Neighbour's House

MickeyBlueEyes

It's not preying on the weak as I would be interested in purchasing the house regardless of who lived in the property as already stated.


And I would pay the full asking price, I'm not sure why you are getting hung up on this.


Good attempt at hijacking the thread.

Dan-Dan

MickeyBlueEyes wrote: »

It's not preying on the weak as I would be interested in purchasing the house regardless of who lived in the property as already stated.


And I would pay the full asking price, I'm not sure why you are getting hung up on this.


Good attempt at hijacking the thread.

The reason i`m hung up on it , is i cant see why , or how , a 93 year old , who as you say , has been there many years , and seems happy , would all of a sudden want to sell her house

At the very least , any approach from you will unnerve her , and at worst really upset her family

I cant understand how you cant understand that , i have a really very old relative though , and cared for my wifes elderly relative , so perhaps its just my perception of what upsets people of that age , and makes them uncomfortable

If your willing to pay market rate , i cant see the advantage of approaching the old girl , at this stage , at all

MickeyBlueEyes

Yes I agree it could be upset/offend an elderly person hence the reason for posting on how to approach this.


I'm not sure where the 'preying', 'sniffing' and someone having to 'die' comes from.

RuthnJasper

MickeyBlueEyes wrote: »

It's not preying on the weak as I would be interested in purchasing the house regardless of who lived in the property as already stated.


And I would pay the full asking price, I'm not sure why you are getting hung up on this.


Good attempt at hijacking the thread.

Hi Mickey, why not invite your neighbour round for a cup of tea and a bit of Christmas cake (if you've got any left!) and bring it up in conversation as suggested in the first few replies? You can also reassure her that you are not looking to take advantage and add that, if she was concerned at all, you'd be happy to have a chat with her choice of family member.

It might be that she and her family would prefer that, when the time comes, the house goes to someone that knew and respected the 93 year old.

No-one can predict the outcome, but you won't know if you don't ask. It's better to ask and be turned down than to spend years kicking yourself for not saying something. I'm sure you're smart enough to be tactful and gentle about it. Good luck. x

Dan-Dan

MickeyBlueEyes wrote: »

Yes I agree it could be upset/offend an elderly person hence the reason for posting on how to approach this.


I'm not sure where the 'preying', 'sniffing' and someone having to 'die' comes from.

The perception from her family , is what i was getting at , i can see you looking out for your own future interests , but my opinion is , if you are really OK at market rates , leave well alone until the time comes

Running_Horse

I would just leave her alone. Like anyone else she will leave her home for many decades when she is good and ready, and any approach could easily be misinterpreted as some replies here show. There are plenty of other perfectly suitable houses that are for sale and available.

LEJC

This thread has had me thinking today....
several things have crossed my mind and to be honest I think you really need to leave well alne until the time comes that the house may be sold.


Even when the house is sold for whatever reason its unlikely that you will get in with a low offer before it hits the estate agents window etc,basically the house will want to achieve full potential on price if its funding nursing care or indeed if it forms part of an inheritence for the family....it may never even be sold as it could pass directly to someone within the family who may choose to live there or even rent it out.


You say you dont know the family and to that extent I think that its almost impossible to approach any of them with a proposition to buy or even to stake your possible intention,it would come across I feel as "chasing" and probably not be welcomed by them in the spirit that you intended....I actually belive that in order to have that type of conversation with someone you need to be on more terms than "hi and bye".
You also run the risk of your proposition being known about in the area if indeed they are a close community ....do you really want to be perhaps known as the coffin follower or whatever by other neighbours who I am sure are going to be quick to pass judgement on your action....especially if you want to continue living amonst them in your present house on the road!


I still also come back to the upkeep and renovation of the house...if you have not been inside and inspected it how can you just think that its a case of some cosmetic work....electrics if they have been in since the 1950's will almost certainly need replacing...I appreciate that the owner may have a gardener and thats very commendable but you shouldnt judge the inside of the place by the outside space.


I have some experience of renovating an older property...one that hadnt really been modernised for around 40 years...it was a property that I inherited...yep my family home...couldnt bear to part with it once my parents no longer needed it...so if someone in the street had asked either them prior to their demise or me shortly afterwards what the "best price" would have been on the place for a "quick sale" I guess they weould have had short shrift from me....
We had to have the property valued for probate purposes and were given a figure which was a good price and realistic for sale purposes it was under market price as work needed to be done to bring it up to a good livable standard....the figure we spent was around £42k...and we ended up with a property that was comparable with others that were newly renovated in the area...so even if you were to buy this house the amount you would pay would potentially not substantially differ from what you would pay for a "like for like" property once renovated...renovations are hard to live in whilst the work is being done and it can take time and test the patience of the strongest of wills....I doubt if you will actually discover that the inside of your neighbours house is only in need of a a lick of paint and minor cosmetic work...my family home certainly looked in good shape until everything was exposed and furniture removed....but new windows central heating bathroom and kitchen replacements soon uncovered other factors too


thats why I think its best to stay away until such time as its advertised for sale.

MickeyBlueEyes

Based on the comments and advice I will hold fire and wait until the property comes available as the thread has proved how easy it is for things to be misconstrued, particularly around the value of the property.


I took it as a given that if she were to sell it would be valued at full market rate by whichever means the vendor decides and to pay the full market rate to secure the property. However, it seems that as the neighbour is elderly it is perceived I would be looking for a deal on the cheap and to take advantage. This is not the case but if it would lead people (her family, other neighbours etc.) to think otherwise it is not worth the aggravation.


It would have been nice to let her know we were interested but it obviously isn't that simple! I did think before the property may never come on the market and I will keep an eye out on others in the street too.


The condition of the house is one that has got me thinking in more detail too. There is no guarantee at all that the property is up to scratch, just because it looks good doesn't mean it is. I would have funds to cover this but maybe not £42k!! However, we wouldn't be selling our current home so the duration of any works would not be too much of an issue.


I feel rather indecisive now after all the posts! Thanks all.

nubbins

Hi Mickey,

I did something similar once although slightly different in the fact that I posted a 20 odd letters through various local houses which were in roads that I wanted to live. I know some of the owners were elderly and some were young but I do not expect a letter through the door politely explaining that if any of them wanted to sell in the near future unnerved any of them, if anything something like this can often be a trigger for that move they have been putting off for years. In fact we actually found a house this way and it was exactly that, the lady had been "meaning" to put the house on the market as her parents had died a few years and it was too big for her.

The problem you might have which has been touched on by LEJC is that in my case we made her a fair offer based on what a few estate agents had valued it at. Some of her friends got involved and advised her to test the market after we had spent money on searches and a survey, she pulled out from our transaction and put it on with an estate agent for 25k more than we offered, she never sold it, never got an offer higher than ours and she is still living in it. So my view is that even if you put a letter through her door or even have a friendly chat with her it is likely that friends and family will suddenly become property valuation experts and all tell her to put it on the market anyway..

rs65

MickeyBlueEyes wrote: »

I'm tempted to write a letter and hand deliver it and have a very quick chat using the points mentioned.

That's what I would do.

My Dad's cousin wanted to stay in her house forever but at the age of 96 just decided one day that she wanted to go into a home. She would have been delighted to have received such a note from you to take all the stress and uncertainty of putting her house on the market out the equation.

Maybe your neighbour wants to stay - maybe she is thinking about selling up. Who knows.

My mother is 85 and I wouldn't be bothered at all if she got such a letter. In fact, it may trigger a useful discussion.