Questions for a second viewing

Dan-Dan

Hi All

Just some advice please..

we are going for a second viewing in a couple of days , at the first viewing we ambled around , liked what we saw etc etc , so on a second viewing (as you can imagine , we have discussed colour schemes etc etc , as you do even when you shouldnt set your heart) we assume things get a bit more serious....

So i have compiled a list of questions , like this :

Id like to look at the boiler and if applicable ask for a gas service to be carried out , regardless of wethere an offer is made , at my cost
stick my head in the loft , look for obvious staining etc
Have a gander at the fuse box , just to get an idea of its age
There is no TV aerial , ask why and get more info on that..

Is there anything obvious that im missing ?

perhaps ask about cavity wall insulation , i know they have 100mm roof insulation which could be improved i guess...

I am not shy , but i am respectful , whats `over the line` in terms of finding out info , and whats acceptable ?

FTB , in case you hadnt guessed...

The next thing is price , it was bought by current owners in Oct 2011 for 175k and they are marketing it at 189,995...now we can see the last ad on RM from when they bought it , its almost as if they decided to move out before settling (they are moving back down south to be near family apparantly) no upkeep has occured , no decoaration , or any improvements that we can see (so far)

Does anyone have an opinion of an offer that wouldnt be laughed at ?
The house has been on the market coming up 7 weeks...

Thanks in advance
Dan

Old_Git

They will be looking £175000 plus legal and mortgage costs

Dan-Dan

I tend to agree with that , in my mind , our maximum offer is going to be along the lines of 180 to 185 (for this house anyway) and much as we might want to , i think it would be a mistake to pay more, even though we plan to live in our new home for many years , you just dont know what the future holds , and reselling this could be hard because its got the west coast mainline at the end of the garden for a start..

Contessa

Dan-Dan wrote: »

and reselling this could be hard because its got the west coast mainline at the end of the garden for a start..

Could this be why they no longer want to live there and are selling it?
I travel on this line a few times a year and look out of the window at houses, wondering what it's like to live there with the mainline close.

Dan-Dan

Contessa wrote: »

Could this be why they no longer want to live there and are selling it?

Could very well be , we had a long chat with the vendor direct when we had he first viewing and he spoke about getting used to the trains very quickly , etc etc , i asked how often Network Rail contact to do works and he said 3 or 4 times since they have been here , and rold me it was just simply a case of moving back down south...

I have invesigated the noise issue as best i can , even getting the opion of some guys on a rail forum etc etc , i think for us , we can deal with it , so for us , its not a deal breaker....not that i`m going to let the EA know that

gayleanne

Before you decide whether you want to buy it, drive around during school holidays, night times and weekends, to see if there are any gangs of antisocial youths, it may sound daft to you, but a couple of antisocial neighbours can make your life absolute hell. Perhaps that is why they are selling.

Dan-Dan

agreed , we asked about the neighbours and they pointed out who lived where , how old there kids were , said the kids play together on the green etc in summer ....obviously we cant take that as gospel but it sounded promising....i think before offering we would knock on a neighbour or twos door , just to see what the general feel might be

michelle2008

Check if they have received any planning permission application notices lately. Also check online.

Dan-Dan

michelle2008 wrote: »

Check if they have received any planning permission application notices lately. Also check online.

Hi

Thanks for this tip , how do i find this out ? contact the council concerned ?

Dan-Dan

Old_Git wrote: »

They will be looking £175000 plus legal and mortgage costs

Thinking on , with this.......if the above does turn out to be the case.....i would need to go in at 170 or thereabouts....?

michelle2008

Where I live the local council posts them on their website and advertise in the local press. Plans, site maps, letters to neighbours and objections can all be viewed online.