Buying a beautiful wreck

haf1

Taylor132 wrote:

Its not actually just 2 houses, its row of about 6 houses in total. The property I am looking at is technically 2 houses in 1.

That might actually make the difference between a dark and damp abandoned terrace and a gem of a house with plenty of living space - provided that, as cakeguts commented before, the house is structurally sound. And that someone maintains that private (?) road that connects you with Huddersfield Road.

Definitely still better than commuting from Holyhead!

Do keep us posted on this project :cheesy:

Taylor132

So.....everything went a bit quiet because the house got taken off the market....

The whole idea had taken root so I am keen to eventually take on a renovation project so I have been keeping an eye out....

So last night, having an idle flick through rightmove and BANG! Its back on for £125k (the smithy) for auction!

As you can imagine - excitment, panic etc etc.

Called the auctioneers this morning.......NO VIEWINGS. I had to double check I had heard correctly. That's right no viewings. Surveyors have to request directly to the auctioneer and they will check with the client. It may or may not be allowed.

!!!!!!?

This seems ridiculous to me. Does anyone have any experience of this? I was thinking may be it suggests the house has serious structural issues so they can't have people in it for safety reasons?

What does everyone think? I appreciate it may seem like a total lost cause but I like to may extremely informed decisions so I like to know as much as possible before proceeding or quitting on something.

martindow

To me that reads as if they want to get shot at any price of a house with major problems. Maybe they are hoping someone will be tempted to make an ill-advised last minute bid at the auction. I can't think of any other reason not to allow surveys.

LEJC

Thanks for the update...
I tend to agree that they might be going to auction because its the quickest way to get rid of something that down the conventional route might not be so easy once surveys etc come into the equation.

Reducing the price...well that's tempting people in,and remember that buying at auction can easily attract much higher bids than possibly the buyer might intend especially if the old heart strings start to pull and you put up your paddle just one more time!!!

have you experience of auctions....I'm interested in them but they scare the out of me and I tend to think they are for the experienced and not faint hearted.

Although good luck with whatever you decide.

Taylor132

Thanks LEJC

I have experience of general furniture auctions but not property....unless homes under the hammer counts ; )

If we did take the plunge and bid...and its a big if, it would be to a pre-agreed level. No deviation. Financial strains ruin peoples lives & relationships so its just not worth it.

Going to read the legal pack tonight and see what issues I can identify.....

AdrianC

LEJC wrote: »

have you experience of auctions....I'm interested in them but they scare the out of me and I tend to think they are for the experienced and not faint hearted.

If there's a mortgage required, and there's even the SLIGHTEST question over the mortgageability of the property, then an auction has the potential to be an absolute nightmare.

Remember, you're exchanging contracts when that hammer falls. You need to complete within 28 days. Is the money going to be available in that timeframe? Hard enough if it's straightforward. If lenders might be scarce, then it's going to be damn near impossible.

If you're even contemplating bidding on this, I think you have to look at it as a COMPLETE renovation - four walls which all need structural work, and anything above that is an unexpected bonus.

Person_one

The word 'bargepole' comes to mind, unless you've got basically unlimited money.

StumpyPumpy

What's the connection with Wickenhall Paintball, and are they liable to come round and do more "decorating" of the fashion shown in picture 13 of the auction listing?

SP

Upsidedown_Bear

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

What's the connection with Wickenhall Paintball, and are they liable to come round and do more "decorating" of the fashion shown in picture 13 of the auction listing?

SP

And was the security camera added before or after the "decorating"? :think:

Taylor132

I believe Wickenhall Paintball previously owned this house.....

With regard to the camera.... its a photo from a new angle so I'm not sure when it was added. When we did go to have a look at the property (outside only) this wouldn't have been visible.

We saw this house (outside only) about a month ago and its beat up. The doors have A LOT of cobwebs over locks, the trees around the front door at significantly overgrown and its just very clear that its not been lived in for a long while so I doubt the camera has been added recently.

Hope that helps.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to really highlight the issues, its helping me make a more informed decision.