To offer lower or no?

[MotherOfRatios]

Viewed a 1 bed first floor property £200k Woolwich I like the area, however there was no pictures of the bathroom.

I viewed and the bathroom needs some
work it's just gone on the market I want to offer lower but my gut says they'll say no.

There's a whole in the bath and bath panel (the inside one is blurred so haven't uploaded)

WYD?

It's Peabody housing association and I mentioned further up. I think I did actually join your Facebook group and there's good reviews for that block of flats.

Thanks it seems with this flat I won't know a lot of things until I actually put some money down on a survey report and solicitors fees

OK that is even more curious - if it is a Peabody block then the Freeholder will be Peabody. I assume the flat was bought under right to aquire at some point.

I think they may have been involved in the development of the block somewhat I can see some really really old articles.

I've also just been told it will be hard to find a solicitor for the flat because of the building safety act but surely that applies to any block of flats in London as most block of flats in London unfortunately fault under the higher than 5 storey rule? When I was looking at a property before and reached out to a solicitor and it was the same size block of flats, they did not have any issues.

Update
spoke to a solicitor and it's no problem about the building safety regulations act.

The estate agents should be able to tell you what the service charges and ground rent is. When DS was house hunting and was interested in a different flat to the one I previously mentioned, he rang managing agents and asked about service charges and the freeholder about the ground rent . They were happy to talk in broad brush terms. Obviously wouldn’t talk about specific property.

@IIdentifyAsInnocent an entire shower cubicle is about £250? really? 😳do you mind sending a link because i'm looking for one for my house reno!!

You can see photos of the flat that sold for £190k last year on zoopla. It's in the sold archive. I would definitely not offer any more than 200k OP, the estate agent is taking advantage of you being a first time buyer. Good luck.

I'll go back and have a look because it wasn't showing for me

They've accepted £205k
she still keeps referring to the Seller as a family despite me now knowing that it's a Landlord she's going to send over all the details about the ground run, etc today

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations on reaching agreement re price. Your solicitor will check everything is in order legally with this flat before they allow you to Exchange contracts on it so it’s good to have them on your side - plus you can carry on asking questions on here of course 😀

I'm still cautious and fear I've overpaid on reflection

Oh dear that is a horrible feeling and I experienced it once too & tbh ended up withdrawing from the house sale even though I felt bad about it.

Maybe the EA pressured you a bit too much. It’s obviously up to you what you do next. But if you feel unhappy with what you paid, it’s actually better to say so than proceed with a deal you’re not happy with.

Don’t feel you are trapped, you aren’t. You can reduce your offer to 200k or whatever you feel comfortable with.

OP, I really feel for you. Estate agents can be sharks. It’s important to understand that they work for the seller, not for the buyer, and they get a percentage of the sale so it is in their interests to sell the property for the highest amount possible. As a buyer, I would never take the “advice” of an estate agent. Properties are regularly listed for more than they are likely to be worth, and it is expected that first offers will be lower and there will be negotiation. I would have offered £190k and then met in the middle, for example.

That said, you need to think about the other, main, issues here. Whether or not they falsely pushed up the price, it may still be a fair price. A property is “worth” what someone will pay for it. What matters is how much you like the flat and if it is right for you. Would you feel sad if you didn’t get it and get to live in it? Are there other, similar, properties that you could buy instead? If the answers to those questions are yes and no, then maybe the flat IS worth £205k - to you at least. Doesn’t sound a terrible price and it sounds like you can afford it.

However if the answers are no and yes, then you can pull out of the sale or negotiate on price to one you actually do feel comfortable with. You can email the EA and say that you now have some doubts. That you have realised that they have not been straight with you regarding the ownership of the property and that is making you doubt the sale and if there are other concerns not shared. Tell them that you have been told that the cost to fix the issues you already know about is between £6k and £10k and given that you have doubts about how things have proceeded thus far, that has given you misgivings about their advice and don’t want to proceed at the current price. That you will offer £x (however much the flat is worth to you) and no more and the leave it to them. They will either agree or not but if you are less bothered about the flat and can look at others, then you won’t feel awful if they refuse.

Good luck.

It's the fact that they are refusing to tell the truth. I know it's Landlord that owns the property but you're still telling me it's an elderly old woman that owns the property. She said she would send over the ground rent and service charges. I'm still waiting. I have just sent my passport and bank statements.

I did speak to moving with Charlie and he recommended potentially renegotiating after a survey report.

Look I like the property. The space is the best I've seen in London and I think I have the potential to add value to it by eventually doing in the kitchen putting a new flooring down but that will take time and I'm willing to do that and it's not an immediate thing the immediate pressing priority is the bathroom.

I just want some final details out with them because I don't want it to be a money pit And if I can make a decision before paying a solicitor, I would much rather do that.

Isn't it a bit suss that the ground rent and service charge wasn't already on the listing? The one's I've seen where I live are, but then maybe it's different where you are?

I think you need to be signed in, it's free to join zoopla. Congratulations on offer being accepted. I'd definitely get a full survey done due to bathroom. You can always withdraw your offer if not happy. Or renegotiate.

PM if you'd like the zoopla link direct if that would help.

Sure. Here you go: www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/shower-enclosures/frameless-shower-enclosures

I'm just waiting for them to confirm service charge and grammar situation if the service charge is any higher than £200 then I will have to pull out just because I don't wanna pay that. It's still so odd to me that they don't know it.

Update
SC and ground rent is £168.41 a month they have an ESW1 form which they'll send tomorrow. Still unsure though about the property management agency, still haven't been given that information.

is £168 a month high?

@MotherOfRatios Ground rent and service charge are two separate entities. The GR is payable to the freeholder, the Service Charge is held separately for the benefit of the leaseholders. The freeholder can be the managing agent, but the service charge funds must be ring-fenced and are re-payable on demand if no discernible spend has taken place. You need to establish who the managing agent is or the terms under which the ‘share of the freehold’ is managed. There should be no ‘service charge’ under a ‘share of a freehold’ it is usually a sinking fund managed by a limited company and you should be entitled to buy the vendors share in that company. Or the ‘freeholders’ have appointed a managing agent to run the maintenance of the building. You need those details.

You also need to establish your potential share of the cost of the building insurance.

That’s very subjective @MotherOfRatios but it’s certainly less than my daughter pays on her leasehold share of freehold flat in north London. She pays about 3k a year.

An ESW1 form will give you certification. Only an LPE1 (which is chargeable) will give you the detail that you need about the specifics of the building.

@MotherOfRatios in purchasing a flat, you will need to ask for the cost of the managing agent/freeholder completing :-

1. An LPE1
2. an LPE2
3. Provision of a completion certificate (without which your interest in the lease cannot be registered by your conveyancer after completion)
4. Cost of any deed variation/interests that your solicitor may ask for

Costs may vary in any of these,.