Going to view a house today that I want badly !

[skidamarinkadinka]

Gorgeous 1930s detached house, needs alot of modernising, huge garden, big drive and garage. It's on a main road into town but all the houses on this road are the same and just so lovely to look at.
We are not on the market yet but plan to get the same estate agents to list us asap. We need to move, we've outgrew this house in the last two years.
They want £450k. It was reduced in October.
Feedback has been the main road putting people off and also the work that will need doing.
How can we up our chances ?
We can probably go upto £430k but that would be the maximum.

Ah I hope everything goes really well with the viewing and all the pieces fall into place for you!

I knew my current home was The One! I'd viewed a few before this one and even though they were lovely I just didn't get the "feeling", when I viewed this one for the first time I already felt like I was home. My first night in the house I slept like a baby which was a first for me as I'd had two house purchases prior to this one and was single and normally struggled to sleep on the first few nights. Now that I have a partner, dog and two children (come July), this one has sadly been outgrown so I'm hoping that I can replicate the next perfect home experience when we move on next year!

Good advice all round. Wishing you luck.

I don't think initial viewings are a waste of time at all. Someone has to make the first move or nobody would ever move.
I'm in the middle of buying & selling, we viewed properties just before our house was on the market. Most of our punters have either not sold or not even on the market.
I was annoyed with my EA for booking a 2nd view with a CF who had not even engaged an EA.
The feedback can be very useful, we took note of some points & addressed them. We ignored the stupid twat who wanted a bath when the written description, photos, & floor plan all showed a shower.

Perhaps i am an outlier but as long as im happy with the money and they are in an advanced proceedable position… I don’t give a hoot about stuff like this!

and I love my home

So true with roofs. Obviously, the ideal can be a new roof. But most roof problems can be fixed without reroofing. The biggest cost with roofs is often the scaffold.

Also agree with a letter. They may well want the comfort of knowing their home is being passed on to people who’ll love it as they have. We’re all only the temporary custodians of a home.

Ah I feel your excitement! We bought our 1930s house 12 years ago, and I remember that feeling SO well. They are by far my favourite style of house. The potential is immense but don't underestimate the work! We bought for £520k (was listed at £625k but work needed was immense and somehow our very cheeky offer got accepted). We've since spent £500k doing it up and extending in stages (we're still not finished!) and it's now worth £1.5m. It is SO worth it! Excited for you!

Don’t look keen. View the house, look non committal.
Put your house on the market asap. When you have a firm offer then you can offer on the house you like. I’d go in at 420k and hope they’d accept a final offer of 430.
Remember stamp duty increases next month so you have to budget for that.

There's no harm in making an offer. But it will be meaningless to the seller until you've actually got your place on the market and have had an offer on it. Someone did this when I was trying to sell a relative's property. But, they did put their own property on the market within a week of the offer, they emailed my EA immediately to tell them their house was on the market, gave them their solicitor's details, copy of their mortgage in principal etc., and they were lucky and had an offer on their place within 2-3 weeks. They constantly kept my EA updated on what was happening and continued to express their interest.

You're offering quite a bit under the asking price though, so I'd be wary someone else will come along who would be in a stronger position to buy and would offer more.

Sounds gorgeous, go for it. I will never understand the UK "chain" thing which the rest of the world gets on quite handily without but make an offer. What's the worst that can happen? ( ponders why the only country with a chain - strange)

Don't decide you love with it until you've seen it! Please try and reign yourself in so you can be objective about it.

People do accept offers from buyers who have to sell. It's very dependent on the market & properties involved. If you're looking at a small area without much churn, and need a particular budget or property type then it can be a long wait for the right thing. We bought current house AND previous house in same way, but both times we had an easily-saleable house in a booming market and used the same EA.

View but don't offer. Quickly clear your house, get good photos and get it up for less than they suggest. Ask them to do an open house to sell quickly.

I've asked before and I will ask again, why does the UK have "chains". Pretty much the rest of the world gets on fine with out "chains. It's almost like you are trying to make your life difficult!
Thnk of it like this you want to sell your car, you do. You take that money and buy another car,or not whatever you want.
That is how the whole world works with real estate too.
For example : here's my house for sale for 500k. Someone says yes I'll but it, you exchange and settlement is done, The person who bought your house owns it now and you have 500k to do whatever you want with.

Why the obsession with chains?

This is a house that has clearly been on the market for a while.

I've always thought this was an odd approach. When we were looking I was only willing to put my house up for sale if I found something I liked. Otherwise I would have just stayed where I was.

We had a few vendors refuse to let us view because we'd not put ours on the market - their loss.
We found a house we loved and ours sold within a week. Some of the houses we wanted to view are still up for sale.

So if someone buys your house, you have to move out. Where do you live and keep all your stuff until you buy a new place?
If I sell a car, I have to do without until I buy another one, or I buy another one first.
Most people can't afford to buy another house before they sell one.
How does the rest of the world do this?

Because most people need to sell one house to raise funds for the next. It's easier if this all happens at once so that no one has to spend additional funds, and disruption, on short term rent. Everyone needs somewhere to live!

Buying/selling cars is not comparable. Car dealers will usually take your old car in part ex - thus doesn't really happen with houses except for new builds sometimes. Many people can abhors car finance to buy a new car without selling the old one immediately. Also, many people can do without a car for a few days whilst the next one is sorted; this is less practical for housing.

This is the way it happens in the NE England at least!

Where do you live in between?

Eh??When we have sold the STC signs have gone up pretty much straight away. There’s usually v little time between exchange and completion

Same here.

My understanding was that EAs put up STC signs quickly because it shows their success as an EA but also shows it’s not a done deal yet

@marena1 , it's not relevant how the rest of the world does it if OP is in the UK.

During the first post covid house buying rush we couldn't view without having sold first. But now, I think the market is slower, they can allow viewings from less proceedable people.

Not relevant, but I'd still be interested to find out how it works.
I know some people sell and rent between sale and purchase, but that seems like a whole other level of hassle. Essentially moving twice.

OP, stay optimistic. You never know. I am about to put my late parents house on the market. I’m in no particular rush and neither are my siblings (we all live in our own homes and do not need the proceeds of sale to buy. One sibling lives abroad and the other hundreds of miles away and neither seems bothered either way).

Hand on heart if I had the choice between a family in your position and e.g. a developer who had cash ready and waiting I would opt for the family as I’d prefer it to go to the right buyer. It’s a spacious albeit outdated family home and I do not want to see it converted into flats or similar as there is a huge shortage of family homes in the area. If a family who genuinely wanted to make this their forever home offered slightly under I would be ok with that.

So we've been and seen it, and I fucking love it. I knew I would but I was just giddy walking around. There is so much original character, nothing major has been done. Stain glass windows at the top of the bays, original doors, cute little random widows and doors. Original flooring in the hallway.
The vendor was there, she's late 80's and so so lovely, she really liked us and said she really hopes to see us again. We've decided we want to offer.
They have a house ready to go, so I think they're just waiting for the right buyer. She liked the fact we have two young girls, that was the same as them 55 years ago !