Found the dream house - now what to do

[homeadrone]

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?

Christ sorry I'm doing a crap job of changing my username on here!

I’d add you are flexible and can move quickly. Have you said you are happy to take the house as is i.e they don’t have to clear out any more furniture etc?
Last house we got had been rented out theyd left a load of junk behind we put our offer in and told agent to tell landlord selling that we would take it like it was and clear ourselves. He was happy- we were happy once we sold the junk- old fridge, 2 large lawnmowers, a table made over £800 on eBay 👍

I don't think it could hurt.

When we sold our last property we had six offers and it went to sealed bids. We knew who we wanted to sell to and decided we'd take a lower offer if one of the two bidders we "wanted" came in with a reasonable offer.

The bidders we liked were a young couple who were looking for their first home and a young guy who'd been wanting an apartment in that property for ages and had been burnt/outbid twice before (he didn't actually view ours as he lived 400 miles away and sent his parents!). The other four were all landlords who wanted to make a profit. The guy who bid the highest lived in Dubai and actually sent his sister to view it!

In the end the young guy came in second highest behind the one who wanted to add it to their housing portfolio. We went with the second bid because of his story, love for the building and fact he wasn't just another landlord.

Definitely the most important criteria vendors will be looking for right now is rock-solid financials and ability to proceed.

Ok that's good to know. I'm thinking I'll make it clear that it'll be our family home and not something we're planning on doing up and selling on. I'd not thought of the bit about taking the property as is but that's quite a good point - I'm not sure where the family are but I imagine it'll be a real pain for them to move and sell all the furniture, especially given the current restrictions.

If it Savills there game is to underprice unique properties by 25% to generate interest. My guess is the guide price is nothing like what it will go for.

Their game....sorry lack of caffeine

I am literally having nightmares about what the hell we're going to do with all our furniture and contents. We are downsizing into something a third of the size. And there is NO storage in the new house. I must be out of my mind.

@ArtikosAdventure there's every chance this is what has happened here. I think there's probably a 0.001% chance I'll get this place as I'm sure there will be people who bid way over asking. Ho hum.

The 50 viewings could also be because it’s all online viewings at the moment so easier for people to view properties that they’re only slightly interested in or just curious about, rather than serious buyers

No, l think it will be good to personalise it and explain why you want it. I got my current property over a developer who asked more, as the seller liked me living here and it not being an investment. My parents snared their current house for similar reasons and despite other buyers offering 20% extra (it was the 80’s so a bit of a crazy house buying time!!). Good luck with it all

I agree, personalising it won't hurt. Your position and ability to move fast will be their priority, but if it is close, they will be looking for other deciding factors so definitely worth a go. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

It didn't happen unfortunately. We bid about £35k over the asking price and apparently it went for considerably more. I think the PP was right that they'd decided to massively undervalue it to generate a load of interest. Oh well - it wasn't meant to be, never mind.

You will find something even better one day and end up glad you missed out.....these things usually are meant to be!

Sorry to hear this update. Good luck in your house search

Thanks everyone. I don't think I'm quite shrewd enough to play in this weird world of undervaluing unique houses. Probably best left to the hardened property people. Lesson learnt - if it's too good to be true, it probably is!