Advice on Buying a Cheap House.

BucketFull

Hi all.

I wish to buy a house which will be a cash purchase. For the type and location of house I am looking for, I am hoping that in a few months' time, I may finally be just about able to afford a suitable property, however, it will be at the very bottom end of the market, i.e. the cheapest ones that crop up now and again, which means that they may not be in any perfect condition!

Unfortunately, these sorts of prices are pocket money to a lot of folk and houses in the area have been selling in next to no time. They are also probably the type of houses that seasoned, buy-to-let pros look for, so, when I reach the point where I can afford one of these houses and one were to become available, I would need to act VERY fast if I am to stand any chance in competing with other potential buyers.

Yes, I am aware that this is not an ideal situation when dealing with lifetime savings, however, I am desperate and may not get another chance of owning my own place; you just never can tell what's going to happen to house prices and how quickly!

Anyhow, one of my main worries in this situation is, is there anything that can be wrong with a house, whereby the law could prevent me living there unless it is fixed?

I have seen lists of the most common issues found by surveyors, etc., but what are some of the most costly issues that are commonly found? Generally speaking of course, as I do understand that it depends on the extent of the issue at hand.

I do not need the house to last 'forever'. There probably won't be any family member inheriting it, so if it's good for around 60 years or so max, that would be good enough for me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

SDLT_Geek

A flat with a relatively short period left on the lease might suit you?  Something with 50 or 60 years left on the lease, where most buyers would pay for a lease extension, but you would not, perhaps.

AdrianC

Might it make more sense to get a smallish mortgage on top of your substantial equity, so that you aren't buying the dregs that nobody else wants...?

Remember, the very cheapest are usually that for a good reason. And it's often location, as well as condition. You're looking at living there.

Yes, there are laws around uninhabitability. But, honestly, would you WANT to live in a place that was even borderline?

tacpot12

With local councils under so much financial pressure, I'm not sure you will find anyone is bothered about a property that is in a poor state of repair if you are not bothered. Neighbours will complain about unkempt gardens and rubbish, but not the inside of the building or the structure unless something is overhanging a public space or connecting to their property. 

The sorts of problems that are expensive to fix (plus some ideas of how to spot them) are: 

• structural problems including subsidence - these can often be seen if you observe the building carefully; look at where the walls meet the ground and around all windows and doors. 
• problems with poorly maintained roofs and gutters - harder to see from the ground, but a drone can be very useful for this - rent one if you are buying a house 
• lack of adequate heating or old heating boilers or radiators - ask to see the heating system working
• unsafe electrics cause by age or bodges - an electrician can usually take one look at a consumer unit and tell you if you need to spend money getting a proper inspection done
• weak floors cause by woodwork - look for the holes in floor boards
• rotten windows and doors - easy to spot unless the owner has done a quick repair job
• no Damp Proof Course (DPC)  or paths/patios that have been built up too close to the DPC - look for a black line of the DPC in the brickwork and make sure all paths & patios are at least 150mm below it.
• no radon protection when some is needed - check your area for predictions on the presence of radon.
• legal problems (short lease/rent charges/ground rents/freeholder has disappeared) - pay a solicitor to read the legal pack and ask lots of questions

Your best chance of getting a good property is to build up a good relationship with the vendor. You are already a good buyer because you are buying for cash and not in a chain, and you want to occupy the property. You are not a "money-grabbing" wannabe landlord. You need to hang out on Rightmove watching for new properties going up. You might also call in at any local estate agents who seem to sell the sort of properties you are interested in, and ask them to let you know if anything comes onto the market or falls through, would they let you know. 

Having a solicitor lined up so that you can get the searches underway asap will also help. The time to find a solicitor is now, not when you find a property and have had an offer accepted on it. 

tacpot12

Another tip is to look at lots of houses on Rightmove, even houses you can't afford. See if you can spot the problems with the property from the photos. Look for stuff growing out of the chimneys and gutters, look for cracks around the foundations and rotten windows. The best way to avoid a lemon is to become an expert on lemons. 

NameUnavailable

I'm in a similar position, I need to buy somewhere and really want a freehold property but the top of my budget is about where house prices start, and then they're few and far between, in poor condition or in less attractive areas.

Bear in mind whatever you pay you will need to do some maintenance. You might be happy to live with dated decor but if the roof starts to leak or you find damp you need to be able to fix the issues.

davidmcn

BucketFull said:

is there anything that can be wrong with a house, whereby the law could prevent me living there unless it is fixed?

In practice not really, nobody's going to take much interest in an owner-occupier who chooses to live in a hovel. 

BucketFull

Thank you all, for all the replies and very helpful advice. It is really appreciated!

As far as it's possible, my aim is for a house and not a flat, however, the advice of a flat with a long lease is quite an appropriate suggestion for my query.

My intention is to purchase cash only as I wish to avoid the mortgage route.

Oh dear, the laws around uninhabitability is worrying. I would like to add that I am talking about issues that may not be obvious to everybody and not something like the house doesn't have a roof or no walls, or something ridiculous.

That is a very helpful/useful list of possible issues! Thank you! Would all of those aspects (apart from heating, electrics and legal problems) be covered by the surveyor?

I have already tried most of your advice. I already have a solicitor lined up. I check Rightmove everyday. I have already emailed all the estate agents that usually have properties in the area, however, from the one or two that bothered to reply, it doesn't seem that they can do anything other than what I can check myself on Rightmove. I did intend to visit the estate agents personally to build a relationship with them, however, that's not been possible recently. I have also already contacted several surveyors, however, only one bothered to reply and although I gave very detailed info on the type of property I am looking for, they couldn't issue even a rough estimate.

I have someone in mind to check the gas (who is Gas Safe registered), however, am still to line someone up for the electrics.

Speaking of transactions that 'fall through', there have been quite a few houses that seem to be 'sold' only to reappear on more than one occasion. Do estate agents let any future interested potential customer know of the results of any survey undertaken previously or does each customer have to pay for their own new survey even though it has been done a few times already?

Unfortunately, I wouldn't know how to spot a lemon in person, let alone from obscure photos showing only the good parts of the property! There is one thing which I am able to detect. It is when they stretch the photos to make the rooms look bigger. This one is easy to spot because the doors usually appear unusually wide! Haha.

At the moment, in the area I am looking for, they are also VERY few and far between! To make the situation worse for people like you and me is when estate agents turn their 'sales' into auctions, whereby the house is for 'sale', however, they advertise for all the world to see that they have received an offer of such an amount and invite offers for a higher amount. I wish that would be made illegal. If they want to auction a property, they should use an auction. Houses should be 'sold' like anything else at the price advertised.

One man's hovel is another man's mansion. Haha.

[Deleted User]

The survey belongs to the person who paid for it which is usually the buyer. The estate agent works for the vendor for not the buyer so it’s unlikely the estate agent will have seen any of the previous surveys. Even if they have they’re unlikely to tell you what it said. 

trex227

Usually where a listing has a notice that an offer has been received of £x inviting offers of a higher amount they are usually repossession properties. The lender has an obligation to achieve the best possible price and I believe they are required to make a public notice of offers received.

Also with repossession properties there is always the risk that you have an offer accepted and then someone else makes a higher offer before you can exchange contracts

BucketFull

Thanks for the replies.

I still think they should use an auction if they want to achieve the best price possible.