Buying ex-council house

Poniato

Hello,

I have viewed a lovely ex-council house recently. House price is 125k. On that area 50% are council and 50% are normal private property owners. Of course, I have put an offer 5% less than asking price. I had a call from agency today. They said that there is a quite big interesting of that house and they asked about putting my final offer. Now, my question is. If there are few other people which want put offers on that house, how much I should put? Has anyone had a similar situation? 125k is enough? If I really want to buy it I should put go above that 125k? If so, how much above this price I should to put to buy it. I know that nobody knows an answer to that question, but maybe someone has more experience in this circumstances than me. Also, is that good idea to buy an ex-council house?

Cheers

hazyjo

They're playing you. Where are the other offers? Don't bid against yourself. The valuer will possibly down-value it if you pay on or over the asking price.

Poniato

Hi hazyjo,

The estate agent said that they have been few other offers and all people will put their final offer next week. When we viewed the house we have seen at least 3 other couple, who viewed property at the same time, so I think the property will be quite popular. I am wondering if people ever put an offer on house more than asking price ??We really like this house.

What do you mean by saying 'The valuer will possibly down-value it if you pay on or over the asking price.' ??

troffasky

Hazyjo has assumed you would use a mortgage to buy it, and as part of that process, the bank will send somebody to look at the property and decide if it's worth you're [they're] paying for it. If the valuer doesn't agree, the bank won't let you the entire figure and you'll have to come up with the difference yourself.

It sounds like you need to do a little more research on this home-buying thing. Start by lurking in here and reading a few threads started by fellow FTBs.

hazyjo

Yes people can and do offer more. Depends if it's been realistically priced and what the local market's doing. Up to you to compare against other similar sold properties in the area. In your shoes, if a non-ex-council house was cheaper, I'd go for that.

Again, depends on the area and various other factors if it's a good idea to buy council properties. Generally - not always - they will be cheaper than others, although they're often roomy and solidly built. Again, I'm generalising.

JoJo1978

We bought and ex council house in 2008 and sold it last year after paying the mortgage off. Also 50:50 tenants/owners on our street. Our experience is that because ex LA houses tend to be older they are often larger and better proportioned than new builds.

Are you purchasing directly from the council or from a previous private owner? The latter may mean that the property has had renovation and improvements more recently, but not necessarily.

I agree you need to be careful not to pay over asking for the reasons other posters have mentioned. Don't ask a forum what your max price should be, you need to work that out for yourself based on your finances and stick firmly to it.

Ex LA properties may have a 'ceiling' in terms of the max price they will fetch at resale, often due to their location. That might affect how much money you pour into the property in terms of improvements. We didn't put in a very posh kitchen or bathroom before we sold, for example, because we would not have got the money back in terms of a higher sale price.

Mr.Generous

Offer a value somewhere about what you think it is worth and what you hope you can get it for. I have recently been looking at a former council house for sale where my offer of £82k was turned down flat, the vendor saying they won't accept any offer below £88k as they have already reduced the asking price. I increased my offer to £83k and stated it was my best and final offer. It was declined. 2 days later I got a call asking if I could go a little higher. No, final offer, I am looking at other properties. Call back same day saying offer accepted.

Sometimes you have to hold your nerve. £5k will go a long way towards a decent renovation. The agents will try and persuade the buyer to go higher to get a sale and the seller to go lower, they only get paid on done deals.

Poniato

We have just found out that this house is a spooner non-standard house. I don't have any idea what does it mean, but that's nothing good. Does anyone here have any experience with these kinds of houses?

JoJo1978

Poniato, Spooner is the name of a type of building construction that falls into the 'non standard' category. There will be a smaller pool of available lenders from which you can get a mortgage in all likelihood, although there are some institutions that specialise in non standard. There can be a stigma attached, for example, our buyer wouldn't proceed until he was satisfied our house was brick and not concrete prefabricated. Its not necessarily an issue depending on your needs and future uses for the property but do some research first.

hammy1988

Our first time buy in 2012 was an ex council house. Solid sturdy and roomy in each room, nothing needed fixing as previous owner was deceased. Made 20k on the sale 5 years later and then sold on to another First time buyer. We never regretted our sale at all.

NicNicP

We bought an ex council house on an estate that still had council owned properties on it. When we sold we got the full asking price within 24 hours. Because they!!!8217;re affordable they tend to sell quickly in their our area, and near to if not for the asking price.