Having doubts after offer accepted

Dineen33

Pull out now, that's what you want to do isn't it ?
I wouldnt live in Coseley, but the house looks great, I'd be offering £150k

danlightbulb

Dineen33 wrote: »

Pull out now, that's what you want to do isn't it ?
I wouldnt live in Coseley, but the house looks great, I'd be offering £150k

I'm not sure I do want to pull out. What's the basis for £150k? The seller was quite honest with me, told me they'd already rejected £160k and were looking for high £160's, which sounded about right as they had marketed for £175k. I offered £166k and they accepted. Looking at whats available in the area and what has sold previously, the price doesn't seem unreasonable. What I'm struggling to judge is whether the condition of the house means I'm not getting good value for money.

julicorn wrote: »

It sounds like at the moment, you found something that offers more than you wanted in some areas, but lags some key things you wanted in others. Are you getting a bit blinded by the fact that it is detached, and excited that you can afford that? Does that make you think that this would be the 'right' decision? (In my books, bad neighbours are bad neighbours regardless of quite how closely their home is attached to yours, but that's a different story).

I think the dilemma for me here, is that yes, in some ways this house is more than I expected to be able to get for what I can afford. It 'may' have potential for adding value too, although it could also be true that I am overpaying and the quite large structural improvements I think ultimately should be done may be forever too big for me to do.

I won't be fully happy with something that doesn't have 'something' about it. There are not many inter or pre war areas around where I live, its mostly post war 50's, 60's onwards council housing estates with private estates added in the 80's and 90's onwards. Some of these are quite nice, others are not. In any case there are very few of them ever for sale.

This house has come up for sale and its inter war. Its detached, on a good size plot, in a traditional road. It has what could be a great workshop at the back. My head knows those are good things to have. Being a bungalow, I also know it will be easier to maintain. For example, if it had the height in the loft to make going up there worthwhile, I could easily fit new floor joists myself, which I probably wouldn't be able to do in a 2 storey house.

But it isn't what I would have classed as a fully traditional or characterful layout. There is going to be no nice entrance hall with large stairwell. There are going to be no nice fireplaces because they've all been capped off and bricked up and in any case they are technically bedrooms now. I can make a nice bathroom sure, and I can decorate and put some warm wood flooring down, and I could put in a modern or traditional looking kitchen no problem.

Are those improvements going to give the house character though? Is the house actually ugly (one poster orginally described the bay windows at the front as hideous if I remember correctly)?


Does the fact this house is more traditional and detached and on a good plot offset its downsides? Am I ever going to find anything as good for the money? If I let this one go, am I likely to just find myself in a more modern and substantially smaller box for the same money?

julicorn wrote: »

Ultimately, you know yourself best. I know you say you question everything (I actually fall into that trap too, am generally an anxious person who overthinks things), and you can best contextualise your thoughts and feelings here. I just want to raise a few thoughts and questions, because to me it looks like you might be in the process of buying a house that would be absolutely perfect for someone else, in an endeavour to try and change it to be closer to your ideal (which is likely to be quite a big undertaking). I'm not here to criticise your choices, and hope that's not how this is coming across.

I appreciate this, you've hit it spot on. I overthink compared to others I guess, but I do that so I don't make bad decisions. Often this means I don't progress with things. I do need to try and overthink less, which is a factor here in this decision. I don't know if I'm overthinking here, or if these are justifiable concerns that I shouldn't be compromising on. I post here as an outlet but also to get feedback, because I need feedback to validate what I'm thinking or not thinking in absence of a clear idea of what I should do.

Dineen33

danlightbulb wrote: »

I'm not sure I do want to pull out. What's the basis for £150k? The seller was quite honest with me, told me they'd already rejected £160k and were looking for high £160's, which sounded about right as they had marketed for £175k. I offered £166k and they accepted. Looking at whats available in the area and what has sold previously, the price doesn't seem unreasonable. What I'm struggling to judge is whether the condition of the house means I'm not getting good value for money.

If it come up OK on a mining report then go for it, there doesnt look to be anything expensive to do.
It looks like an older person has lived in it for a few decades, so you can move in and decorate/upgrade as you go, the main thing is location and price. My son recently bought a similar place, he moved in straight away, his "to do" list is growing. £800 to install gas, £7000 for central heating, £2500 for a full rewire.
Then knocking through for a big kitchen diner, then decorating, then the garden its an eighteen month project.
Meanwhile he has an appreciating asset, somewhere to live and host parties, a garage for his cars, a home.

Slinky

You mentioned you are applying for a mortgage and waiting on a decision. If that comes back saying they won't lend you the money for this place, would you feel upset or relieved?



If you tossed a coin and heads you buy/tails you don't, does the way the coin land tell you which way you wanted it to land?


What is your gut instinct telling you?


I started getting a stress cough when we were buying a house that eventually we pulled out of due to issues with the vendor, who would have been our next door neighbour. When we pulled out, the cough went away. I think I was ignoring what my body was telling me, that that house wasn't right for us.

danlightbulb

Slinky wrote: »

You mentioned you are applying for a mortgage and waiting on a decision. If that comes back saying they won't lend you the money for this place, would you feel upset or relieved?

