Advice for first time buyers please? Does this seem strange to you??

[Keke94LND]

Hey all,

So my boyfriend and I are looking at flats in London, we have found a really lovely 2 bed, with a garden and separate living room and kitchen and its own entrance. The asking price is £500k. We went to view it on Saturday, and it is really lovely, it is in the location we are currently renting in, so we know we like the area, the only downside is that it backs onto the train line. You couldn't hear anything when inside, but obviously when in the garden you could, so we are a bit apprehensive about that.

Now this is the part we are confused about.. we have looked online at the history of the property, and the current owners bough it in April 2020 for £461K, since then they have made the garden abit nicer, added nicer fitted wardrobes, painted and added carpets in the bedrooms. To me, all of this is just cosmetic improvements, and to be honest, personal preference, which doesn't justify the asking price being £40k more than 1 year ago. Also, when I look at other properties on the street, a 3 bed flat with a garden sold in December 2020 for £470K, and a 3 bed terrace house with a garden sold in September 2020 for £480k. I just don't think the price is justified.. i know that we can offer whatever we want and what we think the flat is worth, but it does make me question things..

I also wonder why they are moving after only 1 year, they have said that their family is expanding and so they are looking to upsize in the same area, they do not have a child already, so if their family is expanding I assume they're having their first child, but this flat has 2 bedrooms, so its not like they don't already have room for a baby.. just makes me wonder and seems a bizarre thing to do considering they've only moved in a year ago and have spent money making the place to their taste.

We have also been told that they had an offer accepted on the flat 2 weeks ago, but those buyers pulled out, which also makes me wonder why..

I just have a weird gut feeling about it, despite loving the flat.

What do you guys think?

What they paid for it is unfortunately irrelevant, all you can do is offer what you think it's worth and if they accept, proceed with a survey. The survey might show the reason for the other buyers pulling out...

Also if there are houses in your budget then personally I'd go for that - or try to find out what associated costs there will be with buying a flat.

I assume they're having their first child, but this flat has 2 bedrooms, so its not like they don't already have room for a baby..

They may well be using one of the bedrooms as a home office, if one or both of them works from home... so they don't have a spare room for the baby.

But it either sounds like you're not sure about the flat, so you're finding issues with it that might not exist, or that you're not sure about moving in general.

Buyers who made an offer two weeks ago are unlikely to have even had a survey done yet, so it's likely to be a change in the buyers' circumstances more than anything to do with the flat, but you could ask the EA and see if they know anything.

Really you just need to decide if like the flat enough to want to buy it; how much you think it's worth, and if you can afford it. You'll drive yourself insane trying to work out why people are moving or why others haven't bought it yet. My husband likes to do that whenever we view a house and it drives me scatty

To be honest given how the market has been over 2020 and 2021 i dont think that price rise is unreasonable.. its about a 8.4% inscreasing from what they bought it for where market average is closer to 10% year on year at the moment. There would also be an assumed wriggle room of what the asking price is compared to what they'd accept (but its also not heard of for nice places to go for more than asking at the moment!)

As for moving after a year there could be plenty of reasons! They might use the spare room as an office and need a nursery. Maybe they're having twins and need more space. If theres no parking they might want somewhere with a driveway for ease of getting a pram in/out. They might want to move close to family if they're having their first child. They might be fed up of the trains. They might want to bring a child up out of the city. They might just see now is a good time to make a profit on the flat and want to take advantage of that.

I wouldnt think anything suspect from what you've said but sometimes a gut just knows somethings up!

Previous sale price means nothing. House prices are skyrocketing. I've just had a surveyor round last week to value for a remortgage, and the value of my house has increased by 41% in a year and a half. All I've done is put a new kitchen in.

There’s nothing suspicious about putting it on the market at that price - the market has risen, 8% doesn’t seem exceptional, and they’ll have put it on the market for whatever the agent valued it at - if the agent suggested £500k then they’re unlikely to say “oh, no thank-you, we’d rather put it on at the price we bought it for last year since we haven’t done very much work and couldn’t possibly justify asking for such an increase in such a short time” are they?! If you don’t think it’s worth £500k then offer what you think it is worth.

You can never second guess why people are selling, regardless of how long they’ve been living there. If you’re worried it may be e.g. problem neighbours or something about the area they want to get away from then scout around at different times of day and see if you notice anything.

They probably want to recoup some of their stamp duty amd moving expenses, plus prices have gone up quite a bit in the last year - you need to compare it to more recent sales, not last years.
The railway is just a fact, either you are OK with it or not.
Doesn't alter about previous offer- they couldn't have found out much in two weeks, and if there os an issue you will too.

Agree with the general sentiment on this one - people have a lot of reasons for moving within a year. However, the future-proof question is real and worth thinking of yourselves.

2 bedroom flats are great, and the second bedroom acts as a nursery, but doubling as an office is not ideal (kid stuff, napping baby, etc.) It also doesn't allow space for people to come and stay / help which is super helpful when you have kids - long after they're tiny babies sharing a room.

If the flat looks good and it works for what you guys are after, now and then, the price increase is reasonable based on market appreciation and improvements - and for you to offer as needed.

As for noise near a train line - depends on frequency and glazing. It may be annoying when you're in the garden so worth standing in there for a while and listening. In the house you can always double glaze, but it will be an expense.