Page 3 | How much should we offer for this house?

comfortablyfrumpy · 03/03/2022 09:13

I wouldn't be offering more than 700k. You are likely to need to spend straight away on rewiring and possibly other things just for safety. Building amd renovation costs have gone up hugely . Leaving yourself with no renovation budget at all seems too risky.

Ducksurprise · 03/03/2022 09:21

Another saying you can't afford it and you can't live in a building site with little ones (how little?) The dust is a killer and that's not thinking about the safety aspects. Plus materials and labour costs have increased massively, plus energy costs to heat a big house (which is probably inefficient)

mamaoffourdc · 03/03/2022 09:24

@A580Hojas

It will have been priced to reflect it's condition. So many buyers don't seem to grasp this!

Absolutely this!

Leonberger · 03/03/2022 09:27

Estate agents price with updating required usually, so if it was done I would presume it would be 800k+?

They usually price with the works in mind so you can’t really justify knocking loads off unless they are priced the same as a house that’s fully renovated?

Whinge · 03/03/2022 09:29

NB. Property prices are mad here- this property would've pre-pandemic been listed at around £650K.

I don't think pre pandemic prices matter. Dwelling on the past won't change how much the house is worth now.

Like others I don't think you can afford the house. I also think moving into a house that needs a lot of work with young children and no money for the renovations is a ridiculous idea.

Halllyup17 · 03/03/2022 09:30

Surely, if you have a maximum budget of £740k and will need some to make the house livable in the first instance, then you have no choice but to offer much less than the asking price. Presumably the house has been priced to consider the state it's in, so you might just have to offer £720k and cross your fingers, or accept it's out of your budget.

Classicblunder · 03/03/2022 09:34

I wouldn't go for it at all to be honest but if you really want to, 700k

Horriblewoman · 03/03/2022 09:34

I'm with others who have said I don't think it's a realistic house for you, it's been priced to reflect its state and I'm not sure saying for a couple of years will achieve the level of renovation needed.

I say this as someone who has gone through a renovation and is currently house hunting for another one!

TyrannosaurusRights · 03/03/2022 09:38

The market is slowing down. I don’t think you can afford this property right now. I’d sit tight and see if it’s still on the market in a month or so. That time may well make them more willing to consider an offer you could afford.

BIWI · 03/03/2022 09:38

Sorry, but you can't afford this house.

Beees · 03/03/2022 09:40

@TyrannosaurusRights

The market is slowing down. I don’t think you can afford this property right now. I’d sit tight and see if it’s still on the market in a month or so. That time may well make them more willing to consider an offer you could afford.

It might be slowing where you are but ut is definitely showing no signs of slowing down in many parts of the country.

I'm another saying you can't afford it OP. I'm not surprised the vendors are getting frustrated at lowball offers as they property will have been priced to reflect the work which needs doing.

This isn't the house for you as you won't be able to afford to buy it for a fair price and pay for all the fees let alone have money left for the work.

CellophaneFlower · 03/03/2022 10:21

Plenty of people buy doer uppers and have to save for the reno as they go. The question is if you're being realistic about how long you can live in it in it's current state, how much spare each month you'll have to put in the pot and how much the renovation is going to cost overall.

Also, just because a house is marketed at a certain price, it doesn't mean it's the market value. A vendor can set whatever asking price they want. Of course, this might mean they have an overinflated value in mind. It's up to you to do your due diligence and check out comparable prices in the area to see if it really is market value. This should dictate your offer. If it's overpriced, go in at a fair price. If it's already fairly priced offer the most you can realistically afford. I'd be wary of offering every penny you have though, unless you have family or whatever that can bail you out if you suddenly have an urgent expense that can't wait.

Good luck!

Alexalee · 03/03/2022 10:35

Echoing others sentiments on here and having refurbished every house we have owned, you simply can't afford this house
Living through a renovation isn't for the faint hearted
Everything costs more and takes longer
That size and age of house will need far more than a new kitchen and bathroom, potential rewire, replumb new windows new central heating, new flooring decorating etc
Of a house at a guess 1500ft2 you will need atleast 150k, more if you can't do any diy
Sorry op
Find another house

Africa2go · 03/03/2022 10:38

It will have been priced to reflect it's condition. So many buyers don't seem to grasp this!

Absolutely this.

We have also bought a probate sale with a young family. It didn't need as much work as you're saying this house needs, and whilst we got there in the end (after about 7 years), it was no fun at all living in a house with a young family that didn't work for us in terms of layout / decor etc and being embarrassed to invite people over / ask people over for playdates, then worrying about every spare penny going towards house renovations.

sunshinesupermum · 03/03/2022 10:56

I'd also offer £720K leaving you some money to start the major work. When you get the survey you may be able to negotiate downwards. Probate sales can take longer due to the number of people inheriting so it might be a good idea to find this out.

Laptopsandmouses · 03/03/2022 10:57

@sunshinesupermum

I'd also offer £720K leaving you some money to start the major work. When you get the survey you may be able to negotiate downwards. Probate sales can take longer due to the number of people inheriting so it might be a good idea to find this out.

You do know that houses are usually priced for the condition they are in right?

Beees · 03/03/2022 10:59

I'd also offer £720K leaving you some money to start the major work. When you get the survey you may be able to negotiate downwards.

