Buying flat in Scotland - another what to offer thread

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bitsandpieces wrote: »

Thanks googler - I'll keep that in mind and be extra-cautious with this.

Hamish, I'd be happy enough to live in a flat until I leave in a wooden box I've no plans for kids and don't want any pets. Of course things may change, but I wouldn't be upset if I never own a house. I appreciate that there are benefits in terms of more control etc. though.

Aye, fair enough.

I'd still suggest you look into maisonettes or main door flats in converted houses rather than tenements though.

More control, less hassle, fewer issues with neighbours, better lifestyle in my opinion.

Fewer people to get on board if there's a building problem, and usually a fair bit easier to get a handle on any maintenance as it's a smaller building with perhaps only one or two other folks involved.

If you do buy a tenement flat, make damned sure the factoring and maintenance records are bulletproof, there's some horror stories out there of people getting hit with very large (20K + per flat) bills unexpectedly.

bitsandpieces

Yes - I'll certainly be careful. I've enjoyed renting a tenement, but appreciate I may have been lucky (and I wasn't paying repair bills).

As it happens, I've just noticed a small semi come up well under budget, but advertised as needing a complete renovation. The next door house is in sound condition, so hopefully the fabric of the one for sale isn't that dreadful - though will see the HR. I'm tempted to take a look - would be nice to be able to do a place exactly as I wanted, and it would be a decent deal if I could get it renovated for or £40-50k. Does this also sound a bad idea, though? I'm not especially handy, so I'd need to use builders to do any work.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

bitsandpieces wrote: »

As it happens, I've just noticed a small semi come up well under budget, but advertised as needing a complete renovation. The next door house is in sound condition, so hopefully the fabric of the one for sale isn't that dreadful - though will see the HR. I'm tempted to take a look - would be nice to be able to do a place exactly as I wanted, and it would be a decent deal if I could get it renovated for or £40-50k. Does this also sound a bad idea, though? I'm not especially handy, so I'd need to use builders to do any work.

Depends on why it needs a complete renovation.

For example old people's houses can be a very good buy, as they are often very well maintained but just hideously dated in style, which puts a lot of people off.

Cosmetic updating is seriously cheap, you can live in it while you update a room or two at a time, just about anyone can learn to redecorate themselves, and only use contractors for gas and electric works where safety certificates are needed..... then find local tradesmen that will do the rest of any kitchen/bathroom installation work as 'homers', buying a lot of the supplies wherever you can find a deal online or in the sales, etc.

Depending upon size of house, it's completely possible to do it all quite nicely for less than 10K.

You can actually add value to the property in this sort of situation most of the time, ie, the cost of doing the works is less than the value uplift to the house, or the cost of works and purchase price is lower than what you'd have paid for a comparably decorated house.

A dated house on my street was bought in Nov last year by a flipper, they spent around 10K I reckon, new paint, carpets, light fittings, and typical midrange B&Q/Homebase type of kitchen and bathroom, and have sold it 5 months later for 40K more than they bought it for. At a new record high price for the street no less.....

On the other hand, if it needs a complete renovation as it's had water pouring in through the roof, or hasn't been maintained at all, or has been wrecked by dodgy tenants, or whatever, then I'd be tempted to walk away personally. Just too much hassle.

Having said that, your comment about spending 40K to 50K is a HUGE amount of money for updating a wee semi in Dundee. Unless it's got major structural or wood problems, you could just about gut the house, then put in new windows/doors, central heating, insulation, electrics, bathroom, kitchen, floor coverings, and full redecoration for that.

bitsandpieces

Sorry to be slow replying. The house I was looking at as a doer-upper is in a v bad structural state - not for me

I'm still trying to decide about flats. I've been offered the one I'm renting for what I think is dead on market value. The roof here has been leaking too, though I'll see what the home report says about my current flat - I've liked living here, but a touch more space would be nice and I'm not sure about the price.

I've seen another flat that's in v good condition - recently done up to a good standard - and lovely location. The seller bought the flat a year or so ago and then done it up, but they have added around 15% to what they bought it for while the market has been flat. This means it would be near enough ceiling price for a flat in that part of town. It has been on for a bit of time, so wondering how much under HR valuation I could get away with offering.

googler

bitsandpieces wrote: »

I've seen another flat that's in v good condition - recently done up to a good standard - and lovely location. The seller bought the flat a year or so ago and then done it up, but they have added around 15% to what they bought it for while the market has been flat. This means it would be near enough ceiling price for a flat in that part of town. It has been on for a bit of time, so wondering how much under HR valuation I could get away with offering.

Nobody can tell you this based on the info you've given. The only way to find out is to make an offer. If it's accepted, all good and well (as long as your lender approves the HR). If it's rejected, you either walk away or revise your offer (perhaps against the seller's counter offer) until you both find equilibrium between your offer and their asking price.

bitsandpieces

Aye - fair enough! Probably need to make my mind up what to do here