Please help me buy the property of my dreams!!!!

Lorna

This is my first ever post on here and I'm hoping you money savers can offer me some words of wisdom!

The former police house in my village has been standing empty for a couple of months, since the policeman that retired moved out. Noticing that it was empty I contacted the police who informed me that they had just instructed the local council to sell it on their behalf. Whoopee I thought! So I rang the local council who gave me a few details about the house (room sizes etc etc) and told me that a For Sale board will be going up in a few weeks time once they've done some work on the house and had it valued and given it a guide price.

In the meantime we've been to look through the windows (they won't let us view it until the board goes up)....it is smaller than we thought, the gardens are overgrown, the interior needs alot of work....but I absolutely love it (although I'm trying not to get too attached).

Anyway, my situation in the meantime is that I have a house to sell. I originally that the other house might be beyond my mens, however looking at its condition we have satisfied ourselves that it will probably be within our reach financially, however our greatest problem is that we're not yet in a 'proceedable' position and I fea thsi is where we may come unstuck : (

I am arranging to get our house on the market this week, albeit at a slightly higher price than it has been valued at by the estate agents, simply to offer us a bit of a buffer should the other property be given a guide price higher than we are expecting.

I'm wondering if anyone can give me any advice on purchasing a property from the local authority in this way? How does it normally work? (I know it's not going to auction).

Is the fact that I'm not yet a cash buyer likely to go against me?

Can you think of anything I can do to improve my position? The council have told me that once the board goes up and the guide price has been set they will arrange viewings and invite offers. The offers will then be passed to the vendors (the police) along with recommendations of who they should sell to.

Any hints/ideas on how we can nail this sale?

Lorna

Whilst writing, I'm also curious to know if as an ex police house being sold by the local authority it may come up for sale at a price lower than the going private market rate....in which case, are the likes of developers likely to go in low with their offers?

We want it as a home...so I'd be prepared to offer what it was worth to ME.

My biggest fear is losing out to eg a developer with cash in the bank ready to go.

If I can get an offer on my property in time then great. I have looked at the possibility of a bridging loan from our mortgage lender (we have a mortgage of approx £34K on a house worth approx £300K) but they wouldn't lend us the £250-300K we'd need to buy the new property. Although they do say they could release some equity...but I suspect we could only afford to release enough to pay a deposit.

Any other bright ideas of how I could 'bridge' the gap if I DON'T manage to sell mine in time?

cedge

It's not worth the risk I feel especially in today's market when there is a serious lack of buyers out there especially those that are in a proceedable position.

It is tough but I would let the house go and wait until you at least have an offer on yours before looking for houses, this way you will be in a proceedable position if you do fall in love with a house and not before.

Fate will work it's course. If it is meant to be then you will sell find a buyer quickly with the house still on the market, if not then obviously it wasn't meant to be and other house will come along.

Even still we have recently been in a position of having to pass an offer to the vendors for consideration for a house that we really liked (we had a buyer for ours too and a mortgage in principle), we offered 156k when the guide price was 150k and still didn't get it as more than likely it will go to a devloper or a cash buyer.

meanmachine_2

I could be wrong and am happy to be proved so, but I think you've failed before you've even started.

Because the property you have your eye on is (potentially) a little out of your reach, you're going to put your own property on the market HIGHER than the EA's valuation.

That means, in the current climate, your property could be on the market for months, with you trying to chase the market down, cutting little by little but still too expensive to catch a buyer.

You need a quick sale if you are to acquire your dream home. The only way you can guarantee that, in today's market, is to put your house on at slightly below its valuation.

Anything else is madness. You've got a tiny tiny mortgage, so use that to your advantage.

Just my opinion, of course.

Doozergirl

:hello:

If you want this house for purposes other than profit, your bid should naturally outprice any developer (as long as you have researched what it should be worthin a finished state). However, being in a proceedable position is your key priority, buying from an authority means they have no interest in waiting for the best price - they want a stable offer, preferably chain free and will not think twice about taking a lower offer than yours if they can proceed quickly. :wall:

You need to sell as quickly as you can. The further on with your sale you are, the stronger your offer becomes.

Therefore, pricing your house higher could be cutting your nose to spite your face. Price it sensibly, price it lower even (for your dream home remember!) Ultimately, you need to sell as quickly as you can. I can't stress enough - If you haven't sold your house, they will not even consider your offer.

I really hope you get your house!

meanmachine_2

I concur. You need to make yourself a "first time buyer" again. In a stagnant market, selling-to-rent isn't too much of a gamble.

In fact, you might find that you've sold at the top of the market.

However, your risk comes should you sell your own place and find that your dream home has either been snaffled up, or is still way out of your league (which is unlikely given your small mortgage).

rammell

Agree 100%

Estate Agents are notorious at over-valuing properties (with a few exceptions) just to get your business. It used to be the case that you'd get in 3 EAs, get them to value your house and put it on the market at the average or towards the higher price. My advice - gained from experience - would be to get the 3 EAs in and market the house at the lowest price!

My house was valued by 3 EAs at £260K, £270K and £289K. I've now dropped the price to £250K and am only now getting serious buyers through the door (http://house.rammell.com).

If anyone wants to sell their house fast, pricing it realistically is absolutely essential. Note: the number of houses sold in the last 6 months is generally 50% lower than the same period last year.

meanmachine_2

New builds do nothing for me, but that seems like a sizeable property for the money Rammell.

Surprised you've had trouble shifting it. That, to my mind, would fit into the "desirable property in a desirable location" category.

Let us know how you get on.

Woby_Tide

"Early viewing essential"

Has that been on it at each of the other prices or just since you dropped it. This lends credibility to the other thread discussing the stamp duty issue, does make a big difference to peoples perceptions definitely

Spendless

rammell wrote:

Agree 100%

Estate Agents are notorious at over-valuing properties (with a few exceptions) just to get your business. It used to be the case that you'd get in 3 EAs, get them to value your house and put it on the market at the average or towards the higher price. My advice - gained from experience - would be to get the 3 EAs in and market the house at the lowest price!

My house was valued by 3 EAs at £260K, £270K and £289K. I've now dropped the price to £250K and am only now getting serious buyers through the door (http://house.rammell.com).

If anyone wants to sell their house fast, pricing it realistically is absolutely essential. Note: the number of houses sold in the last 6 months is generally 50% lower than the same period last year.

rammel- hope you don't mind this post but I had a quick look. Your lounge picture, is the settee blocking off a door? I wasn't sure, if so could you re-arrange it elsewher in the room.

Also part of the 'bumph'says backing onto local primary. Does this mean school is at bottom of your garden? I work in a school that peoples houses back onto. Someone I know has had difficulty selling as people weren't keen on idea of schools premises at bottom of garden. What about getting this removed from EA blurb, and letting people fall in love with your lovely house before mentioning school -as some people might get put off byidea before viewing

rammell

Good comments. The settee has actually been moved but I've not updated the photo's (though the EA has an updated photo). I'll re-word re: the school. I think people like to know that there are schools nearby but yes, not necessarily at the bottom of the garden! In fact the school is not as close as the text suggests.