Perfect on paper but just a bit… meh?

[TiredCatLady]

Moved to a different part of the country 18 months ago, rented, now looking to buy. Have been looking for a while and not finding much - a lot of it is way out of the price range and others on viewing are just not suitable (need home office space and outdoor space).

Just viewed a property that, on paper, ticks all of the boxes and is within price range albeit at the very top. It’s at the upper end for a property of its size in the area. It’s been on the market for approx 9 months in total and hasn’t been reduced in price (unlike most other properties round here), just changed agents and had the description modified slightly re the bedrooms.

DP thinks it’s perfect and we should go for it but I was really, really underwhelmed.

The basics - 1930s semi, garden, off road parking. Been on the market as a five bed with another agent for near 8 months, now marketed as a four bed but realistically it’s 3 at best as my work desk wouldn’t even fit in “bedroom 4”.
Loft converted but unfinished. No dormer so you can’t actually stand up straight in it/it’s not a useable space. Weird layout upstairs with a huge hallway (waste of space - reminds me of a student house I lived in that had bedrooms chopped into two and odd hallways), main bathroom downstairs. Rest of downstairs open plan with a somewhat dated kitchen.

Any character the house had has been stripped away (no fireplaces, staircase isn’t original), old block paving outside and the interior decor is much more tired (and has obvious signs of bodged DIY) than the typical agents photos made out.

I’d want the bathroom upstairs and want to completely change the upstairs layout at least so it’s functional and that feels like quite a lot of work. On top of the decorating and radiator replacement and whatever other issues inevitably turn up if we were to buy it. The unfinished loft feels like it might be masking something else. Both of our jobs mean we’re not after a major project and I think this is tipping towards that.

I guess AIBU to have wanted to feel the slightest spark of excitement on viewing the house? Am I not seeing the potential here? I know people move into less than perfect houses all the time - is it a red flag that I just don’t really have a feeling for the house and can’t really picture myself living there?

DP wants to arrange another viewing and set about pricing the obvious work it would need so as to figure out an offer. I’m on the fence.

Has anyone opted for a “meets needs” house that they just didn’t love and how did that work out? Or is not loving it a good way to ensure we’re pragmatic about it?

You don’t sound like you like it so I wouldn’t buy.

I dislike it when EAs or their customers pretend houses have more bedrooms than they do by calling random rooms “bedrooms” when they are very obviously only big enough to be a study or a nursery. No wonder it didn’t sell with the first agent as viewers are not stupid and won’t consider a house to be 5 beds if it really isn’t.

I did buy one “needs must” house in the past that I never loved as it was practical but without enough character for me. Tbh we ended up staying there a long time and I grew to like it though never love it. But this house sounds worse than that one as it sounds like a money pit. Only consider buying it if it represents very good value for a 3 bed in your area, don’t compare it to the prices of proper 5 bed houses.

Another problem is that the sellers sound unrealistic. They very obviously should have reduced the price by 5% when they changed agent so I imagine they are delusional and will be hard to deal with.

@Twiglets1 money pit is precisely what worries me.
Pricing is ok for a 3 bed around here but not, if as I suspect, there is actually more work needed than first appears/is elective. The “nice modern finish” is actually a “recent cheap finish” to make it look ready for sale.
The bedrooms thing is an utter pisstake - some of the agents here would try and argue an airing cupboard counts!
I’m similar to you - I like a house with character. Not immune to doing a bit of work on a property but moving walls and bathrooms feels a bit much.

I would step away too. It's clearly not worth the price they want.
They sound like the kind of seller that needs someone to overpay, because of their own financial situations, rather than a seller who accepts that they will get what the market price actually is. No harm though in telling the agent your idea of its value. It may help them soften the sellers expectations so that they can either get it off the books - If the seller can't actually afford to move. Or get it reduced to a sellable price level...

If it's okay but expensive, and it's been on the market for a long time, could you not make a reduced offer? Prices are lower than they were nine months ago and they probably aren't getting many offers

Yes I would be scared of moving bathrooms etc too. The cost is high enough just to refit an existing bathroom, goodness knows how much builders are charging at the moment to move bathrooms upstairs with all the additional plumbing!

