Looking to Buy the house we rent?

rvickyl

Hi all,

Can't find any information regarding this.

We currently live in a private rented house, the house is detached and the landlord bought it for £129,000. 4 years ago.

The landlord has done no work on the property at all, and their is lots of work that needs doing to modernise the property. Obviously the landlord doesn't live in the house so isn't interested in making these changes. Me and my partner have been talking and we have decided that we would like to buy the property, but we want to know how much it is worth, before we put in an offer.

The work that needs doing includes:
Windows (they are wooden and slightly rotting) Need repainting or replacing
Kitchen - Needs modernising
Patio - The patio has actually begun to slide and has major cracks and gaps between the slabs

Would we be able to get the house valued or can only the home owner do this?
Where do we start in approaching the landlord with the idea of buying?
Do we need to wait until the tenancy is nearly up? We have till July left.

Mortage wise - What sort of deposit do lenders ask for at the moment?

Also does anyone know anything with regards to the Goverments First Time Buyers Initiative?


Many Thanks

poppysocks1

I would have thought the first thing you should do is see if the landlord is interested in selling it, then if so they would need to contact estate agent to arrange for valuations etc. I wouldnt wait til end of tenancy to do this.

If he doesnt want to sell then it will go no further for now, but you could register your interest with him incase he decides to in the future.

mlz1413

I would go and see an independant mortgage advisor to ensure you can get a mortgage in the region of the house price, they will also advise what sort of deposit is needed.

if you are able to proceed then I would contact the LL, just say that you would like to know his long term plans with the house as you would be interested in buying if he is intersted in selling.

I wouldn't research the price until you know you are buying. Then I'd agree to get 2 valuations done each and compare the prices, from then on it's the same as buying any house you go ahead if you like the price.

simple2rent

Agreed with their posters, you should first find out if the landlord will sell ... don't sound too desperate or the landlord may want a higher price.

You can get a rough idea of the property value by looking at similar asking prices in the area ... then deduct 5%+ to arrive at something closer to valuation. You can also check recent sold prices in the area on hometrack .co .uk

Finally, you could propose to the landlord a "rent to buy" solution. This is where you rent for a period with an option to buy at a fixed price in the future. ... we are just about to launch a rent to buy (free ad service for landlords and tenants). I do not want to post the url here as some might say I am spamming

hearts

What its worth and what the LL will accept may be two entirely different things.

With regard to the above "rent to buy" scheme. I'm a bit doubtful as to wherther this would work.
Scenario.
You both agree on a price 2 years hence. The market goes up/down either way soemone is not going to be to happy about sticking to the agreement. These things are fine for large companies/housing associations but I cant see it working for individuals.

ILW

I would suggest if you are paying more than about £750 a month the landlord may consider the place a good investment as it stands, and you would need to make a pretty good offer.

poppysarah

Why has the patio moved?

I'd push for the landlord bringing your accomodation up to date - unless it's dirt cheap...

MORPH3US

If its in as bad a state as it sounds, why not just look elsewhere and pick up a bargain that doesn't need loads done to it....

I imagine (although I may be wrong) that the landlord will ask for silly money...

rvickyl

Thank you all for your posts.

We know that the landlord is wanting to sell, it was on the market when we took up the lease 2 years ago. We have talked about it with him and he knows that when we were in the position we would be interested in buying the house.

We only pay £600 a month.

With regards to the Patio, the reason it has moved is due to it being laid directly on a grass surface and not done properly. Obviously when it rains heavily this is going into the cracks creating a muddy surface and the slabs are moving. So we know it is nothing serious just needs some work.

rvickyl

MORPH3US wrote: »

If its in as bad a state as it sounds, why not just look elsewhere and pick up a bargain that doesn't need loads done to it....

I imagine (although I may be wrong) that the landlord will ask for silly money...

We have lived in the house for 2 years now and although it needs work doing to it, the potential is there. The problem is no one has bothered to look after it.

We love the house, it is in a fantastic area and it is so peaceful. We know we would struggle to find a house in such a nice area that we both agree on!

ILW

rvickyl wrote: »

We have lived in the house for 2 years now and although it needs work doing to it, the potential is there. The problem is no one has bothered to look after it.

We love the house, it is in a fantastic area and it is so peaceful. We know we would struggle to find a house in such a nice area that we both agree on!

Ask the landlord how much he wants for it.