Buying a house that as been sold 3 times in less than 14 years

dkts

Hi All,

New to opening up a thread, as I've been an avid reader on this site and haven't had the need to sign up and ask a question. I suppose I've found all answers/forum conversations until now!

So basically, as a First Time Buyer, I have seen a house that I like, but upon doing my research I noticed the house sold in 2005, then 4 years later it sold again in 2009, but this time the owner sold it for about £5,000 less than what they had bought it for in 2005 (first sign of a Red Flag?)...

5 years later it sold again in 2014, for 50k more than 2009's sell and now its back on the market 4 years later (late 2018) with an asking price of 50k more than what it sold for in 2014 .

At this point did any red flags/alarms start ringing in your head? because the house has sold 3 times in less than 14 years?

I know some obvious answers would be that maybe each owner had a reason to sell, and needed to desperately sell because of divorce or moving abroad etc.

but I bring to you one last thing I stumbled across with my search which may change your thoughts...

I rang up the estate agent to inquire about the property and they said that it's been pulled off the market because a surveyor had mentioned that there was damp in the property, so the owner has decided to fix the damp before putting it on the market again.

Would it be reasonable to think the damp was an ongoing issue since at least 2009 when the owner sold it for £5k less than what they had bought it for? and each owner since has had problems with it? Should I stay well clear from this property or am I overthinking it?

I suppose the surveyor hired by the buyers in 2009's and 2014's sell should have also picked up the damp issue if it were an ongoing problem? Not sure what to make of this, as the home is perfect for what I'm looking for.

Marvel1

dkts wrote: »

Hi All,

New to opening up a thread, as I've been an avid reader on this site and haven't had the need to sign up and ask a question. I suppose I've found all answers/forum conversations until now!

So basically, as a First Time Buyer, I have seen a house that I like, but upon doing my research I noticed the house sold in 2005, then 4 years later it sold again in 2009, but this time the owner sold it for about £5,000 less than what they had bought it for in 2005 (first sign of a Red Flag?)...
.

The crash happened in 2007.

Anyway 3 times in 14 years, i would look elsewhere, maybe legit reasons but I never know.

davidmcn

Nothing particularly odd about selling after 4/5 years - that's plenty of time for career changes, extra children, etc to have happened - and lots of prices would have fallen immediately before sales in 2009.

And I can't see any evidence from what you've told us that damp has been a longstanding problem.

pramsay13

3 times in 14 years doesn't sound like an awful lot.
Value drop and then subsequent rises sound fair enough depending on the overall value of the house.
Damp isn't a massive issue although if it's obvious it's fair enough that seller wants to remedy it before selling.
When buying a house you should get a full survey done anyway and this will flag up any issues.

AndyTails

Well, the importance of going up or down £5k or £50k depends a bit on whether the sale in 2005 was for £75k or £750k, but I wouldn't worry too much personally.

In 2008 we had a global financial crisis, and a lot of UK property went down in value. So no worries on the value going down. Or going back up again.

3 sales in 14 years doesn't sound too bad. But again, it depends. Is this a starter house (1 or 2 bed flat, 2 or 3 bed house) which you'd expect people to keep for about 5 years before moving up the ladder? If so, 3 sales in 14 years sounds fine.

It's not at all reasonable to suspect the damp's been ongoing since 2009. That's just random making stuff up. It could have been, it might not have been, who knows? But "suspecting" makes no sense. The house price changes and number of sales don't indicate any problems.

Anyway, why is it a problem for you? The house is off the market currently; you can't buy it anyway.

warby68

Nothing odd about 3 sales in 14 years, especially for a FTB type home. People are in the career/family/upward mobility phase in those.

And a kindly word, try not to come off as unduly suspicious by almost making things up to worry about. As a FTB you can put people off by being too fretful, it makes people think you'll change your mind or be difficult to deal with. Do you have a friend or relative in real life who can hand hold a bit before you take every concern to the agent or vendor?

Cakeguts

If it was new in 2005 then they would have paid a premium for it so that fact that it dropped in value is not unusual.



As you are a first time buyer it sounds like the kind of property that 1st time buyers can afford. People don't tend to stay in this kind of house for very long. They move on to a house that 2nd time buyers can afford.

dkts

Thanks all for quick replies.

Didn't take into account the Crash, thanks for highlighting this!

I suppose the area I was looking at, I have seen most 3 bed houses being sold after 8-10 odd years in that area, so that's why when i saw this particular one being sold every 4/5 years a few things crossed my mind.

Also @AndyTails it's off the market currently and will be back on in a few weeks as i was told by the estate agent, after the owner sorts out the damp issue. It seems like a house that ticks most of my boxes so hence the interest in it and question asked here.

Thanks guys for your response again!

lincroft1710

Some houses have the same owners for decades, others change hands every 3/4 years.

My late parents' house and the 3 nearest neighbours were all owned for between 40 and 60 years. Yet 2 of the houses I've owned were for less than 3 years each and my father was in his final home (bungalow) for less than 3 years.

Homes suitable for FTBs are obviously more likely to have more frequent changes of ownership.

dkts

warby68 wrote: »

Nothing odd about 3 sales in 14 years, especially for a FTB type home. People are in the career/family/upward mobility phase in those.

And a kindly word, try not to come off as unduly suspicious by almost making things up to worry about. As a FTB you can put people off by being too fretful, it makes people think you'll change your mind or be difficult to deal with. Do you have a friend or relative in real life who can hand hold a bit before you take every concern to the agent or vendor?

Thanks, i've noted your last advice and will try not to come off as suspicious, just new to buying so wondered if what I've researched meant anything etc.

dkts

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated! didn't realise 3/4 years was the norm for FTB type properties.