Paying over the odds on a house

pledgeX

There's a house I'm interested in up for sale for 225k. It sold 18 months ago for 195k. During this time a fair bit of work has been done (new boiler, radiators, flooring, kitchen etc) but nothing structural.

However, there's still a fair bit of work that needs doing to it to bring it to what I would consider pristine condition; redecorating, new bathroom, new windows/doors, new fencing etc. All in all probably about 12k's worth of work.

Two houses that are identical in size and layout and were marketed as 'pristine condition' were sold for 217k and 220k within the past year, although the first was a private sale. I'm not sure whether they warranted the 'pristine' description, but from the outside and the pictures on the web, it looks very tidy inside, much more so than the one I'm looking at. Two larger 3 beds with garages have gone for 230 in the last year as well, although these were both in a poor state of dis-repair and needed a lot of work doing.

I've offered 203 and 208 for it, both of which have been declined. I get the impression that this wont go for less than 215 (vendor not in a hurry and has somewhere to go). However I feel 215 is a bit over-priced considering it's condition.

I'm torn as I really like the house but don't want to pay more than what it's worth. It's in a fantastic location, and in about 6 months of searching have seen nothing that comes close to it. I'll be buying a home, not an investment and will hopefully be in it for several years if possible. So on those grounds I think it might be worth more to me personally.....but there's still something at the back of my mind thinking I'm getting ripped off.

What would you do?

Doozergirl

If you've been looking for six months, you'll have an idea of what it's worth to you compared to everything else you've seen.

If this ticks the boxes then you can opt for the Mexican stand-off and see whether they will compromise further with time, or you go with it and see what the surveyor says...

Nikel

Id offer exactly what I thought it was worth, no more no less. Ie dont get too emotional about it and overpay, on the other hand theres no point trying to drive the price down below what you think its worth. Below market value is what most investors look for but if you say this is a home for you, then offer what its worth - as long as you can afford it of course!

angel1976

I kind of understand where you are coming from... We've been looking for more than 6 months for a family home we want to live in for a while (10-15 years) and also made a few (low-ish) offers on properties in the area that were turned down and later on, the properties did sell for higher as we've been tracking the sold prices on mouseprice. I think we have realised that where we want to live as a family is obviously popular for a reason (great state schools nearby, lovely conservation area etc, not easily found in London!) and the values will hold at a certain level.

We've finally secured a property we looked at 3 months ago but it literally took 3 months of negotiation before we got our offer accepted at only 5% below asking price. On one hand, I do worry about overpaying but if we are, it won't be by much judging from what other houses have gone for in the area. So we are taking a chance seeing as putting in low offers on properties haven't worked for us! :rotfl: You need to decide for yourself how much the house is valued to yourself and how much the discrepancy is between that and what the vendors want. If it's only a £5-10k difference, I would thinking seriously about buying it. If it's more than that, then I would rethink...

You know, we've done the comparing thing to death and it kills you after a while... It's almost impossible to place a value on things like position of the house, what the finish is like... cos it means different things to different people. We were going to see a house, which has an amazing summer house with electrics and heating (1/3 shed, 1/3 playroom with in-built bunks and 1/3 home office) but when it comes down to it, that held actually very little value to us as we don't work from home, the kids are too young to be left to play or sleep in the shed by themselves. But someone else will come along and it will be exactly what they want and they will pay top money for it!

harrup

pledgeX wrote: »

There's a house I'm interested in up for sale for 225k. It sold 18 months ago for 195k. During this time a fair bit of work has been done (new boiler, radiators, flooring, kitchen etc) but nothing structural.

I'm torn as I really like the house but don't want to pay more than what it's worth. It's in a fantastic location, and in about 6 months of searching have seen nothing that comes close to it. I'll be buying a home, not an investment and will hopefully be in it for several years if possible. So on those grounds I think it might be worth more to me personally.....but there's still something at the back of my mind thinking I'm getting ripped off.

What would you do?

I think you answered your own question with the section above.

Look....if you felt it was overpriced by 50 K or more that's a different kettle of fish. But in this case?

Bluntly, I wouldn't risk loosing a house I really liked & that is in a great location AND that in 6 months of looking I found no comparative to for the sake of a few K.

It's your decision: would you rather net a bargain....OR....live in a home you truly enjoy coming home to and are proud of? If it's a case where the extra £££ required for the purchase is simply not obtainable - that would be unfortunate. But if its a case of you merely being unwilling to pay the asking price...perhaps that could be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Think carefully pledge X....there aren't THAT many houses around a buyer can say they really like ( unless, of course, to them a house just represents a roof over their head and an investment rather than a home)

I can't see that the current owners are out to rip anyone off if they carried out all those improvements. They probably can't afford to loose a truckload of money on it.

Good luck