I am moving soon to a new area and am looking to buy a house.
I have found a house I like the look of. It has good street appeal, is in a good area, and is structurally sound, but isn’t selling. It’s on a hill, so no obvious flood risks.
I’m fairly sure it’s because the decor is awful and because it looks like changing the decor will be much harder work than just painting. Think seventies-style orange and brown wallpaper, artexed ceilings and one of those big ugly stone asymetrical fireplaces with cubby holes that take up half the wall.
The house is empty in the photographs.
I can’t actually go myself at the moment. I live too far away and can’t get time off work to visit so I have asked a friend to go look round on my behalf.
What questions would it be good/reasonable to ask? Will the estate agent give out information on how likely the owners are to drop the price if asked?
And what would you look for when viewing such a property? Are there specific things that would make it particularly difficult to redecorate?
I would probably not buy until I’ve seen it myself, but when I move to the area, I would like to get going as fast as possible, so if I can start with the most information possible, I hope it means I can get a bit ahead of the curve.
What would you want to know and what questions would be best to find out how much to offer?
Any suggestions appreciated.