Found a great house but can't seem to make a decision - help needed

[secretskillrelationships]

Have a limited budget which means compromises. However, have found a nice end of terrace house which would work very well for my family and we can afford.

It is an older property with reasonable sized rooms on both floors. It has lots of original features and open fireplaces which are obviously used. There are 4 good sized rooms downstairs (including kitchen) and 3 double bedrooms and a study upstairs together with two small bathrooms. The garden is not huge but big enough for our needs and there is a park close by that the children could get to without crossing roads. One big plus is that it had the hall in the middle with rooms either side (my DCs all play very noisy instruments so feel I need to consider my neighbours!).

On the down side, it is not as close to school as I would like (as have different pick-up times for different children due to clubs etc) but still only about 10 mins drive away. It needs complete redecoration and probably a new kitchen. If it was closer to school it would probably be out of my price range. It has an aga and no room for a 'proper' cooker. I'm worried that it is over priced as they are asking 30% more than they paid for it in 2004.

I absolutely loved the house on first viewing. At the second viewing all I could see was the work that was needed (roof, blown plaster, kitchen).

BUT H left me in the summer and energy is very erratic. I want to move on from the house we shared but having started the house search with enormous drive find my energy has vanished. Feel this is a big decision to make on my own but don't have anyone to help me with it. Family are all miles away, this is a relatively new area to me so don't have friends to ask her either.

Feel like I'm going over and over this in my head but not moving it forward.

Any suggestions?

I would definitely be 100% sure as having bought a house I wasn't quite sure about a few years ago, it was a long 18 months until we were able to sell it again!

I like 2old4thislark's advice about working out what you are prepared to pay for it and sticking to that. Chances are, the house won't sell for the asking price and prices may well fall from here over the next few years.

You can also look on zoopla to see what it is estimated to be worth. Good luck hun

The house sounds fantastic actually.
How would you feel if I said I wanted it? Do you feel more determined at all?
Dunno whereabouts you are mind... anywhere near midlands at all?

Well, surprise, surprise it hasn't worked. All boils down to feeling crap about the end of the relationship, I guess, and not trusting my judgment as i completely failed to see that ex was just spinning me a line and not even vaguely committed. I think buying a house on my own is just yet another signal that our 21-year relationship is really over. In fact, something happened just before the second viewing which may well explain just why I was feeling quite so negative.

Only thing I am clear about is that I keep coming back to this house and can't seem to stir myself to look at anything else.

Have no doubts I can make the house fabulous (have done it twice before, think major renovations and this is no-where near as bad to start with). Have checked out a number of web sites regarding prices and, while they all suggest it is overpriced at the moment, i don't think the price is too unrealistic (though want to pay less!).

Sorry, CaptainNancy, no-where near the midlands! And I'd fight your for it! e

Current plan is, as suggested, a second viewing with sceptical and critical friend; get a builder to quote for remedial work and then see where I go from there.

Thank you all for your helpful posts, it's really helped me to sort out where the issues lie.

Sorry to hear that. That's tough. Mind you, it can difficult to 'hear yourself' when there's lots of other stuff going on IYKWIM.

It's good that you are drawn to it though. What price would be comfortable? They may accept a low offer, you never know. If it's the right house you will get it so no need to panic or rush into a decision.

I think the house sounds like somewhere you can make a home.
As for the Aga - an earlier post suggested they sell well second hand, which I think is true - a friend of mine bought a house that had 2 in it (it was being split into two houses) but they kept the place as one and took out the extra kitchen and sold the Aga for about £3K. The Aga they kept they turn off over the summer as it saves a lot of money and use a combination of microwave with grill and a hot plate - its a family of 4 and they seem to manage and eat well with that set up.

How are you doing, secrets?

Went to see it again today and took a chance - asked someone to come with me. Fairly new to the area and don't know any one that well. Turns out she used to work in the area and knows houses really wll.

Back to feeling quite positive. It does need quite a lot of work and there are a few other complications. Will see what the estate agent comes back with - house has been on and off market for some time so want to know why. But feel more positive about the house than last time.

Really good to see it with someone else and she has promised to give me feedback. She picked up some things I missed and visa versa so really useful.

Also seeing someone at the weekend who sees the property market the same way I do so will pick his brains about this.

Very tempted to make a (very low) offer!

Great! no harm in pulling in some quotes for work - your friend may know local builders etc - remember contingency - it always costs a bit more) but what I am saying, you know all this, you are more than capable of making the right decision
You can do it!
Keep us posted on what you decide
wish I had been this sensible when viewing - oh, I like the sink, and the garden could be nice ? completely bypassign the fact it was
built on a slant with no proper heating ..
even a slightly daft decision is coming right eventually

saw you sounding v positive on another thread secrets, any news on house? glad things are looking up or sound as if they may be

Check the purchase price in 2004 on www.houseprices.co.uk 30% on an unrenovated house needing considerable work does seem alot...but there may be bigger negotiating power!

Don't worry about cooking on an Aga - its a doddle...they are fab and you can do virtually any style of cooking on them...for example slow cooks in bottom oven whilst you are out for the day, so casseroles a cynch!BUT...they are v expensive to run...Aga are doing special conversions of existing AGAs to make them more fuel efficient and eco friendly but not aware of how much this costs...so may not be prohibitive...

Best to go back for v v scrutinous second viewing!!! Good luck...

Just thought I'd update you all. Did lots of research on the price (mouseprice, zoopla plus another). This figure was £60-80k below the asking price. I feel for the sellers as I think their house was massively overvalued in 2007 so even though they've reduced it by £40K it's still overpriced.

I was pretty sure that the sellers wouldn't accept that so offered £10k over the highest valuation on the basis that that was the maximum I was willing to pay for the house, particularly given the issues that would need to be addressed before we could even move in. Have offered on the basis that I am in a good position to move etc.

I'm not overly surprised that they have rejected my offer. But, in making the offer, it turns out that the only offer they have had was a long time ago and fell through before the buyers had even had a survey done. So there is a big question mark about whether the house is really for sale.

I am disappointed but also feel that my offer is actually a good one and no-one has come up with anything to convince me otherwise. I'm also quite fatalistic so if not this house, there must be something even better round the corner!