Landlord selling - what kind of offer can I make?

timefortea

I've been living in a house for just over 6 months now and the landlord (he doesn't use an agent so we always deal direct) rang us a couple of days ago to let us know that they're looking to sell to another landlord and keep us on as tenants as they're moving away.

Ideally I would like to buy a similarly sized place in this area in about a year's time, giving me time to save more money first, but feel like my hand is being forced - would it be worth contacting the landlord and making an offer on the lower end of what they might be expecting, as they'd save on estate agents fees and get a quick sale with a minimum of fuss? They bought it two years ago for £60k and did it up a bit but did nothing structural. Could I go lower? They're nice people and I don't want to offend them. I've looked at what similar houses in the area have gone for, but don't know what they'd expect to get from another landlord.

I really like the house itself, I'm happy here, and I'm especially keen to avoid being turfed out at short notice because I have a pet, so finding somewhere nice to rent is difficult.

Any advice appreciated.

Homeownertobe

How much work did they do? You could offer them a low offer, less than they paid, and they could also give you notice and sell it on the open market to anyone and not just other landlords.

Can you afford to pay what they paid + what they spent + extra but not up to market value?

If so, then you may have yourself a deal.

Red-Squirrel_2

I can't imagine for a second they'd accept less than they paid for it. Why would they when prices are rising in most areas? Have you had a look at the sold prices for similar houses nearby on Zoopla? That's a better indicator of the sort of price they'd be looking to get.

Are you on a rolling contract? Could you ask for a 12 month AST to give you a bit of security till you're ready to buy?

timefortea

Prices seem to have stagnated around here, if not gone down. The house opposite, which is a very similar standard, sold at auction last year for 48k.

They replaced the cooker, kitchen cupboards, fireplace, and painted.

We're on a rolling contract. Would it be in their interest to give me an AST? From what I understand that would limit their options.

timefortea

The boiler is due to be replaced. They were thinking about it earlier this year when it sprung a leak, then decided to fix it instead.

Landofwood

Where are you, Northern Ireland?

getmore4less

If they have another landlord lined up, you need to better that offer.

An experienced cash buyer will have very low costs on both sides.

What's the rent?
Yield will be a guide to how much it is worth to landlords.

timefortea

Landofwood wrote: »

Where are you, Northern Ireland?

No, north of England. Somewhere unfashionable.

The rent is £425.

Hoploz

Sounds like a pretty good yield to me.

You must have some idea of the market value? Or why not just ask what they are thinking of? Sounds like they are hoping to keep you as a tenant if they are considering selling to another landlord, so you might find you're ok for another year anyway. Market value without a tenant would normally be higher than keeping you in situ so he might not be looking to maximise the value, just get a reasonable return.

timefortea

Compared to similar houses I think the market value would be around £60k, but I'm a total novice at this so I don't trust my own valuation. That's what the Zoopla estimate is too, not that I think that's worth anything.

This is a naive question, but I'll go ahead anyway. If market value without a tenant would normally be higher, why don't they just kick us out and sell? Because they're nice, or is there another benefit to selling to a landlord?

PixelPound

They can't just kick you out, so it's probably easier to go down the sitting-tennant route. Ask them what they are wanting, you can always see if they will negotiate.