If you tossed a coin and heads you buy/tails you don't, does the way the coin land tell you which way you wanted it to land?

What is your gut instinct telling you?

I started getting a stress cough when we were buying a house that eventually we pulled out of due to issues with the vendor, who would have been our next door neighbour. When we pulled out, the cough went away. I think I was ignoring what my body was telling me, that that house wasn't right for us.

I'm not sure. I would probably feel slightly relieved that the decision had been made for me and the concerns I have would have just gone away, but I would probably also feel slightly upset because a potential opportunity missed. I may feel initially relieved then sad later, or vice versa, just like I sometimes feel excited about this house and at other times worried whether its the right decision.

If it was the mortgage company that blocked this sale, then I'd probably feel that was a validation that the value for money wasn't there and I'd be happy that the bank stepped in and stopped me overpaying. Similarly, I guess if the mortgage valuation is fine then this is validation I'm not paying too much.

I'd never allow myself to go through with a decision made via a coin toss so that's irrelevant anyway.

I'm not getting a gut instinct either way. Sometimes I think its right, and I can make it work. Other times I think its too much work and the limitations are too restrictive. I think this is because I am doing it alone, and I don't have to think about any one else's needs. Its easier to consider other people's needs rather your own I think.

I don't feel emotionally stressed at the moment. I am thinking a lot about it of course, but I don't feel stress. I'm eating normally and sleeping normally. When I'm really stressed I can't eat properly.

iampetesmith

You could book a second viewing if you want and see if it's really the house for you. Also, keep looking and see if anything better comes up that you want to look at. We've just bought a 3 bedroom house in Sedgley (not too far from yours) for 160k, ours is quite wide and the drive has space for 2 cars but it's mid-terrace so I think the asking price for yours is higher because it's detached. It didn't need any modernising either as it hadn't long been done by the previous owners, so all we did was change the wallpaper in a couple of the rooms to make it ours.

If you see something you like better, then just pull out and go for that one instead.

eidand

danlightbulb wrote: »

I understand what youre saying. This problem is created both by my uncertainty but also a lack of choice in the market. Every house I have bid on I have felt pressure because you don't get time to properly consider it or see multiple suitable properties. There is still absolutely nothing that comes close to this house when considering what it does offer for the money. So whilst I am having doubts, there is nothing better.

I would suggest you wait then. I would never buy a house because there is nothing better on the market, you either get the right house for you or you don't buy. But that's just me.

In your place, I'd keep in touch with several estates agents and keep an eye on what comes on the market. I would also let the vendor know, my offer is no longer valid though, people need to sell in order to buy most of the time, no point messing them around.

danlightbulb

Its so hard to know if waiting is the right choice. I've been browsing again tonight and there really is nothing I would rather have, even if I went up by £50-£100k. I am constantly disappointed by what is available on the market, which is why I think I'm attracted to houses that need work, as you get better value for money.

I have been looking again at the floor plan. One of my main concerns is that compared to a 2 storey house, there is far less segregation between areas and rooms in the house. There is a single hallway where all the rooms lead from and the rear living room leads from the kitchen. Whereas in a 2 storey house you would tend to have a hallway and landing area, the stairs which also creates a corridor area, and normally understairs cupboards as well as an upstairs cupboard (ex-airing cupboard mostly).

One of my concerns is that I will feel that, whilst the rooms in this house are big, there is no separation between them. There is no walking time or distance between the rooms.

I've improved my CAD layout of the floorplan tonight. Couldn't figure out how to add dimensions yet unfortunately. Does anyone think the lack of separation of the areas is an issue? What about the narrow and limited hallway?

Also I'd like to know what people really think of the completely internal bathroom.

franklee

I had an internal bathroom once and it was fine but it was in a newish flat so purpose built with a decent extractor fan.

I like the bungalow especially the garden and that it's detached. Detached is not a necessity IMO but something I'd be sorry to give up.

For you that workshop looks spot on. Good for bike etc. storage too.

I would be fine with the hallway, from the photos it looks good.

The layout issue that bothers me is the rear extension, it compromises the kitchen layout. I don't like the flat roof either. Mad idea, is it possible to move the kitchen into the extension and/or have roof velux or roof windows of some kind in the extension?

I think the garden will be sunny as there's not much tall surroundings to cast shade. We had a garden facing NNW and in summer the sun shone in the back windows. At height of summer the sun set looking straight at the back wall. The patio by the house was too hot for me in summer even up to early evenings.

I wonder if you need a builder or surveyor to accompany you on a second viewing? Also you will be getting a survey at some point so if that throws up anything unexpected you will have the chance to reopen price negotiations. I don't think you are going to solve your analysis paralysis without more practical input which will involve some spending.

I agree with previous posters, make many visits to the outside at different time of day, suss out traffic, on road parking etc. At one point we did a walk by every evening


PS: You won't have to hoover the stairs in a bungalow so that's a plus.

oldernonethewiser

Now there is something that would give me pause for thought, the internal bathroom.


It was one of the things that put me off buying some nice places I had seen. I like a window and some natural light.


To others it is of little importance.