Propoerty marketed as a 3-bed but in fact a 2-bed with loft room

dekoder

If you look at statistics the average asking price is still more then sold prices for London. So it depends on the area and how desirable it is.

If there is a good possibility you will sell in 5 years time I would be reluctant to overpay this much (compared to valuation). Maybe look at different area that is not as hot?

MB_moneysaver

Hi Kakasha


I understand your past frustrations on houses that you were outbid and your excitement that you found your dream home. I also live in London and were in your shoes about a year ago, when indeed London properties were being snapped up within hours and there was generally no point going with just the asking price. However, in my view the market seems to be more stable now with many more properties on the market that are not selling instantly so you may want to investigate a bit more if it is still a good price what you have offered.


Another thing to consider is how desirable is the property you are buying should you wish to sell in future. An extra room with access from the second bedroom will not suit many buyers and if you were thinking of renting as a future investment it would definitely not get a fire certificate for adequate means of escape. Could you perhaps alter the layout to provide separate access? It is a good idea to consult with an architect that will be able to advise you on possible solutions as well as recommend how you could improve fire safety

kakasha

dekoder wrote: »

If you look at statistics the average asking price is still more then sold prices for London. So it depends on the area and how desirable it is.?

I have never come across a property that got sold below the asking price. We've put offers on about 7-8 houses in total since April 2013 - always had to go above the asking price to even be considered. We were naive enough to go below on the first house we liked - got sold £15k above asking (not to us as you can imagine).

We've been looking in SE Ldn (Penge, Kent House, Sydenham, South Norwood), East (Manor Park), North East (Walthamstow, Waltham Forest) so really quite a lot more or less desirable areas. Everywhere the situation has been exactly the same - houses have been being sold above asking, sometimes A LOT above (i.e. the 1st house we lost eventually went for £55k above the initial asking price which made 15.7% of it). A friend of mine was asked to pay an additional £30k one week before the contract exchange date.

What 'less desirable' places do you have in mind? I'd really not like to end up in some ugly neighborhood with extremely high crime rates and awful schools - I'm planning to raise my child there!

lincroft1710

kakasha wrote: »

I have never come across a property that got sold below the asking price.

You are extremely unlucky then as the the vast majority of house sales in England and Wales are at a price below the asking price.

kakasha

lincroft1710 wrote: »

You are extremely unlucky then as the the vast majority of house sales in England and Wales are at a price below the asking price.

Please don't ever assume London is the same as any other part of the UK. I'm not unlucky. And if I am then something strange is going on as every Londoner I know that have bought a property within the last 2 years paid over the asking price. This doesn't apply only if you're going for a new build, or if the property is marketed as for cash buyers only.

JimmyTheWig

kakasha wrote: »

or rent a place and be paying for someone else's mortgage. And after 5 or whatever years leave the city/country with no return on investment...

A lot will depend on how you see house prices going in those 5 years, and how much you're prepared to gamble on that. As well as cost of mortgage vs cost of rent.

Consider if house prices remain stable and rent was the same as a mortgage.

Scenario 1. Rent @ £2,000 per month.
Cost after 5 years = £120,000

Scenario 2. Mortgage @ £2,000 per month, of which £1,500 is interest and £500 reduces your balance.
Cost after 5 years = £120,000
Mortgage balance reduction = £30,000
Profit or loss on buying/selling = £30,000 (as you paid £30k over what it was worth and prices remain the same)
So total cost after 5 years = £120,000

I.e. you're no better off than if you rented.

densol_2

OP - I feel your pain. I highly dislike the London market. Houses that are downright awful sell for ridiculous amounts.

Why not say - survey has undervalued and its a two bed not three - and offer same price as the 2 bed house down the road using that as a comparitable and see what vendor says ?

Can you get to the loft via a traditional loft hatch in say the landing ?

lincroft1710

kakasha wrote: »

Please don't ever assume London is the same as any other part of the UK. I'm not unlucky. And if I am then something strange is going on as every Londoner I know that have bought a property within the last 2 years paid over the asking price. This doesn't apply only if you're going for a new build, or if the property is marketed as for cash buyers only.

You are unlucky. You're buying at a time of over inflated house prices. I am not assuming anything, For nearly 50 years I've known the London property market has always seen the highest prices in England and usually the first to start a price rise.

You are talking of a very recent phenomen. London prices will stabilise, they always do as eventually there are no potential buyers able to afford the continually escalating prices. And if people keep paying silly prices, it will take longer.

Some years ago, I was talking to some Londoners who were forced out of the capital as they couldn't afford the prices. When the property price crash of the early 1990s happened, they found they could afford to move back.

2gorgeousgirls

Others have said walk away, I say run.

1. It is a fire risk - loft has no door, fire will spread to it quickly, negotiating spiral stairs in fire and dark - nightmare.

2. If your intention is to have the loft as a guest room, then to have guests having to troop through, what I assume would be child's room, possibly in the middle of the night - madness. Also the fact that the loft has no door means that your guests would have no privacy, nor would the person in the room below.

I wouldn't even consider a house where you have to go through one bedroom to get to another, completely impractical. People need privacy in their bedrooms, they don't want someone walking in and out at will.

I know your intention is to move on at some point, but to me the above could make this house very difficult to sell on.

catshark88

2gorgeousgirls wrote: »

Others have said walk away, I say run.

1. It is a fire risk - loft has no door, fire will spread to it quickly, negotiating spiral stairs in fire and dark - nightmare.

2. If your intention is to have the loft as a guest room, then to have guests having to troop through, what I assume would be child's room, possibly in the middle of the night - madness. Also the fact that the loft has no door means that your guests would have no privacy, nor would the person in the room below.

I wouldn't even consider a house where you have to go through one bedroom to get to another, completely impractical. People need privacy in their bedrooms, they don't want someone walking in and out at will.

I know your intention is to move on at some point, but to me the above could make this house very difficult to sell on.

Spot on. If you are going to choose to overpay (because you love the house), the place needs to be easily sellable. Housing markets are cyclical, even London's and you need to protect yourself in case you need to sell in one of the down turns.