How much would you offer for a house that needs new boiler and bathroom?

Fredocorleone · 2020-11-21T18:24:02+00:00

I’ve viewed a house today that we love. It’s a 4 bedroom detached for £400k. It’s a probate house and the EA said they are open to offers. The house in general is good but it has an airing cupboard with big water tank, so we would need to have that replaced, plus the bathroom needs replacing. The kitchen could be remodelled with a wall knocked down, but that it something that is a want rather than a need. How much less would you offer? Without the changes, I would say it’s about £20k overpriced - I’m just nervous of going in too low and taking the piss, especially as my house is still on the market,

dementedpixie · 21/11/2020 18:26

I still have a house with a hot water cylinder and feeder tanks in the loft. System works perfectly fine so why would it need to be replaced? You cant ask for money off when the boiler is in working condition but is just not to your taste

Nowthereistwo · 21/11/2020 18:46

Surely they won't take your offer seriously as you're not proceedable yet?

Mumdiva99 · 21/11/2020 18:50

We have a perfectly good (reasonably new) boiler with a hot water tank. In fact my parents in a similar sized house were recommended not to get a new combi boiler when they replaced theirs but to stick with a tank as a better option for their house.

You need to sell your house before you put an offer in. Tell them that's your plan. And get marketing yours.

Original poster

Fredocorleone · 21/11/2020 18:51

My house is on the market and I’ve got three more viewings booked for next week - all first time buyers

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 21/11/2020 18:53

I need a new boiler soon but will replace like with like and will keep my hot water cylinder and loft tanks as it works well for my house (4 bed, downstairs toilet, main bathroom and ensuite shower room)

Lazypuppy · 21/11/2020 19:01

Has the house not been priced to account for work needing doing? What have similar houses sold for? £20k for the 2 things you mentioned is ridiculous

If boiler works it doesn't NEED to be replaced, that is a WANT.

same as the bathroom, how bad is it to make it a NEED

allmycats · 21/11/2020 19:02

I find it very annoying that people want a reduced price because they prefer something different to what is offered. If it needs the work then reduce the offer, unless it is already priced accordingly, but if you want to change things for personal preference that is not the vendors problem.

GaryTheDemon · 21/11/2020 19:03

380 isn’t a bad offer but if there’s where you want to end up offer 372

It’ll depend who you are up against as to whether that gets accepted

Babyiwantabump · 21/11/2020 19:04

Surely the house would have been priced accordingly?

Do you have a link?

Sickofmysalary · 21/11/2020 19:05

Yes surely the price already takes this into account?

FundamentallyFucked · 21/11/2020 19:05

The house in general is good but it has an airing cupboard with big water tank, so we would need to have that replaced,

Why would you need to have it replaced?

Eng123 · 21/11/2020 19:07

Why do you want a combi boiler specifically? Bear in mind that a gravity system is much more tolerant of lower water flows so it's not always s good or easy trade.

LawnFever · 21/11/2020 19:08

Depends what similar properties are going for in the area, unless houses that are same size/location and totally newly renovated are going for the same price then asking for £20k less on the basis of what you’ve said is a big jump.

As others have said neither of those things makes the house uninhabitable or necessarily worth that much less, the estate agent will have usually taken that kind of thing into account

How long has it been on the market? If it’s been on a while you could try an offer, we had an offer provisionally accepted before we’d had an offer on our house

SunInTheSkyYouKnowHowIFeel · 21/11/2020 19:08

You can't just knock money off because there is work needing doing, the house will have been priced accordingly, its not like they've hidden these things and its only become apparent on a survey.

How old is the boiler? The fact that there is a tank and airing cupboard may not mean it needs replacing, it its a 4 bed property it could be this is the best set up for lots of people all wanting hot showers in the mornings.

I'd look at similar properties and how they are priced and work out your offer from there, but might be best to wait until you have an offer on yours.

Sickofmysalary · 21/11/2020 19:10

Agree with @SunInTheSkyYouKnowHowIFeel that tanks are meant to be better for bigger houses where you might want to use more than one shower at once.

pilates · 21/11/2020 19:12

I wouldn’t contemplate an offer from you when you haven’t secured a buyer on yours. Has the property been marketed to reflect the current condition of it?

opinionatedfreak · 21/11/2020 19:14

You need to check the size of the house and abilities of a combi.

