House I would love to buy is up for rent

[jentt]

This might sound silly but been house hunting for a while now and a house I would love to buy, in one of my ideal locations has just been listed to rent. Would it be ok to call the estate agents to find out if the landlord is interested in selling? I know will probably be a NO as otherwise would be listed for sale not for rent but maybe on the off chance they might be considering it? Worth a call or just leave it?

You don't have anything to lose, so I would

You can only try.

Of course.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Definitely ask! What have you got to lose??

Of course. Why wouldn’t you?
Some people randomly leaflet houses they like the look of that aren’t for sale or rent 😁

When was it last sold/bought?

If its been bought as an 'investment' they are going to want a LOT of money, they will want the cost they bought for, plus work, fees, vat and then their 'investment profit' on top.

I think it's worth a try. My DD rents out her old house (moved for work) but it only just covers the mortgage. I have asked her why they don't simply sell it and she says they couldn't afford to lose the rental income if it sat empty waiting for a sale for maybe 6 months.

Perhaps a decent offer for this house would be appreciated.

Do it OP, loads of landlords are thinking about selling in the next couple of years according to some survey data (sorry can’t remember where). Let us know if you get it!

Look up who owns it on the land registry and see if you can contact them direct. I’ve bought a house that way that wasn’t for sale but they were fairly easy to track down from the name.

When I was a teenager we had someone knock on our door and ask if we would consider selling our house. It was a perfectly nice house but very ordinary.

I'd just rent it. That's the best way to determine if it really is your dream home and also to do a forensic inspection of maintenance requirements. You'll get to check your neighbours first.

Don't show your cards as it'll put you in a disadvantageous negotiating position.

The landlord of the last home we rented approached us about buying it. We weren't interested but if we had been we could have negotiated a good deal between us without EA involvement.

^ And see all your running costs.

Yes this, or maybe put a note through the door addressed to the owners.

If you go through the estate agent, the EA will want a hefty fee from the seller for introducing you as a buyer. By going to the buyer direct they will avoid thousands of pounds in EA fees, and therefore perhaps be more likely to sell to you.

If it is currently rented out, a note through the door addressed to the owners is unlikely to get to them. The tenants will either bin it or pass it on to the agents.

I would just go to the EA. If the EA charges the buyer the usual sale fee, that’s for the buyer to deal with, not you.

Yes but the extra fee of £5000 or so might make the difference between them wanting or not wanting to sell to the OP.

If the OP wants to try and buy a house that isn’t for sale, then she needs to make it as attractive a proposition as possible to the owner.

Yes but the extra fee of £5000 or so might make the difference between them wanting or not wanting to sell to the OP.

Honestly, I doubt it. They would be saving whatever the agency fee is on the monthly rent anyway. But YMMV.

You can. But I wouldn't expect to get it on the cheap.

Being a landlord is a business. If the amount you are willing to pay makes good business sense, they should be willing to think about it.

That said, there are some people out there totally obsessed with property and owning it who would not consider selling even if it made fantastic sense and it had been a loss making business for them for years. Plus of course there are also people who are doing things like renting properties to come back to after a stint abroad.

Finding out who owns it shouldn't be too much of an issue.