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are we being totally stupid to consider paying this for this house?

4 replies

MizZan · 27/04/2010 22:56

We've been wanting to buy for the last several years in our very expensive town, and instead of taking the plunge when we should have (last spring), waited and are now seeing prices rise significantly due to the limited supply of property on the market.

We recently saw and had an offer accepted on a house (bidding war) which is a nice but fairly bog standard 1930s semi, in an ok but ugly neighborhood. The property has been recently renovated - nothing too fancy but to a quite nice and reasonable standard, new boiler and heating put in, and it was extended quite significantly (floor space increased by about 50%).

The catch - the owners bought it exactly 2 years ago, in an estate sale, to do up - and the price we've offered is about 60-70% more than what they bought it for, and also about 70% more than what other houses on this street have sold for historically (though I don't know that any of those sold, had been extended beforehand as much as this one has).

I like the house though I don't love the neighborhood - we can afford it, it's the right size for us etc. But are we at risk of seeing the value drop very dramatically, based on what I know about the selling price for this and other houses in the street? Adding floor space and renovating adds value, but does it justify a 60% price increase relative to the most recent sale price and to anything else on the street?

Help! Not buying to sell on any time soon, but feel there may be a big risk of losing a lot of money here (house is over £500K).

OP posts:
ageing5yearseachyear · 28/04/2010 09:29

would not worry about what someone else paid 2 years ago. they may have got a bargain at the time and if the house needed total renovation and the estate were keen to sell this could result in a below market price.

the difficulty you have is lack of comparables. It therefore comes down to whether the house is worth it to you. You should only compare to current prices for similar houses in the same area.

For example- where i live there are lots and lots of 3/4 bed houses with one bathroom. Hardly any have space to extend. those that do/can command a massive premium because it is a nice area- good comp schools- the only downside is the lack of bigger family houses.

So we would be looking at paying an extra£150k for basically the same house/space but with an en- suite and an extra room downstairs.

those that buy them know that they will always sell for that £125-£150k above non-extended ones.

if you do not anticipate selling soon then i would not be put off- what is the price of others in the street that have sold recently?

expatinscotland · 28/04/2010 09:31

If I didn't like the neighbourhood/location, I wouldn't buy it.

End of.

As for value, that's neither here nor there IMO because I see houses as homes, not investments.

noddyholder · 28/04/2010 09:32

Do notr rush it! When it comes to the mortgage valuation and the surveyor consults land registry figures re what has sold in the road previously it may well be down valued.If you are paying over the odds it needs to be a forever home and yo need to love it!Esp the area.

expatinscotland · 28/04/2010 09:34

Exactly, noddy.

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