke.

So another piece of advice is to get some quotes before you finally commit.

If you're a FTB it's very easy to underestimate just how much a property renovation can cost and the reality is that even if you do your homework surprises will bite you in the bum that you hadn't budgeted for.

ChateauMargaux · 30/05/2020 21:34

DeRigueurMortis makes some good points. We once viewed a property that was 'within our price range'. It was a 1930's property that had never been touched. Was £150k less than any other house on the road but needed £100k minimum spending in it. So yes, you could possibly make £50k on it but it would take blood sweat and tears to get there... we didn't have a spare £100k so had to settle for the 2 bed on a different road instead.

Original poster

homeadrone · 04/06/2020 08:43

Hi everyone, just a quick update. I've been told they will do one round of final offers via email which they will give to the seller who will choose. They've given us a survey to fill out with questions e.g. what is the size of your deposit? do you have a property to sell? when can you move? etc. But they've also said "any other information you'd like the buyers to know?".

My question is - should I try and do a pitch for the place saying how much I like it and how it would be our forever home? Or is that the worst negotiating tactic ever?

OP posts:

heroku · 04/06/2020 08:46

Sorry that should say "any other information about you as buyers that you'd like the vendor to know?"

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