Private sale - viewing etiquette *updated*

WeAreGhosts

have found a house via leaflet dropping. viewing at the weekend. have done many viewings with agents, or with people who have their house on the market, but never a private sale.

i have no idea what the house is like inside. what do i do if i hate it? :eek::D

i am going to ask if i can take measurements of the rooms, but is it cheeky to ask to take some photos? (i have a terrible memory, so will forget what things look like).

any help/advice appreciated ...

*updated at post 6*

HappyMJ

Ask away...they don't want to lose a sale as long as you are just using a mobile quality camera I wouldn't mind. If you were using a professional standard camera I'd probably ask why?

If you can get an infrared/laser measuring tool you can measure the rooms very quickly. IF you were to get tape measure out and expect me to hold the other end that would get very annoying. A decent vendor should have measured up and put measurements on site to avoid the need for this.

WeAreGhosts

Thank you. Yes, going to try and borrow a laser measure. hate faffing with a tape.

i'm nervous of getting a vendor's back up before talking money!

PasturesNew

For the first visit I'd not take photos or ask. I'd just write notes down in a notepad as I went to remind me.

If there are similar houses/layouts that've sold in the road in the past you can probably get a floorplan from there that's the same. I'd print that out and keep it hidden until I were inside and satisfied that the layout was the same, then jot down bits/bobs on that maybe.

WeAreGhosts

The houses don't come up for sale very often on this road, so there's no floor plans available online. will try and discretely sketch a floor plan on my way round.

WeAreGhosts

we had the viewing today. we were there for well over an hour! probably could have chatted for ages. nice people.

i knew they were elderly, but the gentleman said on the phone that they'd recently had a new bathroom put in. so there was i thinking that it would be a nice new, neutral suite.
WRONG.
It was yellow-y/cream with plastic taps .... and a carpet!! (no bucket, though, thank god)

the house was in a much worse state than I anticipated.

one of the neighbouring houses sold a few years ago for nearly £300k. but this property had a newer kitchen and bathrooms and was in pretty much 'move in' condition.

the gentleman at the property i have been to see says he won't take anything less than what the neighbouring property achieved.

i can see me sinking about £25-30k into the house to make it work (the floor plan is a bit weird, but the square footage is just about right).
I don't believe prices have gone up so much in the past few years.

I'm also worried that this gentleman believe his house is better than it is.

They said they had planned to put it on the market next year.

I don't really know how to say that he could take a reduced offer from us and complete quite quickly, or take their chance on the market next year and perhaps have it sat on the market for months.

ognum

:money:

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

we had the viewing today. we were there for well over an hour! probably could have chatted for ages. nice people.

i knew they were elderly, but the gentleman said on the phone that they'd recently had a new bathroom put in. so there was i thinking that it would be a nice new, neutral suite.
WRONG.
It was yellow-y/cream with plastic taps .... and a carpet!! (no bucket, though, thank god)

the house was in a much worse state than I anticipated.

one of the neighbouring houses sold a few years ago for nearly £300k. but this property had a newer kitchen and bathrooms and was in pretty much 'move in' condition.

the gentleman at the property i have been to see says he won't take anything less than what the neighbouring property achieved.

i can see me sinking about £25-30k into the house to make it work (the floor plan is a bit weird, but the square footage is just about right).
I don't believe prices have gone up so much in the past few years.

I'm also worried that this gentleman believe his house is better than it is.

They said they had planned to put it on the market next year.

I don't really know how to say that he could take a reduced offer from us and complete quite quickly, or take their chance on the market next year and perhaps have it sat on the market for months.

Location is key and you have said houses don't come up very often and you did leaflet drop so it shows you are keen on the area.

In the area I live you would not get any property for the price it was a few years ago even a slum! You know the area.

My guess would be if they wait and put it on the open market their could be others like you who are waiting for a home in that area.

A yellow bathroom does not make it unliveable, many people live somewhere and change things gradually.

If the location is right I would buy it, for me that is the most important issue and over many many purchases it has always been a good way to go.

WeAreGhosts

Due to health and disability issues, we can't do work once we've moved in.

There certainly may be people who would want to buy it, I have that in mind. I think the owners may struggle though as they are adamant it is a four bed, whereas I think it is a 3 bed, because one of the rooms does not have an opening window, nor anywhere to put one without some serious building work. It also doesn't have a dining room. They must eat meals in front of the telly. What they are calling a fourth bed is really the dining room.

They are comparing their home with the neighbouring one which was a true four bed, and far better maintained.

Even though we got on well, i have a feeling the gentleman could get a bit shirty, so I feel like I'm treading on eggshells!

eddddy

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

the gentleman at the property i have been to see says he won't take anything less than what the neighbouring property achieved.

You could suggest that he gets 2 or 3 EAs to do market appraisals now, so that you can both get a better idea of what the property is worth.

(Ideally, you would want him to ask the EAs what the house should be marketed for, and what kind of price they should expect to actually get.)


Alternatively, you could explain the situation to an independent EA, and see if they would do a valuation for you. (An independent EA did this for me at no charge. He explained that he did that kind of stuff to build up good will, and hoped I would think of him when I next had a property to sell. But maybe he's an exception.)

malakoffee

Did you leaflet them or did they leaflet you ?

I ask this because I don't really understand why you are treating various aspect so sensitively. ( Of course you can measure up and draw sketch plans . . . . you are anticipating spending a very large amount of money on a house that may become your home.)

Your approach to the valuation seems quite rational and there is no reason why you cannot explain to the vendor why you consider the "fourth bedroom somewhat compromised".

If you are dealing with people who cannot cope with polite and diplomatic negotiation then it may indicate that they are not really a motivated seller. Although they might tie you up in knots trying to achieve their fantasy price.

AdrianC

It's very simple - if it isn't for you, then just say so - "Thanks for getting in touch with me, but your place isn't quite what I'm looking for. Good luck when you do put it on the market. Bye."