Thoughts on this house please!

[Acapulco12]

Hi all, I’ll be going for a second viewing of this house soon and am considering perhaps putting in an offer, recognising it needs quite a bit of work: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156480986.

What sort of offer do you think would be reasonable? I was thinking £530k (10% under the current £600k asking price). A house on the same road in a similar condition was sold in Sept 2023 for £480k.

In terms of updating the property, how would you approach that?

I was considering extending the dining room outwards so it’s at the same level as the kitchen and then knocking through the kitchen/dining room dividing wall to create a kitchen/diner and also adding in a utility room., and putting in bifold doors leading out onto the garden.

After that, I’d like to update the upstairs - renovate the bathroom and update the bedrooms (new carpets etc and decoration). I’m also thinking of putting in a downstairs loo and turning the porch into an outdoor one, rather than indoor.

And eventually perhaps doing a loft extension, although I wouldn’t need that for at least the next 5 years, as I’m buying on my own and don’t have kids, although would like kids at some point.

EDIT: the house is the one on the left hand side, without the driveway, in the photo.

I know nothing about the area so can't help on price but please don't underestimate the cost of renovation and repair work nowadays. Eye watering and that's if you can find someone to turn up and quote!

Are there any comparables in the area available that have been fully renovated?

@Feelingstrange2 thanks for your post - I completely agree. I definitely want to go into this with my eyes wide open. Yes, in terms of direct comparison, there’s this house on the same road - https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/68282913/. They’ve pretty much done everything I’d like to do, and the house sold for £700k last September after being bought for £455k in 2016. The other thing is they have a driveway and the house I’m interested in doesn’t.

It is too expensive for what it is, box 3rd bedroom and galley kitchen and the renovation needed to modernise. The area is ok for you?

Sorry, just to correct myself - the fully renovated house is in the process of being sold, subject to contract, but was put on the market in September.

I don’t know about the area but find the first image of the front of the house is a little strange. I thought the house up for sale was the more modern house with the new roof since that’s the dominant one in the photo but it’s next door. I was about to tell you to go for it because it has a new roof. I’m a bit obsessive about roofs! It’s the first thing I look at (I’ve just had the roof on my house redone). There looks a lot to do but depends I guess on your budget and how willing you are to do the work or get trades in. I’m sure some more knowledgeable posters will be along soon!

I think the area is okay - it’s nice but still up and coming. It’s good for my commute (to Victoria/Westminster) and has fab transport links, and this house is 10 mins walk from the station. I visited the area last weekend and liked it. And I haven’t anything with this sort of potential and at this price (all more expensive and similar condition, with less potential) in any of the places I’ve been looking.

It looks like it’s being sold as previous owner has either passed or gone into care so I’d be very surprised if an offer of 10% under would be accepted as they won’t be in any hurry

Don't underestimate the expense of renovating in London OP it's high I'd knock more off

It has a lot of potential but with that comes a lot of cost if you can’t do that yourself. Remember that the most cost is not the materials but the labour itself. I would want to extend that too, and that is not cheap! Unless you have 100k to throw at that property, stay clear.

Yes, I was told at the viewing that the most recent owner had lived in it for around 50 years and had passed away. The way I see it I’ll offer the price I think is fair and then the current owners are free to either accept or reject it. Luckily I’m not in a big hurry to move and I’m not prepared to pay £550-600k for it as I don’t think it’s worth that much. Thankfully, I have some money available that I can use to renovate it slowly, over time.

How much would you offer, out of interest? Would you offer, say, £510-20k? It does feel a bit cheeky if I knock much more than 10% off the asking price in my offer, purely out of concern for renovation costs. Do you reckon I could seriously go in with say a £520k offer? The worst they will say is no. I think the most I’m prepared to go up to is £550k (which is 10% off and what I was planning to offer).

10% off makes it 540 rather than 530.

I know it's London and everything but I can't get past the fact it's 600k for a 3 bedroom terrace with 1 bathroom

Seems it's not ALL grim up north

Seems expensive for S Norwood. Do you know the area?

A word of caution. It might prove expensive to renovate the house. It looks like nothing has been done for decades.

I bought a house from an older couple and found a lot of issues because the house had been neglected for years and needed some serious updating.

I would go £520k and if they refuse walk away. It's overpriced

I think it would take a lot more than £100k to turn it into the other house for £700k. Plus that one has parking which increases the value.

It doesn't look like much needs doing to me. Kitchen and bathroom are fine and that's usually where the money goes. New carpets lick of paint and you can do the rest as and when.

I agree - at minimum I'd be asking questions about the wiring, it may be in need of redoing. If so, it will impact on every room in the house.

You definitely would need more than £100k to bring it up to the 700k standard.

I'd agree that potentially you're looking at very expensive renovation here. If you're extending then you could be looking at a rewire and for boiler and heating to be replaced.. The third bedroom also looks like there might be some damp in the top corner, it doesn't look like just shadow from the light.

There do seem to be comparable properties either at similar price but better condition or low price in similar condition in the se25 area.

If the owner has died is it subject to probate? I know you're not in a hurry but probate has been taking a long time for a lot of people recently

Ah whoops sorry, yes! 😂

I think that’s a good shout - thanks!

It has potential but does need money spent on it for updating as its very tired and dated looking. This could cost a lot more than you might think. Quite expensive but it is London.

I can’t remember if the probate has been sorted or not. I viewed another house on the same day as this one where the probate had been sorted, but I can’t remember if that’s the case for this one.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Can I ask what else I should be looking out for and the questions i should be asking at the second viewing please? So far, I have:

• condition of wiring
• has probate been sorted? If not, how long is it expected to take?