Looking at a House that needs work

Deg

Hi,

I'm currently looking at buying a house that needs a fair bit of work doing (new kitchen, new bathrooms and I wouldn't be surprised if it needs rewiring and some re-plastering) - no survey done yet so there may be more as there are a couple of damp patches and cracks though these may be superficial (the seller says that they recently repaired a leaky roof which has sorted the problem). I'm wanting to put an offer in but I'm worried about the cost of the work that needs doing.

Is it reasonable to get a survey done, and possibly getting some quotes for the work that needs doing, before putting an offer in on the house. Or do I go and get an offer in and then do the survey etc? Or are there any other approaches that may work better?

arbrighton

It is common to offer subject to survey and to attempt to renegotiate an offer based on survey results, and perhaps quotes for the work.
How is the property priced compared with other properties in the area- are the vendors realistic in that respect, to take account of the work that may need to be done on the property?

Deg

Part of the problem is that houses like this come up in the area few and far between - the last similar house was next door to this in 2004.

Already got some idea from the estate agent about what they are looking for (£25k less than the asking price) but I feel that is still pushing it.

arbrighton

Put in what you are prepared to pay. If they don't accept it and want more, can you afford it, do you think it's worth it?
There will be other houses that do. But if you really want this one, you may have to offer over what you think

Okydoky25

Are you a cash buyer? If not you may find it more difficult to get a mortgage on it esp if a valuation comes back lower than your offer. Will depend on our deposit.

Deg

I'm not a cash buyer. For houses in the price range I was looking at putting down a 15% deposit, but for this I can get a mortgage with a 10% deposit which would free some more cash.

Okydoky25

We were in te same position. Found a house that needed some work, nothing major jut cosmetic. Had MIP with 10% deposit but house valuation came back £5k less than our offer which had been £15k less than asking price and was cheaper than all other house in the street. Seller wouldn't drop price understandably as had our deposit been bigger it wouldn't have been a problem to get the mortgage.

DRP

we looked at a house on tuesday that is owned by en elderly couple - lovely house but needs new kitchen, bathroom, heating and probably electrics (not to mention re-skim and decorating, plus the garden is overgrown with mature plants and concrete). Its asking price is about 6% (20k) below a house down the road that has now sold (obv don't know what it actually went for).

I am taking a builder over there tomorrow to price up the major jobs and look at the roof etc. I would rather do this than get a survey before deciding what to offer.

I anticipate offering about 10% off the asking price minus whatever the building work will cost me...

anggrrr

I've bought two renovation projects. I tend to get a builder in to give me a rough estimate of the cost of works (then add about 20% to it for the sort of surprises you get when you start digging into old houses). Most competent builders will be able to spot major structural defects and advise what type of survey to get, on an old house I always get at least an enhanced survey.

I'd then offer based on the current value minus the cost of works and see if they go for it before the survey. Once the survey valuation is in it will let you know if you have offered too high in the opinion of the mortgage company. At that point it depends on your LTV if this is going to be an issue. With a high LTV you'll have to get the cost down, particularly if retention could be a problem. In that case I would try and get the vendor to do the work on the grounds you can't get sufficient lending otherwise. If you have a good deposit it won't be so much of a problem because all the mortgage company want to know is that if it is resold without the work being done they will get their money back.

Be prepared for even if the valuation comes in lower the vendor not dropping the price.

Deg

Thanks everyone

We are going to have another look at house again on Saturday as we haven't seen it in a while but have got ideas from other houses that we want to try and fit in the house. Might try and get a builder round with us but we don't know anyone of hand who we know/trust (Preston area).

It's never simple though-to add to our complications, the sellers are still waiting to get the rights to sell the house (on behalf of unsound mind parents) and the estate agent being used has been warned to us of being likely of playing tricks.