extensively refurbished, tastefully modernised and extended the property, means?

EverGreen_2

Hi
I am new to forum though I have been reading through the different topics and threads lately.
I am buying my first house. I called the SA for viewing of that particular house on next Thursday. I have been searching for all I can get about the house. In the website it says:” The present owners over recent years have extensively refurbished, tastefully modernised and extended the property which now offers spacious and well laid out family accommodation”.
What does that mean (the word: extensively is in use)? I tried to search the forum and the web earlier but got unsatisfactory results. Do I need to ask for the proof? Do I need special surveyor report? The house was earlier sold subject to contract, but returned back to market. May be the mortgage failed. I do not know. I like the quiet area, the quiet street and the privacy. The house is close (not directly) to a big public park. Is this plus or minus?
Thanks a lot.

moneyistooshorttomention

Well...quiet area, quiet street, privacy, near a park are all plus points.

I have lived in Birmingham, but it was many many years ago now and couldn't tell you exactly what "extensively refurbished" is likely to mean in that part of the country.

In my own area of the country, "extensively refurbished" might possibly mean "pretty good". Where I am now I would translate "extensively refurbished" as "normal standard - rather than go in and gut the place".

It does seem to vary across the country. I see houses here pretty much being put over as "easily maintainable" and no indication of any work much needing doing and you walk in and find they are often major renovation jobs. Here a house has to be described in positively glowing terms before I think there is a reasonable chance of it being "normal" standard and as "super/fantastic/wonderful" or equivalent words before it might be "good standard and modern".

It really does seem to depend on what part of the country you are in as to what any descriptive words (or lack of) might mean.

Davesnave

The first thing to understand is that the selling agent is working for the seller, not you. However friendly and polite, he/she is not on your side.

These are weasel words which cannot be pinned-down, so they only convey that some work has been done and the house has had an extension of some kind. Beyond that, it's all a matter of opinion, not something you can rely upon.

You sound new to the house buying process, so I'd beware of buying the first house or houses you see. It's only by viewing a good number that you'll be informed about what represents value. Even then, without some background in building, you will need a surveyor's report to be sure that 'extensive' work hasn't been done shoddily or without proper regard to regulations.

You can usually check if work done on a property involvrd planning or building regulations by checking the local council's data on-line. You will need the house number and post code.

Birmingham has many areas, some very pleasant and others not, so house prices, even within quite short distances, can vary significantly. Being near a park is not usually a disadvantage. If you think an area is pleasant and quiet, make sure that you visit at different times, including evenings, to check this, or for problems like difficult parking etc.

phill99

It is simply a form of words that is used by the estate agent as marketing speak. It means different things to different people. It has no legal definition and doesn't need to have as it doesn't form part of a contract. 'Extended' means exactly that, but could be anything from a simple porch right up to a 2 storey extension that doubles the size of the house. 'Refurbished' also means exactly that but could be anything from changing a door handle to a co plete makeover.

Don'tworryabout the words.

Just go and see the house. You will either like it or you wont. And in terms kf thepark. Who knows? Youwill either think its good or not. We can't tell you that.

kathrynha

You need to see the house. Tastefully modernised depends on your taste.

One that I remember for house hunting was "would benefit from cosmetic upgrading". Basically the house looked like it had been dragged through the 70s backwards, and surely that brown, orange and purple carpet was never fashionable.

EverGreen_2

Big thank you.
I am really grateful.
I found the extension plan in the local council website. However, I couldn't navigate through for more details.

I agree with you regarding the marketing big words and tactics.
I look at the nearby public park as attarctive and plus.
I also found that the address is for a private investment company. Does this matter?
The house was sold on 2004. For 10 years in that area, house prices have increased from 50% to 100%. This particular house has increased by around 55%.
Local Schools are very good. The University is near there but the student areas should not affect that location.
The house is in conservation area. Is this plus or minus? I have no idea.
Please excuse my silly details. I just want to arm myself with everything I can before I make the offer.


Good day

flea72

All ambiguous terms, but personally i would expect a house that has been extensively refurbished to have the majority of the rooms redecorated within the last 2yrs and at least a new kitchen or bathroom, if not both. However i wouldnt expect things like rewire or new roof to fall under that description. Id take it to be purely cosmetic stuff.

Extended, would mean additional living space. So no, i wouldnt say adding a porch was an extension

Soot2006

Just go have a look at it, and see if you like it!

The "extensive refurbishing" should be obvious ... either it will look normal, which means the current people bought it in worse condition and fixed it up, or it will look very shiny n which case the current people probably bought it in normal condition and upgraded it.

If you really like it, make an offer and then let the surveyor tell you if it's likely to fall down tomorrow or not ... I am not dismissing your questions. Have been there as a first time buyer, not long ago, and a part of me is very glad we didn't know too much about the UK perspective of house-buying. We both grew up abroad and so we only really looked at the shell anyway. We liked the layout, liked the area, surveyor said it was solid. 5 years later, there is still "extensive refurbishing" to do, however we have enjoyed being here, in OUR house, in OUR lovely neighbourhood with bus routes and forests and fields nearby ...

jjlandlord

The education system is really going down... This is very simple English.

"extensively refurbished" means that the refurbishment was extensive, which means that it affected a large area of the house.

You could say "they re-did almost everything" if you only wanted to use only the 100 most common words of the English language.

AdrianC

JJ - perhaps English is not EverGreen's first language?

fairy_lights

EverGreen wrote: »

Hi
I am buying my first house. I called the SA for viewing of that particular house on next Thursday.

Do you mean to say that you're planning on buying this particular house, even though you haven't been to see it yet?
Even if English isn't your first language I'm surprised that you're so confused by the estate agents wording, "extensively refurbished" is a phrase they use a lot so it's a strange thing to get hung up on. I would assume it means they have redecorated or done work to most of the house.