Advice on buying house from Landlord

JamieK1

Hello All,


My current landlord is looking to sell the house i'm currently in, and has provided me with a zoopla based evaluation and asked me if i'm interested in buying the property, which i am but need to understand the whole picture before going back to him.

Now when it comes to negotiating i would suspect as a landlord selling to their tenants they could sell it privately with a solicitor and avoid estate agent fees?

I'm also wondering what other costs etc they would benefit from selling to a tenant, as i am interested but want to know the facts from both sides before i go back with an offer against their evaluation.

Extra information:

House was brought in late 2014 for: 134,000
Same house across the road sold for: 147,000 (last month)
The evaluation (based upon land registry/zoopla) price the landlord has come back with is: 150,000

Thanks

Pixie5740

Does your landlord use a letting agency? If so there could well be a clause in his contract with the letting agency saying he needs to pay them a fee if he sells to the tenants.

Just because it's a private sale it doesn't mean the landlord won't use a solicitor. He might feel comfortable handling the legal side of things on his own but then again he might be happier engaging a professional.

One benefit of selling to tenants is that there will be no void period whilst the property is sold. That could be worth a bit of money to your landlord but if your offer is too low it might be more economical to evict you and sell on the open market.

elverson

From your side the saving would be no removals costs. You'll still need to pay for a solicitor, stamp duty (if applicable) and possibly mortgage fees if you're planning to use one to make the purchase.

JamieK1

@Pixie

Yes he does, which after doing some research seems the only thing that could increase the fee's from my landlords perspective.

Okay, i understand they're will be solicitors fee's involved, i was offsetting those fee's compared to estate agent fees, which seems less?

I understand my offer has to be within reason, but taking into account the benefits to my landlord selling to a tenant, i believe i'm in a strong position to negotiate 4 - 5 grand off the market/evaluation price.

Thanks.

G_M

Ignore Zoopla. The estimates are completely unreliable.

To assess what the property is worth you (and the LL!) should

* ask 2 or 3 estate agents to visit and give a price. Make sure the price they give is a realistic figure for what is should sell for, not they price they would advertise it for

* look at other properties in the area, of a similar size/type/condition, and see what their actual 'sold' prices are

HappyMJ

JamieK1 wrote: »

Hello All,


My current landlord is looking to sell the house i'm currently in, and has provided me with a zoopla based evaluation and asked me if i'm interested in buying the property, which i am but need to understand the whole picture before going back to him.

Now when it comes to negotiating i would suspect as a landlord selling to their tenants they could sell it privately with a solicitor and avoid estate agent fees?

I'm also wondering what other costs etc they would benefit from selling to a tenant, as i am interested but want to know the facts from both sides before i go back with an offer against their evaluation.

Thanks

Do not trust a Zoopla based valuation. It's just a wild guess assuming a lot of things.

You need to look at comparable properties in the area and see what they sold for. You need to look at the inside of them to see if the standard of decoration is the same or similar to yours. As yours is a rental property it's highly likely just to have standard fixtures and fittings. The floor area and layout needs to be very close and the year it was built needs to be similar. Modern new or near new houses depreciate quicker or don't appreciate as quickly than older houses.

It's actually very difficult to value a house. You can call in agents of your own (at least three) pretending to be the owner and ask them for a valuation. You would then take the lowest of all those valuations and make an offer to your landlord based on that. The landlord would take the average of all the valuations and consider your offer.

JamieK1

HappyMJ wrote: »

Do not trust a Zoopla based valuation. It's just a wild guess assuming a lot of things.

You need to look at comparable properties in the area and see what they sold for. You need to look at the inside of them to see if the standard of decoration is the same or similar to yours. As yours is a rental property it's highly likely just to have standard fixtures and fittings. The floor area and layout needs to be very close and the year it was built needs to be similar. Modern new or near new houses depreciate quicker or don't appreciate as quickly than older houses.

It's actually very difficult to value a house. You can call in agents of your own (at least three) pretending to be the owner and ask them for a valuation. You would then take the lowest of all those valuations and make an offer to your landlord based on that. The landlord would take the average of all the valuations and consider your offer.

Thanks for your reply, i've just added some extra information to my original post to add to the detail.


House was brought in late 2014 for: 134,000
Same house across the road sold for: 147,000 (last month)
The evaluation (based upon land registry/zoopla) price the landlord has come back with is: 150,000

Debtslayer

Hi
When did the house across the road sell for 147k?
Was it similar inside to yours?
As others have said I wouldn't use zoopla estimates. Best to use recent sales figures in your area of properties similar to yours
Judging by your last post I would be inclined to offer 145k if it was me
But make sure it's definitely the house you wish to purchase, and you are not just purchasing this house because it's easier. Don't go higher than you are willing to pay
If you are in a position to buy start looking round at other available properties you are interested in case landlord says no or you decide you'd prefer to move on anyway

HappyMJ

JamieK1 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, i've just added some extra information to my original post to add to the detail.


House was brought in late 2014 for: 134,000
Same house across the road sold for: 147,000
The evaluation (based upon land registry/zoopla) price the landlord has come back with is: 150,000

12% in just over a year when the market has been relatively flat. Tell him he's dreaming. Has anything been spent on the property in the past year and a bit.

I would offer no more than £134,000.

According to Zoopla the value of my house has increased by 0.7% in the past year from £145,000 to £146,000.

JamieK1

Debtslayer wrote: »

Hi
When did the house across the road sell for 147k?
Was it similar inside to yours?
As others have said I wouldn't use zoopla estimates. Best to use recent sales figures in your area of properties similar to yours
Judging by your last post I would be inclined to offer 145k if it was me
But make sure it's definitely the house you wish to purchase, and you are not just purchasing this house because it's easier. Don't go higher than you are willing to pay
If you are in a position to buy start looking round at other available properties you are interested in case landlord says no or you decide you'd prefer to move on anyway

Last month
Exactly the same, except minor differences, decking in garden etc

Yes its the house i want, as i've put alot of effort making it feel like a home as much as im allowed to.

Thanks for your reply!

JamieK1

HappyMJ wrote: »

12% in just over a year when the market has been relatively flat. Tell him he's dreaming. Has anything been spent on the property in the past year and a bit.

I would offer no more than £134,000.

According to Zoopla the value of my house has increased by 0.7% in the past year from £145,000 to £146,000.

Agree totally with your opinion, and he is reaching high.

Nothing has been spent since we have moved in, literally month after they purchased the house.

Thanks for your reply.