Basically, you’re in a strong position so I would continue looking until you find something where at least the basic layout is to your liking. It’s unfortunate that your partner likes the house so much so may be upset not to make an offer but you both have to like it to buy.

@concernedchild this is what DP thinks to do - he’s seeing the “on paper” tick box bits rather than the potential costs of the place. With the lack of price reduction despite a change in agent I’m not sure how amenable the vendor will be.

Only buy homes you love, whatever your price bracket. They need to move you.

It's been 9 months with (presumably) very few offers. Either they reduce the price or they won't sell. It's worth a shot just to see what happens- go in where you'd feel comfortable buying it and see what happens

What tick boxes has it ticked because 3 bed house shouldn’t be that difficult to find. If your list is 4 bed then for you it hasn’t ticked that box. I wouldn’t be moving someone that needed significant work to suit me in the current market unless it was rock bottom on price.

We’re constrained by location, need outdoor space, space to act as an office, and, this is the sticky thing round here, a garage or enough space for a good sized shed outside. Lots of four and five bed piles and two bed bungalows (for utterly daft money) but lacking on the options between 1 bed flat and that.

Being frank, that house sounds full of flaws and costly projects and that's why it has sat over-priced on the market for 9 months. Nobody's buying it and I don't blame them. Someone there is waiting for the lack of other options to force someone into buying it.

I have bought houses before that didn't stir my soul. I had a list of requirements (garage, detached, three bedrooms, utility room) and was pragmatic in my search. Never excited about the places I bought, thought it was a practical decision to be made in a head-led way. Within weeks I always realised something was missing. Moved on (expensively) in a few years.

Last time I was house hunting I had my usual list. Then, I found the house I live in now and fell head over heels in love. It has no garage, is a semi, two bedroom and not onlly does it not have a utility room the kitchen is so small I can't have a dishwasher and my freezer is in the corner of the dining room.

I have never been happier and hope to be here forever.
Hold out for something that makes your heart beat faster when you come home. You only have one life, don't settle for something meh.

I’d go and have another look. Sometimes you do see a house differently the second time, so it will either make you think it’s a possibility after all or a definite no.
No house is perfect and ticks every box, so if you are very restricted and can make it work don’t write it off altogether, but if you really dislike it and can’t envisage your future there at all then something else will come up eventually, again probably not perfect. It’s hard but you’ll get there 🙂

Thanks everyone - it’s good to have some external input.

My DP can be quite single minded and we usually feel similar about properties (like character etc) so I’m surprised at him going for this hence wondering if he’s seeing something I’m not.

Buying a house is a very big spend! Would you buy a dress you did not like? Why buy something that costs many many times more when you do not like it?

Ah yes ...... DH likes it! .... but you BOTH have to be happy with it.

You don't have to completely fall in love with a house, it's fine to be more pragmatic. You do need to like it though, and see the positives and potential. You don't seem to like the house at all and can only see the negatives, it really doesn't sound like the one for you.

Pretty much this!

I think the solution is a second viewing and be very clear about everything we’d need to do to it. Besides, having now checked the building regs portals, who leaves a loft conversion unfinished for nearly 20 years?!

Update - spoke to DP and laid out my concerns.
We will do a second, longer viewing (in daylight this time) and go in armed with questions (like why the fuck has the loft not been finished for 20 years).

I felt like you did when we viewed our current house, which I hate and which we are now selling. I’d skip this one.

Update - went back for the second viewing in full daylight this time (artificial light is a good disguise for some things). Very, very glad we did.

Many more problems than we spotted on the first viewing. Party wall leak, bathroom leaks, kitchen on it’s last legs and that whole upstairs has very clearly been badly DIY’d and is full of cracks. It would literally all need ripping out and start again.

Off the list and on to the next viewing!

Thanks MN for reminding me to trust my gut.

My upper level on spending for something that’s a bit meh is £10. Do not spend 100s of thousands on something you do not love. Loving it needs to be one of the boxes.

Go back for a second viewing because you might see more in it this time. But you and your DH absolutely have to be on the same page.

Overtaken by events!

Trust your gut. If it didn't feel right the first time round, the second viewing won't change that feeling. I've heard it said many times when couples are looking at property to buy it's the wife who makes the decision - and I tend to think that's true.

At least you know now @TiredCatLady

Thanks for the update