We have just probate sold a family house - 5 bed, 3 bathrooms.
It has an 18 month old system boiler and mains pressure hot water tank as a combi couldn't cope with the demand for hot water.

The owner did masses of research to get the right system installed and it has paid off - the mains pressure hot water tank has enhanced the showering experience tremendously.

WRT offers. You need to look at what other similar houses have sold for and what condition they were in.

Probate sale doesn't automatically equal cheap btw we got a really good price for the house we were selling - it needs cosmetic work (yellow bathroom suite, hello!!) but all the big costly stuff (roof, heating, double glazing) has been done recently.

foodtoorder · 21/11/2020 19:16

The house would have been priced accordingly to factor in an old heating system and condition of bathroom. Offer what you are willing to pay if not the asking price.

Original poster

Fredocorleone · 21/11/2020 19:20

The Ea told me that he’s not expecting to get full asking price. He said he put it there to see what sort of interest there was - other comparable houses sold in this area by the same guy (who does every house in this area) have sold for about £360-380 so my feeling is it’s very much in the ballpark. He seems to be very much - price it high but accept much less rather than my EA which is price it lower and get full asking price...

The house hasn’t been used as a family house for many years. Unfortunately it was a probate situation where the owners (late 80s) both passed away a few months ago.

I’m trying to figure out what could be a valuable offer because I can then say to my EA that he can potentially lower my asking price on my property to garner a quick sale so I can put an offer in on this one.

Ultimately where I’m looking, £400k will give you a stunning 4 bed detached that needs no work whatsoever. I don’t want to shell out that price on a house that has a 25 yo bathroom and needs updating when something else round the corner went for less and had bigger rooms and immaculate.

OP posts:

FundamentallyFucked · 21/11/2020 20:10

Oh. My. God.

Most frustrating OP ever

Just answer the bloody question. It's been asked multiple times

LawnFever · 21/11/2020 20:19

@Fredocorleone

The Ea told me that he’s not expecting to get full asking price. He said he put it there to see what sort of interest there was - other comparable houses sold in this area by the same guy (who does every house in this area) have sold for about £360-380 so my feeling is it’s very much in the ballpark. He seems to be very much - price it high but accept much less rather than my EA which is price it lower and get full asking price...

The house hasn’t been used as a family house for many years. Unfortunately it was a probate situation where the owners (late 80s) both passed away a few months ago.

I’m trying to figure out what could be a valuable offer because I can then say to my EA that he can potentially lower my asking price on my property to garner a quick sale so I can put an offer in on this one.

Ultimately where I’m looking, £400k will give you a stunning 4 bed detached that needs no work whatsoever. I don’t want to shell out that price on a house that has a 25 yo bathroom and needs updating when something else round the corner went for less and had bigger rooms and immaculate.

If you can get an immaculate house for £400k then either go and view houses that you think are worth that figure if you can stretch to it, or view these immaculate houses priced at £380k if that’s your budget

LemonsYellow · 21/11/2020 20:20

I’m baffled by why you need to replace the water tank and airing cupboard. These are good things to have. If you don’t like the bathroom and want to replace it, that’s up to you. No reason why the vendor should pay for that. If you think the house is overpriced and you can get better elsewhere, buy that instead.

2GinOrNot2Gin · 21/11/2020 20:27

Offer what you think the house is worth.. we're currently selling and buying. I put an offer in on a house 50k below the asking Price because I didn't think it was worth what was being asked. We settled on 35k below their original price. Houses are not always priced accordingly. I knew what I was willing to pay for the house and offered slightly below. If they don't like your offer then they will say no and you can offer more or choose to walk away. How long has the house been on the market? The longer it's been on the more likely you are to have a lower offer accepted. If it's recently listed then maybe watch it for a few weeks. If it is over priced it won't go very fast.
You'll have a much stronger position though if you have sold your house.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 21/11/2020 20:32

Until you have a buyer on your own whatever you offer is irrelevant, you aren’t in a position to proceed. When you have an offer with a completed chain below, offer what the house is worth to you. You can go up. The vendors may not accept, that’s the risk you take.

CeibaTree · 21/11/2020 20:33

We just sold my late parents' house that had a similar features to the one you've viewed plus it doesn't have central heating and we got £10k over asking price. People are really keen to make use of the stamp duty holiday so desirable properties are not hanging around. By all means make your low offer, but other people may be keen to offer near asking price. Personally if I really wanted that house I'd offer maybe £5-10k under asking.