Investor viewing tomorrow night - any tips?

Noctu

Hi all,
After very little interest in our property (despite knocking the price down twice and doing all the right things) we have a viewing tomorrow night. Apparently the person viewing is an investor who lives around 35 miles away.

I'm a little confused why he wants to view as I assumed investors bought mainly repossessions/do-em-up-ers whereas our house, 3bed semi with large garden, is in good nick... excellent decorative order, new kitchen, bathroom, new carpets, laminate (but not the rubbish cheap stuff, although I appreciate that's a bit of an oxymoron lol) throughout the ground floor, the usual central heating, full double glazing, recently rewired, fully insulated, garden in nice condition etc.

So it sounds daft but I'm wondering why this bloke wants to view, presumably to buy and let out? and are there any tips anyone can give us? (I'm fully prepared for a cheeky offer if he does decide to offer but if we refuse, do they tend to make a second offer? etc)

hazyjo

I had an investor buy my last house. It was in good condition in a popular area. He didn't knock the price down a ridiculous amount.

I think maybe you're thinking more along the lines of a developer than an investor. The latter tends to want to hang on to them and rent them out. The former is more likely to want a wreck. An investor doesn't always want to do work/make improvements.

Jx

hazyjo

PS Mine came in with a one-off offer. No messing. Dropped me I think £1-1.5k after the survey as there was damp that needed attending to.

Noctu

Thanks Jo. It would be a good property to let out as it would need nothing doing to it (apart from the usual wire up smoke alarms to the mains and little bits like that). We're also in a 'popular' area - around 25% of houses here are rented out.

However we're on "offers over £X" and really can't afford to accept anything under that amount (it wouldn't be worth moving otherwise, we are that down to the wire mortgage wise!), just hoping he won't take the mick if he does like it as I'd be quite happy to sell to an investor... well anyone really LOL! Will just have to wait and see...

Fire_Fox

Be wary of gazundering. Is it a good BTL opportunity at your current price, what is the yield?

Noctu

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Be wary of gazundering. Is it a good BTL opportunity at your current price, what is the yield?

Sorry Fire Fox, not quite with the jargon... I understand gazundering but not sure about yield?

FWIW the house next door (same layout, smaller garden, old wiring, fair decorative condition) was recently let for £525 pcm. We are offers over £110,000...

ognum

An investor will be interested in the return on their money so they will be happy with a house in good order because there is less to spend initially.

I works suggest that your house does not offer a great return but it may just fit with what they need. However, remember they are buying with their head and not their heart and they will walk if the numbers don't fit.

Noctu

This is why I can't understand why he wants to view!

DocProc

Don't be too frightened of him. He could be a 'cash buyer' and be interested in your property for several 'safe' reasons.

If he is a good businessman then you should most probably enjoy talking to him. You will find him to be quite open and 'reality based' about his purchase and buying. He won't be bothered one jot about your furniture and furnishings but will be more interested in the layout, no of bedrooms, kitchen layout (dining?), look from the road, letability, saleability, etc.

In fact, if he isn't interested in your property, then ask him not only 'why?' but also to give you some advice to help you sell it to someone else.

He could be a novice or just starting out or have a very similar property himself and want to compare it to yours. Just try and enjoy and learn from the whole experience.

Noctu

Thanks DP. We've only had 1 viewing since we've been on the market (end Aug) so it's difficult not to try and second guess viewer intentions :-(