Having doubts after offer accepted

oldernonethewiser

danlightbulb wrote: »

Yeah this one just over a year ago sold for £158k: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=74108126&sale=8821141&country=england


I am paying £166k, so similar as you say. That one has got a little flat roofed utility box extension on the back, and otherwise I assume has 2 beds, living room, kitchen and bathroom inside. The garden is smaller, but still a good size and south facing (yes the ad is wrong on mine I picked up on that immediately), and as you say they have paved the entire frontage but its not particularly pretty.


Im not entertaining spending tens of thousands on restructuring the entire house, couldn't even if I wanted to. Just trying to understand what's wrong with the layout that might make it not feel homely. What I can't decide is whether the layout that it currently is, which isn't optimal, is a deal breaker or not.

I think the house is reasonably priced in fairness, relative to the area and other houses that have sold or are for sale. And it offers a detached, large plot, good sized rooms. But it needs work, and the layout is not ideal and will not be improved under my ownership, and it has no driveway.

But I keep coming back to the fact there is !!!!!! all else worth buying.

Perhaps the question I have to ask is "is it the best I can get for £170k?"

And then "if it is, should that be reason enough to buy it given Im wasting money on rent at the moment?"




And if there were lots of houses coming up for sale then fine, but there isn't much choice around. What if what I'm looking for will never be within my price range and I'm not seeing that?

Then you compromise.

danlightbulb

Positives of this house:
* Detached
* Good garden
* Nice road
* On budget

Negatives:
* Lack of driveway + elevated from road
* Modernisation work
* Interior layout
* Flat roofed extension

So what else can I get for my money? Best of the rest:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74865697.html
Parking still tight for large car on the front. A Semi. Does have side garage. Downstairs toilet. Reasonably modern layout. Reasonably done up garden. Method of sale is unpopular and I wouldn't want to entertain it - probably why it hasn't sold yet.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66507000.html
Standard 70's layout. Elevated from road and garden elevates up as well. Does have driveway and small garage. Riddled with mines though so unmortgagable.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88931057.html
New build. Modern inside. Mid terraced and allocated parking at the back. Overpriced because of that in my opinion. No frontage. Close to pub I attend occasionally (could be positive and negative).

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66275727.html
They wanted £200k and have now put it into auction starting at £170k. Good driveway at front. Fairly spacious inside (bed 3 is box room. bed 4 is converted garage which personally I would put back) and nice views out of the back. Not in particularly nice road though.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67783182.html
Typical integral garage 80's layout. Integral garages take away living space and reduce plot size compared to external garage. A bit of a wreck inside.


Out of those, would you take any of them over my one, or would you accept the negatives and compromise on it given the positives it has for the price?

danlightbulb

danlightbulb wrote: »

Positives of this house:
* Detached
* Good garden
* Nice road
* On budget

Negatives:
* Lack of driveway + elevated from road
* Modernisation work
* Interior layout
* Flat roofed extension

Lets say house A has the above list of positives and negatives. And then I find house B, which is the exact opposite (except for budget). I.e:

Positives:
* Driveway
* Doesn't need much work
* Standard layout
* No flat roofs anywhere
* On budget

Negatives:
* Small garden
* Semi or mid terrace
* Not on a very good road

Then what should you do? There are still negatives with house B, just different ones. House A's negatives are house B's positives, and vice versa. Neither house is ideal, both are significant compromises but in different ways.

How do you know which one to go for?


This seems to be what's happening to me during my search. My budget doesn't stretch to get all the positives together, so I have to choose which positives I want to trade off against which negatives. And I can't, because there is no right answer.


This is why I am unintentionally focussing on resale value and what other people think - because in the absence of a right answer I am trying to determine which combination would be most desirable to others. In a 50:50 scenario, this is natural I think, bring in another data point.

Sncjw

You obviously don’t want to buy the house and seeking validation from us.

Put the poor vendors out of their misery and pull out now before it’s too late.

Getting_greyer

danlightbulb wrote: »

Lets say house A has the above list of positives and negatives. And then I find house B, which is the exact opposite (except for budget). I.e:

Positives:
* Driveway
* Doesn't need much work
* Standard layout
* No flat roofs anywhere
* On budget

Negatives:
* Small garden
* Semi or mid terrace
* Not on a very good road

Then what should you do? There are still negatives with house B, just different ones. House A's negatives are house B's positives, and vice versa. Neither house is ideal, both are significant compromises but in different ways.

How do you know which one to go for?


This seems to be what's happening to me during my search. My budget doesn't stretch to get all the positives together, so I have to choose which positives I want to trade off against which negatives. And I can't, because there is no right answer.


