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Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Original poster

Offers over house price - absolute crack den

53 replies

Pringle89 · 22/08/2021 11:35

Hi! We’ve seen a house that is marketed offers over £550,000. There were no photos of inside so suspected would be bad but literally never seen anything like it. It was like one of those hoarders programmes on Tv, rubbish, stuff everywhere and so dirty! It’s rented atm and tenants refused to leave so that was awkward hoping the kids wouldn’t comment on how disgusting it was!

However it’s got potential and I can see past the filth (and all the work it needs to renovate it as doesn’t look like it’s been touched in 30 years) as it ticks all the boxes in terms of location/size etc.

Problem is I don’t think it’s worth over 550,000, my estimation is more £525,000. Has anyone offered this much lower than an offers over price and been successful? I would be shocked if they got asking for it tbh!

It’s also a gamble even at 525 as you can’t see half the house as covered in crap!

Anyone else had a similar situation?!

OP posts:

Bluntness100 · 22/08/2021 14:14

Offer but if you’re accepted but a stipulation in on when the house needs to be vacant for, Ie prior to exchange so you can view it properly.

shesellsseacats · 22/08/2021 14:17

You need to be prepared that the tennants may well refuse to leave and it will take you many months and court fees to get the house to yourself.

If you don't insist on the place being vacant before you exchange, then there's no incentive for the owner to kick them out and that pleasure will be all yours.

Are you prepared to live elsewhere (and pay the assocated costs) while the nightmare tenants contrinue to trash your house and you take them to court to evict them?

shesellsseacats · 22/08/2021 14:23

I wouldn't buy a rented house even if it was immaculate btw.

If there's any chance they're on benefits and they can't find a new place that takes benefits (hard to find in many areas) then the council will actually advise them to ignore your requests to leave.

The council won't offer any help to tenants until actual eviction happens through the courts.

It doesn't matter how nice they are.

I rented my flat to a friend who was on housing benefit. When I wanted my flat back so I could sell it, she couldn't find anywhere that would accept housing benefit. I ended up helping her with her search and I can confirm it was impossible, it wasn't any lack of effort on her behalf.

We were looking at me evicting her through the courts, just so the council would help her. In the end, we didn't have to do that, as after 3 months of searching, a space came up at a friend's, thankfully.

So, it doesn't matter how nice they are - you and they may be put in an impossible situatiuon, and one that you end up paying for.

Wandawide · 22/08/2021 14:37

@Pringle89 Go in low. Although the mkt is even sillier than usual. Not many buyers can afford the time and disruption of all the work needed. This means that realistically you are not competing against many of the people that first enquired.
We had to accept a Loooowwww price when we moved. Because there were problems.
By the time we had moved we were reconciled that we had done a fair deal.

Fbehsis · 22/08/2021 14:40

I’d offer very low. Hoarding and filth can cover up major structural and other serious problems. I would think many people would be extremely put off.

NewHouseNewMe · 22/08/2021 14:49

No-one can advise on the price without a link which understandably you won't want to share.

But I wanted to stress the importance of looking at the cost of renovation. I have a reno on my hands which doesn't sound as bad as yours - it was totally outdated but not filthy - and so far we've spent about 40K on plumbing, heating, electrics and windows and these jobs aren't even completed. If you need to renovate the kitchen, plaster, paint, change doors and do flooring, add another £50K at least given the current market. In essence expect to pay the best part of £100K getting it into decent shape, without a single structural change.

Then ask yourself if you can live there while all this is going on. These jobs happen sequentially and tradesmen are hard to find.

Branleuse · 23/08/2021 08:37

im overlooking really great houses if they have tenants in. 1. its an absolute pain to get them out, and 2. thats where they live.

Id be a rubbish landlord

Original poster

Pringle89 · 23/08/2021 08:44

Thank you for all comments, I think I need to do some more digging and find out situation (have tenants already been given notice etc) - will definitely offer less than I was thinking of as rightly said the mess could be hiding a lot of issues!

OP posts:

Original poster

Pringle89 · 23/08/2021 13:19

Spoke to estate agent and they have already been served their notice and leaving mid October (all being well!) hoping to get an offer on our house today so will probably go in with a low offer and see what happens!

OP posts:

Jasmine11 · 23/08/2021 13:50

@Pringle89

As in the refused to leave for the viewings - I don’t think they are refusing to leave full stop!

