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Original poster

Is this suspicious? 3 houses for sale in quick succession in same street

21 replies

Greenfairydust · 19/01/2023 17:39

Maybe I am overthinking this but I wonder if this is something to be concerned about:

  • I viewed a modern semi about 3 months ago on sale on a small estate built at the end of the 1990s. The estate has no maintenance charge, as roads were adopted by the council, and is really well kept and quiet. I made an offer but was outbid by another buyer.
  • this months two more houses have come on sale in the exact same part of the estate and I just realised that the one I am due to view tomorrow is the semi attached to the very house I lost out on!

Maybe I am worrying about nothing as all 3 houses belong to different buy to let landlords who could possibly be off-loading their properties due to mortgage rates going up and it could just be a coincidence.

But my suspicious mind is making me wonder whether I am missing something and there could be another reasons why these houses so close to each other are all suddenly on the market.

Of course if I like the one I am seeing tomorrow I would have a full structural survey, but what are the odds of this happening...

This is a small-ish town so the number of houses that come for sale in general tend to be limited. I just can't help to find it all that suddenly 3 house is the same part of this estate are all on the market.

OP posts:
WhyIsntItFridayYet · 19/01/2023 17:43

Is there land near it so a possibility of more houses being built at the end of, or back of, that street?

There’s a quiet street near here that suddenly has several houses up for sale. Developers have been wanting to build a new build estate on a field at the end of that street for years so the flurry of properties is very suss!

Saz12 · 19/01/2023 17:55

It could be coincidence. Or it could be future development, repairs & renovations needed, nightmare neighbours, people finding out how much the first one for sale actually sold for and deciding it’s a good time to sell, etc etc.

In your shoes I’d go see it, be wary before making an offer - find out about future planning, neighbourhood issues etc.

Treeeeeeee · 19/01/2023 18:08

It could be any reason. At one point there were 4 houses on my road of 12 for sale. Yes developers were trying to get permission to build but at the same time the houses went on the market for completely different reasons (us moving to a different county for childcare, 2 divorces and one moving across the country for work)

Upfartooearly · 19/01/2023 18:11

Could be the other houses saw how much was paid for the first one? DP’s street was like that when he was selling his.

Ilikewinter · 19/01/2023 18:15

We live on a close, just 16 houses. 2 went up for sale within a week of each other. 1 was moving across country to be nearer family, dont know about the other people!. It was pure coincidence.

Original poster
Greenfairydust · 19/01/2023 18:16

Indeed, those are the things I was worried about (potential new developments nearby or all the house reaching the 25 year mark and starting to require major works that the owners just don't want to do)

I don't think nightmare neighbours would be the issue. These houses have had the same tenants for years and they were all really happy there (I was nosey and spoke to them as well as a couple of residents on the estate) and it is genuinely a nice, quiet place.

So that leaves repairs or future development but I can't see any planning applications either so far.

OP posts:
Lenor · 19/01/2023 18:31

This exact same thing happened to us when we put our house on the market last year. It was total coincidence/ possibly a little bit of neighbours talking about how much one further up the road went for recently. I was worried it would put buyers off but it didn’t seem too.

TaRaDeBumDeAy · 19/01/2023 18:32

My first thought was new shitty neighbours have moved in.

Daisymay2 · 19/01/2023 18:32

Given what you say, I suspect it is BTL landlords getting out for any number of reasons. If they have mortgages they might be finding they can't make it pay with the new rates. Or they have been affected by the fall off of Mortgage Tax Relief. A friend of mine is selling one of her BTL and she doesn't want the worry anymore.
My house is 25 years old, we had the original boiler replaced 2.5 years ago, and replaced ( and upgraded) the windows last year- that was our choice not a necessity. I could do with a new oven, hob, sink and worktop so I might think about replacing the kitchen but the kitchen units are sound, and they cost a fortune in 1998 so I'm not sure. So don't assume lots needs doing.
The timing may just be one of those things! But I would have a good snoop round planning applications, a look at google street view satellite view to see if there are any areas that could be ripe for development. A visit to a corner shop/pub or church might yield up useful info.

Wykkid · 19/01/2023 18:39

When I was looking for a house, there were 3 on the same road. It was sheep coincidence

all three sold quickly (I was lucky enough to get one)

there are no issues with any of them. Two were out on the market s the previous owners were old and died. The third just wanted to downsize

DaveSpondoolix · 19/01/2023 18:48

When we moved in to our house last year, both neighbouring houses were also up for sale. Ours and one side were both probate sales and the other one was a long term reno project that finished at the same time. I never want to move again, I LOVE our house, street and neighbours!

