House price - how do you know what something is worth?

wiggly

OK I have a dilemma, the LL of this house is suggesting they want £115k for it. Now I think thats too much, one sold in Oct for £106k and when I looked on the Nationwide House Price thingy, it suggests that houses should be around the £106/7k mark

However, you really can't get anything around here comparable as cheaply as that so how the hell are you supposed to work out what something is worth?

I'd love to get the house for £110k tops, but I'm starting to think thats not going to happen and I'd really appreciate some help off you all!

I know we have to negotiate, but we also don't want to either lose it OR over spend and then get the lenders valuation saying its not worth our offer - what do we do if thats the case?

ARGH!

Doozergirl

The best way is just researching what is available. Read the property papers and set up Rightmove.co.uk so it emails you with similar properties.

Get out there and start viewing also. You are in the market to buy and I really would check what else is available before plonking for the one you're in, even if it just to know you're paying the right price.

If you haven't already had EAs round then you could get valuations and pretend that it's your house

Once you've had a good nosey round and if you're happy with £110k (or even less if he is overvaluing it) then just offer him that. I suspect he'd accept it anyway. Quick sale, no EA fees, rent right up to completion day; you really can't ask for more than that! If he says no to that, then be prepared to hand in your notice; when the rent money disappears and he doesn't know when he will find a buyer, how much they will pay and when on earth they'll be able to move in, that'll definately make him see what an excellent deal you're offering!

Phirefly

Hiya

Welcome to my world! You're living a parallel existance to me it seems.

This is precisely what happened to us when we tried to buy the house we rent. An IDENTICAL (all bar ours is end terrace) property sold in our street last October for £135k and when we made our offer of £136 for ours, another one was on the market for £145k Obviously our LL wanted closer to the £145 especially when the second one subsequently sold and the EVIL EAs told the LL it went for close to asking.

We upped our offer to £138k but then our Letting agents promised him they could get £143 for our house. That meant he'd have to pay them almost 3k in fees, so he pretty much made it clear to us he'd accept £140k. We sat tight for a while and finally went back with £139 and he accepted two weeks ago!!!!

By this stage we knew the local market in that price bracket inside out and were confident we were getting a fair deal. If you'd have told me a couple of months ago I'd be happy paying £139k for it I'd have fainted, but there are just so many advantages to buying the house we're renting that it is completely and utterly worth it. We LOVE it here, its home. We know it inside out and have been dreaming for two years what we'd do if it was eventually ours. The difference in deposit and monthly repayments isn't even that great compared to what I'd have ideally paid for the house. And for you, you don't even have the increments on stamp duty to worry about.

I'm not suggesting you pay over the odds, just that weigh up how much it would benefit you to buy it and accept that you're not going to get a bargain just because you're saving your LL marketing fees. Just keep hammering home to him all the advantages of selling to you, thats what we did. I reckon you'd get it for £110 if you're persistent and patient.

Hang in there, I really hope it works out for you

wiggly

thanks I've been looking around and there are lots of houses out there I'd love to have but they all start around the £140k bracket which although we could afford, we'd be a bit pushed financially which doesn't seem worth it to me

mind you one is fantastic going to see if we can make an appointment to view cos if its that nice it might be worth it

we have another EA coming tomorrow, maybe they'll help out cause

belfastgirl23

Just to put a different point of view:

Ask yourself this:

Do you really want the house?
Do you really love it?
Do you have time/energy/space to look elsewhere?
Will the extra 10k cripple you financially?

If the answer to the first two is yes and the answer to the second two is no then I'd say do whatever it takes to buy it. Houses like that don't come along very often and £5k is comparatively little over the 5-10 year lifespan of living there. If the answer to the first two is categorically no then you shouldn't be buying it anyway I think.

I know this site is all about the moneysaving but you could dither for another six months by which time property will have gone up another 5k anyway. I have friends in this position who now can't afford to buy at all (though this is in NI where house prices have gone through the roof in the last couple of years). And don't forget in the move you'd have to factor in removal costs, deep cleaning costs (living in someone else's grime, ugh!), decorating costs, refurnishing if yours doesn't fit etc.

Sometimes it is actually more moneysaving to spend a little more

Good luck

Doozergirl

I did mean in a similar price bracket! LOL! I'm sure we can all find nicer houses for more money

What is most important is that you get the price of this house right and that you take as much of the landlord's 'savings' as possible as they don't make any savings at all if you don't buy!

wiggly

I like the house yes, but I wouldn't want to be here more than 3years - I'm a country girl and this is in Birmingham, I need space!

Which is ultimately where I want to be, but to get there we need some money into a house first

although we've just agreed we'll go and look at this other house its very lovely

have looked around us and there really isn't anything like this available

Tiger_greeneyes

You may find some comparable recent sales on this website http://www.nethouseprices.com/

Have you thought about getting some estate agents around to give you an idea? Just don't tell them that you don't own the property!!!

wiggly

the LL has arranged for 2 to come round and a 3rd tomorrow, they told us their valuations, one for £100k and the other for £115k, the LL said they had chosen the average

:rolleyes:

Tiger_greeneyes

Don't forget that estate agents usually always pitch higher because they want the instructions to sell the property.

Have a look at the link I posted, there could be an identical house in your street having sold recently. Try looking at neighbouring streets too - so long as the house seems to be similar to yours then it's a valid comparable.

If it's still not resolved, go 50/50 with the LL on a professional valuation from a qualified surveyor. You will be able to find one through the estate agents or the RICS website.

wiggly

in my first post I mention one sold in oct 06 for £106k thats the only thing similar to us, everywhere else near here has a garden and we don't