What To Offer on a Renovated House

masjntt1977

Hi,  I ve seen a house that I really like and would like to make an offer. 

The house has been gutted and renovated to a high standard and is priced at £325k

Comparable Houses that haven’t been renovated and need some work (eg modernisation) are currently selling around £250k

I have sold my house and staying with family and will be paying cash for a purchase - the seller is chain free

I really do want the house but was considering offering under the asking price - would appreciate peoples thoughts on this and any suggestions as to what to offer or where to begin etc 

Thank you 😊 

MultiFuelBurner

Offer what the renovation works and house is worth to you. Only you know that, there is no set reduction percentage amount a seller will sell for. 

koalakoala

If I really wanted it I would just offer the asking price

FreeBear

masjntt1977 said: The house has been gutted and renovated to a high standard and is priced at £325k

How do you know the work is to a high standard ?

A property a few doors down from me was purchased by a flipper. He went to town fitting it out with what appeared to be good quality fittings and decorated it reasonably well. Current owner is now cursing the flipper on an almost daily basis as he uncovers yet another bodge.

The question to ask yourself - Is the work done worth £75K over what comparable properties are currently going for ?

masjntt1977

FreeBear said:

masjntt1977 said: The house has been gutted and renovated to a high standard and is priced at £325k

How do you know the work is to a high standard ?

A property a few doors down from me was purchased by a flipper. He went to town fitting it out with what appeared to be good quality fittings and decorated it reasonably well. Current owner is now cursing the flipper on an almost daily basis as he uncovers yet another bodge.

The question to ask yourself - Is the work done worth £75K over what comparable properties are currently going for ?

Good point - it looks a high standard and I would have a survey carried out too. 

I’m trying not to get carried away because I like it - just can’t decide what figure to start off, - I ll have a look at the work that been done and compare it to one of the other properties- thank you 

jimbog

I would offer £295 at the start and get a level 3 survey if successful

Doozergirl

What have they done in the renovation?  How old is the house?  What is the EPC rating of it now?

A proper renovation reflect in the EPC particularly well, otherwise it's just a superficial refurbishment.  

RHemmings

Is there anyone other than me that would actually prefer a lived in family home in reasonable normal decorative nick, rather than a refurbished one with cheap but superficially laminated/shiny fittings and things? With low-quality chipboard inside the lamination? 

BungalowBel

My friend bought a house that looked very smart and had a decent survey.

Only after moving in has she discovered that the downstairs toilet and shower are not plumbed in correctly  and the conservatory has no power to it (there are sockets but they are not connected to anything).

I don't see how you would know these things before moving.

prettyandfluffy

As a cash buyer with no chain, you're the buyer that every seller dreams of.  You're in a strong position.

RHemmings

BungalowBel said:

My friend bought a house that looked very smart and had a decent survey.

Only after moving in has she discovered that the downstairs toilet and shower are not plumbed in correctly  and the conservatory has no power to it (there are sockets but they are not connected to anything).

I don't see how you would know these things before moving.

I have seen advice, which I have stored away for reference, that you can ask to see the receipts for the work. This would show if the work has been done by reputable professionals. If someone has done all the work themselves then there won't be receipts and possibly more suspicion is needed.

When I moved into the rented house I'm in, one of the important power sockets in the kitchen wasn't connected to anything. However, the letting agents managing this property are extremely reactive to anything being pointed out, and an electrician arrived within days to fix it.

I'd be interested to know what the symptoms of the toilet and shower not being plumbed in correctly were. Checking power sockets for no power is easy and can be done quickly. Flushing a toilet, and waiting until it flushes again can be done. (But, this won't check outflow for partial blockages or it being easy to block.) In the house I'm in, the toilet recharges very slowly. So that if one person follows another immediately probably the second person has to wait a while to flush. This may not be plumbing related because all other water outlets in the bathroom have proper pressure. We just live with it, however. 

I'm particularly interested in the shower. I would have thought that a shower would ... just work or it wouldn't. Easy to check? 

The concept of flipping houses with improperly done stuff does have its consequences. The kitchen in the rented house I'm in looks exactly like a cheap kitchen refurb. The nice looking dark stain laminated doors mark if you touch them with fingers, or with water. The tap on the sink comes loose and has to be tightened all the time. Annoying, but I'm not going to raise it with the letting agents. I'm sure that the work surfaces are the cheapest fake marble lamination on chipboard. 

Off to finger tighten up the tap fitting now that I've reminded myself of it.