StarInTheHeavens · 19/01/2023 19:00

Near me there are 3 houses for sale, both sides of two semis and the one opposite. More than that, they're all on with the same estate agent! It's just coincidence though. If I were you I'd go back in the evening & at weekends to check out the area.

LemonSwan · 19/01/2023 19:01

This happened with us. Neighbour sold and we realised how much value the house had increased so we thought why not sell too!

Quite a few jumped on after too.

And it was a road where rarely anyone sold for the decade or two previously.

Milany · 19/01/2023 19:08

We have flurries of house sales/to lets in mine and the surrounding streets. Most of the time it's because we are very close to an outstanding primary school but nowhere near a secondary school so when it's time for the children to go to secondary school. people move.

At the moment our houses are going for more than you'd expect so people are selling up for that reason too.

Do check local planning permission etc.

LittleRedYoshi · 19/01/2023 19:08

Find the local Facebook group and ask! If there's a problem you don't know about, chances are somebody will tell you - even if it's only by PM. I did exactly that in your situation and got enough reassuring responses to convince me it was just a coincidence - I now live in one of the houses on that street!

FGSWhatNow · 19/01/2023 19:16

Since we moved recently, both our immediate neighbours have sold and moved (one to downsize and one was a landlord who wanted to liquidise his asset), and two houses opposite have gone on the market (one due to relocation and not sure about the other). Other neighbours have joked it's all happened since we moved in, but I promise we're not nightmare neighbours! Just coincidence that so many houses have gone up for sale in a short period.

It's not necessarily a red flag - just do your due diligence to be sure!

MortimerTheCat · 19/01/2023 19:18

Greenfairydust · 19/01/2023 18:16

Indeed, those are the things I was worried about (potential new developments nearby or all the house reaching the 25 year mark and starting to require major works that the owners just don't want to do)

I don't think nightmare neighbours would be the issue. These houses have had the same tenants for years and they were all really happy there (I was nosey and spoke to them as well as a couple of residents on the estate) and it is genuinely a nice, quiet place.

So that leaves repairs or future development but I can't see any planning applications either so far.

A house should not need major works after 25 years

Original poster
Greenfairydust · 19/01/2023 19:32

@MortimerTheCat ''A house should not need major works after 25 years''

The first house I saw on the estate (the one I made an offer on) was fine, but the second one I visited a couple of weeks ago was a complete mess.

Disgusting, stained carpets, kids stickers everywhere on the furnitures and even walls, broken lights in the bathroom. But what worried me is that it looked like water was leaking on the bathroom ceiling through the vent and there was peeling paint near the door which made me wonder whether there might be some issues with damp and this is why I started to wonder whether the estate was built properly. I think it was a combination of landlord who did not maintain the place and previous tenants who had pretty much trashed the house. Everywhere else in the estate is really lovely (from the outside at least) though and people seem to live there for long periods of time.

I will wait to see what the other one looks like tomorrow...

OP posts:
TattiePants · 19/01/2023 19:42

It could just be a coincidence. When I was looking to buy my current property there were 3 houses up for sale in my street of 30 properties, all for unrelated reasons.

MortimerTheCat · 19/01/2023 21:40

Greenfairydust · 19/01/2023 19:32

@MortimerTheCat ''A house should not need major works after 25 years''

The first house I saw on the estate (the one I made an offer on) was fine, but the second one I visited a couple of weeks ago was a complete mess.

Disgusting, stained carpets, kids stickers everywhere on the furnitures and even walls, broken lights in the bathroom. But what worried me is that it looked like water was leaking on the bathroom ceiling through the vent and there was peeling paint near the door which made me wonder whether there might be some issues with damp and this is why I started to wonder whether the estate was built properly. I think it was a combination of landlord who did not maintain the place and previous tenants who had pretty much trashed the house. Everywhere else in the estate is really lovely (from the outside at least) though and people seem to live there for long periods of time.

I will wait to see what the other one looks like tomorrow...

Ah, well that is different. A house that has been locked after should not need major works.

obv houses with filthy beggars in it is a different situation all together

Rosalindisafuckingnightmare · 21/01/2023 22:47

Did they all buy them at the same time in the 90s and now their families have grown/moved out they’re downsizing/moving to be near family etc? Everything we’ve viewed in the last couple of weeks has been people in this position selling.

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