Buying flat in Scotland - another what to offer thread

bitsandpieces

I'm still flat-hunting in Scotland. I've seen a flat I like. It's on for offers over the home report valuation, but will need some work done (roof. + damp repair + could probably do with plaster redoing and general tidy up). I'm told the owner will consider dropping the price to take this into account. It has been on for about 2 months, so I'd take that to mean it's not worth what it's on for - so the question now is how to work out how much less to offer...

I'm struggling to value the place, though. Similar flats nearby are on for about the same money or a touch more. Looking at zoopla, a few sales in the past year have been within 7.5% of the asking price for the same kind of 2-bed flats in the same part of that street (though I'm a bit worried that a similar one-bed flat went for around 40% less - either it had problems or someone got a bargain!)

Any suggestions? Prices here seem to have been pretty flat - zoopla suggests about a 3% rise over the past year, but asking prices don't seem to have changed much. If interest rates rise, I suspect that may push down prices here too. I'll be offering below valuation - but not sure how far to go without seeming like I'm taking the mickey. I'm in a good position to offer - no chain, and I'll have a large deposit and small mortgage.

I'm finding zoopla a real pain to use in an area with a mix of tenements and houses - it often makes it hard to tell, for example, which flat in a block it's referring to. Any better suggestions to look at sold prices in Scotland?

googler

Offer what you're willing to pay, with a condition that your offer is subject to a damp survey by a professional contractor of your choice.

If your offer is accepted, you send in the contractor, who gives you an estimate of cost to make good.

You decide if your offer + this cost is still 'worth it' for the house.

If you can't make these sums work, or if the contractor's verdict is that the situation isn't worth saving, you either renegotiate the price based on the result of your survey, or withdraw your offer altogether.

googler

Surely with the aid of street view and zoopla you can differentiate the types of property on any given street?

myproperty.co.uk
myhouseprice.co.uk

and others - google 'house prices' or similar for them.

LisbonLaura

Where in Scotland OP?
Glasgow for instance has plenty of empty flats, but you wouldn't know it due to the current marketing strategies designed purely to keep the bubble reasonably well inflated.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bitsandpieces wrote: »

Any better suggestions to look at sold prices in Scotland?

Not really.

All the various house price info sites take the same data from RoS for achieved sales prices (and it does lag by several months), but you'd need to use your own local knowledge to know which ones are flats, houses, etc.

Your solicitor may have access to additional information around the most recent local sales of comparable properties that they can share with you before the time-lagged RoS releases. Sale price, internal photos, layout, etc.

And for looking at very local sold prices, of comparable properties, that's about it I'm afraid. There isn't really much difference between the various sites as they all use the same information.

At a wider level by town or area there's a lot more information about price trends out there however....

The Registers of Scotland quarterly data release provides average sale prices and volume by type of houses (detached, terrace, flat, etc) for the main markets, but not as far down as local streets or neighbourhoods.

You can find it here....

http://www.ros.gov.uk/pdfs/ros_statistical_report_Jan-March_2014.pdf

Remember it uses a simple average and does not mix adjust, so the smaller an area you're looking at the more prone it is to skew from low volume and sales mix in any given quarter.

Nationwide, Acadametrics, etc, provide similar releases of average price data for the main Scottish cities, and they do also mix adjust in various ways.

Latest Acadata is here....

http://www.acadata.co.uk/LSL%20Acad%20Scotland%20HPI%20News%20Release%20April%2014.pdf

And latest Nationwide Quarterly (with the regional data) is here....

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/about/house-price-index/Q1_2014.pdf

Some of the local SPC also split average prices down to suburb level, but you'd need to search on their websites for the details, and they're not always the same in terms of the types of data and way they analyse it.

bitsandpieces

Thanks all. I'm looking in Dundee, and there's a lot of choice here There are definitely some empty properties and places not selling. Some places are also selling, though.

I'll take a look at those other indices, and a closer look at Zoopla and street view. I'll also ask my sol what they think.

Probably a silly question, but should I literally offer what I want to pay (rather than slightly below, to leave space for negotiation)?

Pixie5740

Forget what you've seen on Location, Location, Location. When you make an offer in Scotland it is done formally through your solicitor.

If a property is advertised at offers over then generally speaking, the offers over price is the absolute minimum the vendor will accept.

davidmcn

I would offer lower than your maximum and expect to negotiate. Unless it goes to a closing date of course, in which case you only get one shot at it.

googler

Pixie5740 wrote: »

When you make an offer in Scotland it is done formally through your solicitor.

If a property is advertised at offers over then generally speaking, the offers over price is the absolute minimum the vendor will accept.

Pre-2007, it might have been.

If no offers are forthcoming after 2 months at offers over £X, then I'd suggest that after month 3, the sellers WILL accept an offer below £X ..... or else stay where they are.

googler

davidmcn wrote: »

I would offer lower than your maximum and expect to negotiate. Unless it goes to a closing date of course, in which case you only get one shot at it.

If it's been 2 months, with no offers thus far, it's not likely to go to closing anytime soon.

Back to the OP; has your solicitor noted interest in the property for you?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bitsandpieces wrote: »

I'm looking in Dundee

Still a cheap market, doesn't seem to have the price pressures of some other parts, so vendors probably open to negotiation.

Probably a silly question, but should I literally offer what I want to pay (rather than slightly below, to leave space for negotiation)?

It's a negotiation process, and each case will be different, but it probably doesn't hurt to leave yourself with a bit of room.

Just make sure your solicitor puts in a note of interest as soon as possible.