Could buy ex-council house, what to look out for?

A0911

I'm a FTB and was thinking of buying a flat (affordability) but a house has come up in my budget. It would need some work, but I can save for this. I'm unsure whether to go for the new-ish flat (likely to lose value) or do up this house. For context, the only other houses in my budget and location are Victorian stone terraces, and they tend to be damp money pits around here.

I went to see the house today but was rushed by the estate agent needing to get somewhere else. It is being sold by a landlord and needs new carpets/decoration/a really good clean, but has the potential to be nice with a bit of work. Houses on that street go for about £200-250k when well presented.

The BTL-ers who bought it installed gas central heating and a bath, and decorated it. Can't see what else they've done. Looks like it had a new fuse box in '08 but definitely needs new/more sockets, they look unchanged from when it last sold.

Some cracks in the bedroom and bathroom ceilings but they don't seem particularly concerning.

If I bought it I'd be budgeting for decoration/carpets and ceiling skims initially. New kitchen would be the priority after that, possibly changing the layout to a kitchen/diner area.

Do you think I could get this reasonably livable in the short term, and would it be a better bet than a same-priced flat that needs zero work? Any glaring visible red flags or obvious huge jobs? I'm buying on my own and don't have any handy friends/family nearby to ask.

Current Rightmove link: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146790137

Previous sale: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/95-springfield-avenue/morley/leeds/ls27-9pp/47187895/

The other thing that's putting me off a bit is there's a fenced off bit of land around a pub, you can see the fence at the end of the garden. EA says flats will probably be built on it, so lots of construction noise for a while. But it will end, so I can live with it.

swingaloo

Looking at the photos of the house and also looking at the choice of houses within your budget Im surprised you are going for this one. There are at least a dozen lovely terraced I would consider first.

Bookworm105

you seem to be missing the elephant in the room
flats = service charges and leases forever more 
house = freehold to do with as you want 

those electrics are a damn sight more modern than my parents property (1965 build and still lived in )
plaster cracks are big standard "settlement" cracks following the line of the underlying plasterboard sheet. Whole ceiling skim utter waste of money 

decoration and carpets are matters of personal taste and have zero to do with property value (purchase price)

A0911

swingaloo said:

Looking at the photos of the house and also looking at the choice of houses within your budget Im surprised you are going for this one. There are at least a dozen lovely terraced I would consider first.

Main issue is location. I want to be within walking distance of the station, I dislike having to drive everywhere. The houses in my budget around the train station are mostly old Victorian terraces with damp problems. I've already pulled out of two of them after the survey, unfortunately.

A0911

Bookworm105 said:

you seem to be missing the elephant in the room
flats = service charges and leases forever more 
house = freehold to do with as you want 

those electrics are a damn sight more modern than my parents property (1965 build and still lived in )
plaster cracks are big standard "settlement" cracks following the line of the underlying plasterboard sheet. Whole ceiling skim utter waste of money 

decoration and carpets are matters of personal taste and have zero to do with property value (purchase price)

Leasehold and service charge is very much part of the decision-making process, I just haven't mentioned it here.

Thanks for view on the electrics and ceilings. 

Albermarle

Although it needs some sprucing up, it looks perfectly livable in, so would be no rush to do/fund the work. The only real negative I can see is that big fence, which looks depressing even if they do not do any construction work.
Maybe you could put up a bigger fence to hide it.
You mention ex council in the headline. Normally council properties are well built.
The ceiling cracks can be filled in with some Polyfilla.
If it is short of few plug sockets, an electrician can soon sort that out.

Jami74

That driveway doesn't appear to have a dropped kerb. A minor thing to consider if you were hoping to use it to park a car on.

Skiddaw1

I think it has plenty of potential and that you could make a lovely home out of it with relatively little effort.

FreeBear

A relatively new build (1960s ?), and the photos don't show any serious defects. The cracks in the ceilings are along the joins in plasterboard sheets. Easy to deal with (I'd suggest putting some screws in to give extra support to the boards, and then just fill the cracks).

I suspect that there is a second consumer unit out of shot - Perhaps at some stage, fitting a new one to replace both would neaten things up a bit. Wait until the meter is upgraded to a smart one and ask (insist) the supplier fits an isolation switch - Tell them that you intend to get an EV in the near future. Having an isolator switch will make the job of replacing the consumer unit much easier for the electrician.

Only real concern for me would be sulphate attack in the concrete slab - If the property is at risk, it should be picked up in the survey. Decking up to the outside wall could be a source of penetrating damp, but that would be a relatively easy fix. The kitchen needs a major rethink and replacing.