Why would anyone be able to negotiate downwards after the survey. The house is priced to reflect the fact it needs work. The vendors won't reduce it because the survey highlights it needs the work. They have already taken into consideration that it will need renovations.

Anyfeckinusername · 03/03/2022 11:07

Everything is swelling over asking here (east of England). But I viewed a house on for 665, complexly in need of overhaul, even with inflated prices it stacked up as a 600 house, however it sold in 48 hours (no to me!).

I could afford it at asking price but has no money left to do the renovation. It functioned to a defeee already but for example has no shower, had a kitchen of white food but no counter tops kind of thing… a probate sale of an old fashioned house.

I’m relieved I didn’t go for it. But others will!

In your case I’d offer 725 and see where you go

SonicBroom · 03/03/2022 11:10

*I think the op likely knows this, but she’s looking for reasons to justify why she can offer less. I doubt anyone thinks a doer upper is priced at the finished article.

People always look for reasons to justify an offer instead of just saying I can’t afford yout house, but can I have it anyway*

If you have to look for a reason to justify an offer then you don’t have a good reason. Just say you can’t afford it.

If you have to look for a reason then you’re going to piss off the person selling it by inferring that they must be stupid as they had no idea the roof was falling down. Just say you can’t afford it.

I’ve bought and sold around ten properties in the past ten years and whenever someone comes along and thinks they’re being clever by telling me it needs a new kitchen so they want £30k off, it immediately tells me they don’t understand property, and they probably can’t afford it. I’m far more sympathetic to a lovely family who are honest about what they want and what they can do than someone who thinks they’re an expert because they looked at right move.

Buying and selling in any world is about the relationship. Building a good relationship can work hugely to your advantage and may be the key to getting the price you want.

As per my previous post… don’t be a dick

averythinline · 03/03/2022 11:11

I wouldn't buy it unless you had at least 50k to get works done....maybe take a builder round with you on a second view.....unless you have skills/family trades that could identify works/costs
There's a recent thread about renovation misery,/costs..
That age could have asbestos as well....
Cost of living is rising, material costs ..wood n metal etc

Repkastering a room is nearly 1k here at the moment due shortage of plasterers..

Stevie77 · 03/03/2022 11:30

I’m a bit at all the previous posters saying the house has been priced to reflect its state or the work needed.

Firstly, it may be a reduced price indeed but the Wild West pricing of recent times doesn’t reflect the true current costs of renovations.

And second, have none of you come across seller-led prices before? The fact it’s probate makes no difference, if anything, I find that probate properties tend to be priced higher.

Beees · 03/03/2022 11:43

@Stevie77

I’m a bit

at all the previous posters saying the house has been priced to reflect its state or the work needed.

Firstly, it may be a reduced price indeed but the Wild West pricing of recent times doesn’t reflect the true current costs of renovations.

And second, have none of you come across seller-led prices before? The fact it’s probate makes no difference, if anything, I find that probate properties tend to be priced higher.

The wild west pricing as you term it is here to stay for a while I'm afraid. Material costs have risen substantially and the amount of skilled tradespeople seems to have nosedived in many places so they are naturally going to increase their prices due to supply and demand.

Also whilst it's undeniable some people do indeed set their house prices too high in my experience that's not normally as prevalent. It's certainly much more common to find cheeky buyers looking to knock thousands off an already competitive asking price because it needs work.

SollaSollew · 03/03/2022 11:58

Sorry @ninkyno I'm another one that thinks that you might not be able to afford it. Just to give some current real world experience of we're nearly at the end of a probate house renovation we started in September 2020. We've spent £100k+ with the only extension to the footprint being a partial garage conversion, we didn't need to fully rewire and the hot water system was only a couple of years old because of a previous leak, that would have been another £10k easily.

There's things on our initial list I'd like to do that we won't be able to afford out of our initial budget because Covid price rises mean it won't stretch as far as it would have at the time we bought it. Despite that it's been nearly a year and a half of constant disruption and we're still living with dust, plasterers, unpainted ceilings and old carpets.

I have two older and one primary child and the disruption to their lives and the fact that at least one of us spends our weekends doing jobs/decorating to save money isn't fun for them at all.

So I think you need to ask yourself, even if you could secure it in your budget using every penny:

While £740k is your maximum what realistic amount to you need to keep back for emergencies and deduct that. I'd say minimum £20k but you know the condition of the boiler/electrics/windows/roof better than me!

If you're using every last penny to buy the house how are you going to save enough to do it up and how long can you live with the disruption of work going on for. The less you can save the longer it will take and the more it will feel like an endless grind of money/builder/family worries.

Sorry this sounds really negative, I am sitting underneath a load of building noise right now which may be making me pessimistic but it's important to go into these things with your eyes open.

RussianSpy101 · 03/03/2022 12:00

My DSis has just bought a very similar sounding property and they got it for 20k over asking. The market is still absolutely crazy around here. Some houses are going for 50k over asking.

SierraHotelIndiaTango · 03/03/2022 12:23

Sorry but I don't think you have really thought this through , if property in your area is flying out then I doubt if they will settle for less than 750 -760 and as it's probate they probably are not in a hurry , forget pre covid prices they are in the past , if it really hasn't been touched for years then for a refurb my estimate would be much higher than yours ( I work in property ) plus you haven't accounted for the stamp duty which will be upwards of 25k (700k)
Sorry