You need to be sure about that - we had to pull out of a purchase last year as the tenants refused to move out, and we were told it could take over a year to evict them. If they are being difficult now then that's not a good sign of things to come..

shesellsseacats · 23/08/2021 13:51

Do not exchange till they've definitely gone!

Good luck

shesellsseacats · 23/08/2021 13:52

And be prepared to pull out if they're not gone.

Otherwise they'll become your (potentially expensive and time consuming) problem.

Jasmine11 · 23/08/2021 13:52

@Pringle89

The tenants in the house we pulled out of were given their correct notice too and were supposed to leave in May. They are still there now and no sign of leaving according to the estate agent who we are still in contact with.

Lochroy · 23/08/2021 22:06

@Pringle89

Bear in mind this doesn't mean they will actually go. Plus if the only alternative for them is to ask for council housing, the council will advise them not to leave until it's been taken through the court process.

BluebellsGreenbells · 23/08/2021 22:30

Unlikely council is its a £450,000 house is it? They wouldn’t have afforded the rent.

Alternista · 23/08/2021 22:33

I wouldn’t touch a house that had tenants in situ, no matter what id been told about them.

Rozziie · 23/08/2021 23:36

Don't mean to hijack OP's thread but I've also just had an offer accepted on a tenanted property....had been avoiding those for the reasons given here but many properties in my area on the market seem to be tenanted atm. Is it really a terrible idea? I haven't asked about specifics yet but the place looks like it's been packed up and the tenant is ready to go. If this post is hijacking OP's too much I'll start my own thread but it seems relevant to the discussion x

Notyetthere · 24/08/2021 06:00

I find these days that your solicitor will not advise you to exchange until the place is vacant. If you exchange with the tenant still in place then you automatically become the landlord and all the responsibility that comes with it.

MaggieFS · 24/08/2021 07:34

@Rozziie It's relevant and I wouldn't see it as a high jack but I think you'd get more comprehensive answers if you did start your own thread. Long story short, if tenants choose not to go, as they are often advised by councils and charities if they are struggling, then there is nothing the LL can do except go through a lengthy court process. Time and again there are threads on here from LL wanting to sell, wanting to move back in to a property e.g. from overseas and there is nothing quick they can do, even if notice has been given. (Which reminds me, if there are any flaws in Joe notice has been given, the slightest error, the process has to be restarted).

MaggieFS · 24/08/2021 07:34

*how not Joe!!

essentialhealing · 24/08/2021 07:53

When a house advert doesn't show a certain area in the photos there's always a good reason for it

I rang to arrange a viewing of a house which had no photos of the bathroom. The ea told me it was dirty and needed replacing

Would have still viewed as location was excellent but covid stopped us being allowed

Soontobe60 · 24/08/2021 08:01

A friend bought a house recently that was originally on for £1m last year. It was reduced to offers over £900K in January and she offered £840k. finally ending up paying £850k. It needs completely renovating!
You should offer on 2 things; what you think it’s worth, and what you’re prepared to pay. If you don’t think it’s worth the asking price, offer below. If your offer is rejected then look elsewhere. It’s a really bad decision to pay over the odds for something that may well cost you another £100k to bring up to scratch, and end up with a property that’s worth less than what you paid. You end up in negative equity.

SW1amp · 24/08/2021 08:04

Buying a tenanted property really isn’t that awful!

If there is a question mark over them leaving, just make sure you don’t exchange until there is vacant possession

You can exchange and complete on the same day if necessary

If the house is in such bad condition, you are presumably not going to move into it straight away, so even if you’re selling, you’re probably going into rental?
So even if the completion slips in order to get the tenants out, it won’t make a huge amount of difference

You might want to add something into the sales contract where the vendor covers some sort of rent or storage if completion is delayed beyond a certain point but if you’re buying a total project money pit, an extra month of rent isn’t going to make a dent in the grand scheme

Starseeking · 24/08/2021 08:07

The amount you offer isn't your main issue here, the fact that it's a tenanted property being kept in such a poor state is! People who are prepared to treat the house they are living in like that don't sound as if they'll willingly follow rules i.e. unlikely to be happy to clean up and leave the house in October when the tenancy is up.

I'd walk away unless you are prepared to:

go through lengthy court process
spend lots of money
live somewhere else while all this gets resolved

ThanksItHasPockets · 24/08/2021 10:27

Do you need a mortgage? Lenders won’t lend on a house without vacant possession.

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