This is why I am unintentionally focussing on resale value and what other people think - because in the absence of a right answer I am trying to determine which combination would be most desirable to others. In a 50:50 scenario, this is natural I think, bring in another data point.

Pick 5 or so desirable factors starting from most important/best. Then give each of these a weighted score. Do the same but for undesirable. You could then add the scores and maybe say to yourself I wont choose a place that scores less than +30 or something. Eg
1. Detached + 20
2. Driveway + 15
3. Major renovation needed - 20
4. +5 km to town - 5

Edit: ideally your weighted scores are done prior to viewing to minimise unconscious bias.

I have no idea if this is a sensible suggestion but it may help you to quantify what it is you really want and where you're willing to comprise.

Crashy_Time

danlightbulb wrote: »

Lets say house A has the above list of positives and negatives. And then I find house B, which is the exact opposite (except for budget). I.e:

Positives:
* Driveway
* Doesn't need much work
* Standard layout
* No flat roofs anywhere
* On budget

Negatives:
* Small garden
* Semi or mid terrace
* Not on a very good road

Then what should you do? There are still negatives with house B, just different ones. House A's negatives are house B's positives, and vice versa. Neither house is ideal, both are significant compromises but in different ways.

How do you know which one to go for?


This seems to be what's happening to me during my search. My budget doesn't stretch to get all the positives together, so I have to choose which positives I want to trade off against which negatives. And I can't, because there is no right answer.


This is why I am unintentionally focussing on resale value and what other people think - because in the absence of a right answer I am trying to determine which combination would be most desirable to others. In a 50:50 scenario, this is natural I think, bring in another data point.

If property crashes/corrects to more normal multiples of wages property like this will get hammered on re-sale value, so if you see yourself happy in it for 20/30 years buy it now, if not IMO, run away from it now...fast.

danlightbulb

Sncjw wrote: »

You obviously don’t want to buy the house and seeking validation from us.

Put the poor vendors out of their misery and pull out now before it’s too late.

Thats not true. I like alot of things about this house and I can't decide. It has some really big positives which I recognise are positives. It just has some negatives too, that aren't easily changed.

Crashy_Time wrote: »

If property crashes/corrects to more normal multiples of wages property like this will get hammered on re-sale value, so if you see yourself happy in it for 20/30 years buy it now, if not IMO, run away from it now...fast.

This would apply to every house I could possibly purchase in my price range. What would you suggest I should buy that would be immune from this?

babyblade41

Put it in simple terms , if you are going to stay in this bungalow for the long term then all the work can be done at leisure and slowly. You can make all the alterations and cosmetics over time to make it uniquely yours.

If ,however you won't be there long term then it wouldn't be a project for me, the amount of money to turn it into a appealing re sale jut wouldn't warrant doing the job

If it's for you forever then money isn't an issue as it's your forever home, if not then walk away

NewShadow

danlightbulb wrote: »

Positives:
* Driveway
* Doesn't need much work
* Standard layout
* No flat roofs anywhere
* On budget

Negatives:
* Small garden
* Semi or mid terrace
* Not on a very good road

My budget doesn't stretch to get all the positives together, so I have to choose which positives I want to trade off against which negatives. And I can't, because there is no right answer.


This is why I am unintentionally focussing on resale value and what other people think - because in the absence of a right answer I am trying to determine which combination would be most desirable to others. In a 50:50 scenario, this is natural I think, bring in another data point.

And the problem there is what you see as positives and negatives aren't absolute:

- Many people have said they don't see the lack of front driveway an issue given the road and the garage to the rear.

- I'm buying house with a significant garden - and that's a negative for me... I'd prefer a small area maybe a quarter of the size of that included with this property.

- You say this house needs a lot of work to 'modernise' - I like properties with personality and despise 'modern'...

I said above and still think it's a valid suggestion - you need to figure out your 'absolutely must haves' and 'dealbreakers' - prioritise your wants list based on how you live and what matters to you; not to anyone else.

I think what Crashy and everyone else is saying is - don't buy a house if you're not planning on living in it/being happy in it for at least a few years because you'll risk losing money in the short term but longer-term any property can be sold to the right buyer... because there will be a buyer who sees your negatives as their absolutely must haves

danlightbulb

I dont really have a must have list. I dont think I have enough money to be making demands really. My only demand is to get the best for my budget when all positives and negatives are considered in the round.

This leaves things open i know.

If i specified it had to have parking, I might miss a great property that id have given that up for. A little like this house really. Its close to being good enough to give up parking for?

Or is it. And thats what im having trouble judging and why i need others opinions.