FTB advice

numbercruncher8

You sound a tad unreasonable.

What does the reason for selling matter? Is it not possible that they could have cleared away pet belongings in advance of viewings? It sounds an odd reason to have a problem with the EA.

The property has only been listed since 19/1 according to Rightmove and your offer is way off asking. 

If you're not prepared to offer any more, just let your offer sit there; if they don't sell it they may well be back at a later date, if the offers for £155 exist it'll be sold.

You run the risk of appearing like a time-waster or just unknowledgeable; neither of which is helpful.

jcrennie

numbercruncher8 said:

You sound a tad unreasonable.

What does the reason for selling matter? Is it not possible that they could have cleared away pet belongings in advance of viewings? It sounds an odd reason to have a problem with the EA.

The property has only been listed since 19/1 according to Rightmove and your offer is way off asking. 

If you're not prepared to offer any more, just let your offer sit there; if they don't sell it they may well be back at a later date, if the offers for £155 exist it'll be sold.

You run the risk of appearing like a time-waster or just unknowledgeable; neither of which is helpful.

I don't think it is unreasonable- there is minimal storage in the flat. Even if they had cleared, away I don't think there is anywhere to put the items, the only place could be the built in wardrobes. My gut feeling is they don't have a puppy, they have purchased one and this is their reasoning for moving ,but the EA reckons they have a puppy. I don't have a problem with the EA at all, I am just dubious. For example, they originally said the vendors had lived there for 3-4 years which was a lie. 

The Kitchen looks different in person. I am not sure if it is the photos but it could do with an upgrade. I suspect for the costs to upgrade the units it would be more worthwhile to add a new kitchen.

FTB_Help

jcrennie said:

numbercruncher8 said:

You sound a tad unreasonable.

What does the reason for selling matter? Is it not possible that they could have cleared away pet belongings in advance of viewings? It sounds an odd reason to have a problem with the EA.

The property has only been listed since 19/1 according to Rightmove and your offer is way off asking. 

If you're not prepared to offer any more, just let your offer sit there; if they don't sell it they may well be back at a later date, if the offers for £155 exist it'll be sold.

You run the risk of appearing like a time-waster or just unknowledgeable; neither of which is helpful.

I don't think it is unreasonable- there is minimal storage in the flat. Even if they had cleared, away I don't think there is anywhere to put the items, the only place could be the built in wardrobes. My gut feeling is they don't have a puppy, they have purchased one and this is their reasoning for moving ,but the EA reckons they have a puppy. I don't have a problem with the EA at all, I am just dubious. For example, they originally said the vendors had lived there for 3-4 years which was a lie. 

The Kitchen looks different in person. I am not sure if it is the photos but it could do with an upgrade. I suspect for the costs to upgrade the units it would be more worthwhile to add a new kitchen.

They could potentially have a puppy on the way, hence the need to move for more space.

Items for puppies aren't massive, they could have been stored under beds, wardrobes etc for the viewing.

The kitchen looks dated but it doesn’t mean its not in full working order.

I suppose maybe have alook around the area at other 2 bed flats, what are they selling for in comparison?

mortgage_noob

What's the puppy got to do with anything?

milkyj0

I have a dog and we put all dog related things in the car when we had viewings. Generally people don’t like to see evidence of pets when viewing properties. 

leonj

You could make that kitchen look mint for not much money at all, new hob and oven, some paint maybe some handles.  The flooring looks decent as it is

NinjaTune

It's a lovely flat, though the small bedroom is a bit too small for my liking.

Nice long lease - what are the service charges like?

jcrennie

NinjaTune said:

It's a lovely flat, though the small bedroom is a bit too small for my liking.

Nice long lease - what are the service charges like?

It's £1400 for the service charge and then £350 for the ground rent. Not too bad, I've seen worse but loads of work should be done on the exterior. Probably some wood rot, I don't think a lick of paint would solve some of the wooden sills. But I guess that's a general problem with leases - they take your money and they don't really do a lot.

MaryNB

jcrennie said:

NinjaTune said:

It's a lovely flat, though the small bedroom is a bit too small for my liking.

Nice long lease - what are the service charges like?

It's £1400 for the service charge and then £350 for the ground rent. Not too bad, I've seen worse but loads of work should be done on the exterior. Probably some wood rot, I don't think a lick of paint would solve some of the wooden sills. But I guess that's a general problem with leases - they take your money and they don't really do a lot.

That's a problem. Outside of London a ground rent of above £250 means it's an Assured Tenancy and it makes it much easier for the freeholder to take back the leasehold if the leaseholder is a few months behind on ground rent. Mortgage lenders see this as a big risk. They might accept indemnity policy to cover their risk, or they just might not grant a mortgage full stop.

jcrennie

MaryNB said:

jcrennie said:

NinjaTune said:

It's a lovely flat, though the small bedroom is a bit too small for my liking.

Nice long lease - what are the service charges like?

It's £1400 for the service charge and then £350 for the ground rent. Not too bad, I've seen worse but loads of work should be done on the exterior. Probably some wood rot, I don't think a lick of paint would solve some of the wooden sills. But I guess that's a general problem with leases - they take your money and they don't really do a lot.

That's a problem. Outside of London a ground rent of above £250 means it's an Assured Tenancy and it makes it much easier for the freeholder to take back the leasehold if the leaseholder is a few months behind on ground rent. Mortgage lenders see this as a big risk. They might accept indemnity policy to cover their risk, or they just might not grant a mortgage full stop.

The ground rent is a one off payment per year, I don't know if that makes any difference. Either way it's something useful for me to ask the EA and my broker.