Is this flat suspiciously cheap? (first-time buyer)

prenny16

Hi,

We're first-time buyers looking for a city centre flat in Yorkshire.  1-bed flats in safe, central locations seem to range between £110,000-£120,000.  One we're about to view appears to have great potential and is in a good enough/safe enough area within the constraints of our budget, but I think it's suspiciously cheap at £95,000 and I'm concerned this means there's something wrong with it.  It's a decent size and has better use of space than others in similarly central areas, which are on the market at £110k+.  Apparently (according to the estate agent), this building doesn't need an EWS1 certificate because it only has 5 floors (I think - can't remember the threshold for needing the certificate), but other buildings we know aren't EWS1-compliant are within this same £80k-£95k price bracket.  I don't trust this and going to dig into it further, but I really don't know what the etiquette is around questioning the price of a property - is it okay to express concerns at a viewing over a property being too cheap?

Alderbank

EWS1 issues are still in a state of flux. It is not just how many floors, although many buildings of 5 storeys need EWS1, but also whether the building has external cladding and if so what type and how much.
There is no statutory yes/no, each lender decides for itself what to accept based on their survey, so for a particular flat some lenders might lend and others might not. Each lender has also changed their criteria for what they will accept and will probably do so again so there is risk that a flat has a mortgage now but a future buyer might not be able to get one.

I have never had a problem discussing price of property with either agents or owners themselves. I usually use the format of, 'I've been to look at property xxx which is £xx more (or less) than yours, why is that?' Everyone is very keen to tell you why they have priced more or less than the competition.

prenny16

Alderbank said:

EWS1 issues are still in a state of flux. It is not just how many floors, although many buildings of 5 storeys need EWS1, but also whether the building has external cladding and if so what type and how much.
There is no statutory yes/no, each lender decides for itself what to accept based on their survey, so for a particular flat some lenders might lend and others might not. Each lender has also changed their criteria for what they will accept and will probably do so again so there is risk that a flat has a mortgage now but a future buyer might not be able to get one.

I have never had a problem discussing price of property with either agents or owners themselves. I usually use the format of, 'I've been to look at property xxx which is £xx more (or less) than yours, why is that?' Everyone is very keen to tell you why they have priced more or less than the competition.

Thanks so much for your reply!  Very helpful.

eddddy

prenny16 said:

is it okay to express concerns at a viewing over a property being too cheap?

Rather than expressing concerns, you probably just want to asked why it's priced lower than other similar properties. (Some estate agents will give you a sensible answer, but some might be a bit unhelpful.)


If you mean discuss it with the seller at a viewing - many sellers won't want to discuss money at a viewing. It's better to discuss it with the estate agent.

Also, some estate agents use 'Viewing Assistants' to conduct the viewings - they're often inexperienced 'part timers' who won't know much background about the property, and won't have talked with the seller.

So you need to judge whether it's better to discuss that in a phone call before or after the viewing.

prenny16

Just to add regarding the EWS1 issue - it's not so much the issue of lending but safety.

prenny16

eddddy said:

prenny16 said:

is it okay to express concerns at a viewing over a property being too cheap?

Rather than expressing concerns, you probably just want to asked why it's priced lower than other similar properties. (Some estate agents will give you a sensible answer, but some might be a bit unhelpful.)


If you mean discuss it with the seller at a viewing - many sellers won't want to discuss money at a viewing. It's better to discuss it with the estate agent.

Also, some estate agents use 'Viewing Assistants' to conduct the viewings - they're often inexperienced 'part timers' who won't know much background about the property, and won't have talked with the seller.

So you need to judge whether it's better to discuss that in a phone call before or after the viewing.

Good insight and helpful advice!  Thanks

Jonboy_1984

How long remains on the lease and how does that compare to the other property’s?

prenny16

Jonboy_1984 said:

How long remains on the lease and how does that compare to the other property’s?

979 years, which is one of the longest we've seen.

NameUnavailable

I'm guessing the vendor won't object if you insist in paying an extra £20K for the flat.......

user1977

5 floors is into the "multi-storey" bracket which will deter some lenders (this is a pre-Grenfell thing).

City centre flat, so what about other potential issues - commercial units in the same building? "Bad" neighbours close by? (pubs/clubs/take aways etc). Big costs coming up?

MFWannabe

If you want you could post a link to the property and posters may see a reason for it being cheaper than others that’s not obvious to you maybe?