First time buyer jitters or something more?

FireWyrm

likkle_monkey wrote: »

Hi firewrym

Thanks for your reply. Houses in this street go for alot more than £185k so I wouldn't probably be in a position to buy in this area for a long time! It's a nice area, close to town centre and schools and I could definitely see myself living there, but just not in the state it's in at the moment! Hopefully my mortgage advisor will get back to me about adding in £10k into the repayments.

I didnt say anything about not negotiating...you have a fantastic amount of leverage at the moment which lets you get away with all sorts of cheeky offers. My response was more to do with your question about jitters....

By all means, negotiate hard, but dont lose sight of the question over affordability. It is so easy to get caught up in the emotion and forget that you actually have to pay for this in the long run. Dont be tempted to increase your offer unduly.

Also, I suggest a survey. It may be just my suspicious nature, but why is a house marked at £185K in a street of £220K? What's wrong with it?

ruggedtoast

The old advice to always try to buy the worst house in the best street rather than the best house in the worst street has a lot of truth in it in my opinion.

If you can cover any urgent repairs financially and live with the non urgent ones while you get together the money and time to sort them out then it would seem like a good option.

If you havent done it before you need to be very realistic about how hard it is to renovate your own home while working full time.

purple.sarah

Think about whether you can live with it if you don't get the work done right away and whether having the work done will cause you significant financial hardship. Don't rely on having the work done right away, look at the house as is and see if you could comfortably live in it.

My parents moved into a doer-upper property several years ago. It was large but needed a lot of work, now they wish they had downsized and got a house in good condition. They were conned by a cowboy builder but the point is they were not able to get the extensive work done that they needed and now years on it still looks like they just moved in, which gets them down. And selling it is difficult in this economy and when it still needs work. If you don't have a budget for the work, I would look for a property that doesn't need it. Get quotes for everything that needs doing and check you can afford it.

purple.sarah

FireWyrm wrote: »

I didnt say anything about not negotiating...you have a fantastic amount of leverage at the moment which lets you get away with all sorts of cheeky offers. My response was more to do with your question about jitters....

By all means, negotiate hard, but dont lose sight of the question over affordability. It is so easy to get caught up in the emotion and forget that you actually have to pay for this in the long run. Dont be tempted to increase your offer unduly.

Also, I suggest a survey. It may be just my suspicious nature, but why is a house marked at £185K in a street of £220K? What's wrong with it?

I agree, definitely get a survey.

ruggedtoast

An untiled bathroom can reduce a grown man to tears at 8pm on a Wednesday night.

pinkshoes

Have you looked on https://www.houseprices.co.uk to see what they paid for it when they bought it?

How long has it been on the market?

If they bought it over 10 years ago at a much lower price, then you'll have far more scope for negotiation. If it was bought only a few years ago, they could be already at the level of their mortgage, so they'll be no doubt looking for the asking price.

Do your homework, and make a sensible offer. If it's priced to sell, then I wouldn't offer TOO low, as they may think you aren't serious.

Are you sure you can afford it?

FireWyrm

ruggedtoast wrote: »

An untiled bathroom can reduce a grown man to tears at 8pm on a Wednesday night.

Can I paste that quote on my bathroom door for my husband?

likkle_monkey

FireWyrm wrote: »

Also, I suggest a survey. It may be just my suspicious nature, but why is a house marked at £185K in a street of £220K? What's wrong with it?

Survey will definitely be done for sure! I think it's on at £185k because of the work that needs doing to it to be honest, at least £10k by my estimations.

likkle_monkey

ruggedtoast wrote: »

If you can cover any urgent repairs financially and live with the non urgent ones while you get together the money and time to sort them out then it would seem like a good option.

If you havent done it before you need to be very realistic about how hard it is to renovate your own home while working full time.

Hi ruggedtoast

Thanks for your reply. Nothing desperately urgent needs doing; mostly cosmetic as well as putting in a new front and back door. We will be living with the parents whilst the work takes place, as we won't officially move in until the works been done. We would do little bits here and there, like painting but replastering, fitting new carpets and new kitchen we would get the professionals in!!

likkle_monkey

purple.sarah wrote: »

Think about whether you can live with it if you don't get the work done right away and whether having the work done will cause you significant financial hardship. Don't rely on having the work done right away, look at the house as is and see if you could comfortably live in it.

My parents moved into a doer-upper property several years ago. It was large but needed a lot of work, now they wish they had downsized and got a house in good condition. They were conned by a cowboy builder but the point is they were not able to get the extensive work done that they needed and now years on it still looks like they just moved in, which gets them down. And selling it is difficult in this economy and when it still needs work. If you don't have a budget for the work, I would look for a property that doesn't need it. Get quotes for everything that needs doing and check you can afford it.

Hi purple sarah

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear about your parents situation.

We would live with the parents whilst the work took place, and so wouldn't move in until everything was done. Thankfully, the parents understand our situation and have agreed to this proposal. There's nothing extensive that needs doing, mostly cosmetic. It all boils down to cost!!