Offering 525k on a 649k house?

[Blibbleflibble]

So would this be massively cheeky? I think the house has potential but it's in need of a full renovation, wallpaper peeling off walls a knackered 1980s kitchen with wood panel ceiling and peeling lino floor, useable but dated bathroom and a green coloured loo in cloakroom, houses on the same side of the road 2 doors up went for £425k in 2018 same amount of beds but you could move straight in condition with modern kitchen another house 3 doors the other way went for £589k 2019 but it is larger with a wider plot and had 5 beds not 3.

I feel the price they're asking is what it would be worth if it was properly renovated to a high standard, with new roof, boiler etc.

Its been on since end of June.

Having bought (and subsequnetly sold) a property, I can see both sides of this. In a perfect world, emotion would not enter into business proceedings. In a free market economy, the right price is the price that both seller and buyer agree on. On that premise, it's reasonable for the buyer to offer what they think something is worth, and it is up to the seller to agree, or not. It all goes wrong when emotion enters the equation. If we could all operate without the outrage, the accusations of CFery, and the concern at being laughed at, things would progress smoothly, and offers would be made, and accepted / rejected without drama and uproar. However, we love our homes (mostly), and that love and emotion invests a value in them that we can't recoup without attaching a monetary value. I was a nervous wreck when we sold our property, not helped by the awful EA we had. Buying / selling a property is one f the most stressful things we do in our lifetimes, and as such, it's very hard to remove the emotion.

I totally agree!

Those overpriced houses stay on the market for ages. A year later they take 25k off which does not make any difference. 6 months later another 25k off etc.

As another poster once said there is always the person who will not know the area, will not investigate properly and has the money or is just willing and buys at a ridiculous price and then all EAs follow their pricing.

Now with the interest rates being so high, which effectively gives you only 2/3 of a mortgage you could get a year ago, prices should have reflected that and massively decreased instead of staying the same or getting higher.

A house on our road last year sold for a crazy price but none of the local house hoarders could afford to remortgage their portfolio enough to get this as another BTL which shows how crazy the market is. And mortgage rates then were very low. Somebody else bought it to live in but there is a finite amount of loaded people and not everybody can sell at ridiculous prices just because this house sold.

The thing is a house on probate that doesn't sell then goes on auction and will sell for much less.

Offer what you want but you can't expect them to accept it. I wouldn't if I was selling unless I was desperate.
I don't think it's helpful comparing prices of houses sold several years ago. You need to compare it to other houses the same in the same area for sal now.

it's actually true that the level of interior condition / decoration does very little to influence the value of property - almost all the inherent value is in environmental, economic and social factors, have a look at redbook valuation, which is what a RIC Surveyor would use. traditionally a good level of finish will make a property more saleable, this is probably becoming more true as the cost of improvements has rocketed up, but in terms of value you're talking about tens of thousands against an inherent value of hundreds of thousands, it's fraction.

this is also why "zoopla is rubbish" is also not wholly true. that uses a complex algorithm that tracks changes on a local level and applies they accordingly. the problem is it misses the nuance - i.e someone who has added a two story 4 room extension, it doesn't keep up with that, it couldn't. but on a basic level to give it it's due it's more complex than next door sold for £x therefore my house is worth £y

it's actually true that the level of interior condition / decoration does very little to influence the value of property - almost all the inherent value is in environmental, economic and social factors,

I truly want to believe that. It's how I assess whether I like the house. Ignore the current occupant's stuff & decor, but what needs repairs, is it disgustingly dirty, how much natural light, is the roof solid, could I make it into a comfy home, is it in a good location etc.

However, almost every single MN thread about "why isn't my house selling", gets people commenting in detail about colours, cushions, seller's furniture, clutter, decor, carpets, sexual innuendo items. All the stuff that is completely easily changed. So are all those MN posters obsessed with wrong things, or does that super-obsession with other people's stuff that should move out with them -- actually change the price?

@lljkk I'm very much like you but can honestly say ( and we rent) that my H has been put off houses due to what seem to me to be trivialities - so I think for some people initial superficial impressions do count. We are all different I guess. With renting too we have to factor in that you can't change most things either- so it's slightly different

Yes my DH preferred the other house to the house we are buying because its 'ready to move in'... except its not.

It needed the ENTIRE layout changing (knocking down and moving walls and doors to make it practical and safe for us). What he means is 'its freshly decorated and lived in' so he can see how the owner has used furniture in the space. Which means nothing as after the building works it all needs redecorating (and he hates the pink and grey glittery decor anyway) and the seller is taking the furniture.

The house we are buying needs nothing 'major' doing to it. Needs a new kitchen (would do anyway as I need a disabled friendly one). new shower, tile removal, some plastering and new paint throughout but because it has ripped wallpaper, no furniture in, faded wall colours (where pictures have been etc...) and broken tiles (all easy fixes) he can't see past that and just sees 'a dump'.

Its bizarre to me... like he lacks forward vision to imagine it redecorated.

Well that’s true @Handsnotwands
Those stories are worth almost zero so I’m sure Zoopla is more accurate than that. Still the devil is often in the detail so I wouldn’t trust Zoopla either. The only real evidence is Sold prices.

I think most people on Mumsnet are obsessed over the wrong things.
Light is so important and not blocking light. Cushions are not.
Though I must admit that I pay a lot of attention to how I present my own properties when I sell them. They will sell anyway but I want to get the maximum price and that takes a bit of thought & effort.

They are very relevant, interest rates have risen massively since then, you are not going to get the 2018 price now to be realistic about it, rates back then were sub zero "emergency rates", prices inflated massively because of that, things are now going into reverse.

Zoopla is regarded as very inaccurate, most accurate is PropertyLog for real time price reductions and Land Registry for actual sold prices (months to update though, what you see now is sales from much lower interest rates)