Elderly neighbour buying from Foxtons...help!

itsgototstop

Hi All,

My elderly neighbour has just exchanged on a 4 story townhouse in west London, no mortgage so now alot of cash which is her pension. ( It was an 8 bedroom place she bought in 1950, now most converted into 4 flats which her buyer is doing).

She is downsizing and spending just under half of proceeds on much smaller house.

She came to see me yesterday to say she had offered on a house in Hayes through Foxtons:mad: , £455k on asking price of £475k.

I have told her to get a homebuyer survey and valuation through Colleys as its probably overvalued if foxtons.

Looked on ourproperty and similar houses sold for £365k last year, does anyone know the area at all?.

http://www.foxtons.co.uk/search?submit_type=search&search_form=keyword&bedrooms_max=4&tag=qs&order_by=price+desc&per_page=10&search_type=SS&price_to=500000&bedrooms=4&location_ids=&keyword_value=ub4

itsgototstop

Forgot to add, the house on same road that sold late 2007 for 365k she said was alot narrower than the one she has offered on.

She is frightened of now going back and renegociating price and has agreed to get survey/valuation in the hope surveyor may come back with reduced valuation she can use as leverage. ( She is cash buyer).

maninthestreet

If your neighbour has already exchanged contracts on this property, it's too late to do anything, I'm afraid. She would be comitted to buying the property at the price states in the contract.

lynzpower

But if she likes it , fair play to her!

Just because shes elderly doesnt mean shes lost control of her faculties.

Although I might think anyone buying in this climate at the top end ( yes foxtons) is tapped, its only a matter of opinion.

merlinthehappypig

maninthestreet wrote: »

If your neighbour has already exchanged contracts on this property, it's too late to do anything, I'm afraid. She would be comitted to buying the property at the price states in the contract.

My reading of it is that she has exchanged on her sale, but only agreed a price on her purchase, though I could be wrong. In this case she can still do what she wants.

Doozergirl

It looks lovely. If she's got the money then let her spend it. I assume she;ll be living out her days there unless she has to sell the house to pay for care. Otherwise it's only someone elses inheritance.

itsgototstop

Thanks she has only offered as yet, I just want her to get a good price for it

tanith

I live about a mile or so away from the Marina and have been there quite often as it has a restaurant and bar closeby... I really can't help with the valuation side as I know these houses seem expensive but as they are on the canal I guess you get what you pay for.. a lot of the houses own boats or narrow boats which they can berth near to their homes... from my own time spent there most of the houses seem to have boats and its busy and a bit noisy especially at weekends lots of life going on which of course some people like , there seems to be BBQ's and people spend time onboard although not actually going anywhere.. your neighbour may well like the hustle and bustle but I have elderly relatives and its not a place I would recommend them to spend their later years to be honest... I assume she is quite mobile and does she drive?

itsgototstop

Thanks all, I feel bad now as she is now going to get a survey after talking to me. I over reacted I think when she told me it was through Foxtons...

No she doesn't drive but uses the bus to get around.

itsgototstop

margaretclare wrote: »

Thanks for this, Lynzpower! Too many people DO seem to use the descriptive adjective 'elderly' as shorthand for 'a bit doolally-!!!!!!'. I'm probably getting a bit over-sensitive about this, but it's something I notice these days.

It does look nice, and it's facing on to a marina. If I lived in London I wouldn't use a car either because (a) nowhere to park it and (b) congestion charge and (c) plenty of public transport.

Good luck to her - I hope she enjoys it.

Margaret

No I was NOT implying she was doolally, she does not however take any notice of property market and I wanted to check she was getting a good deal. That is all.

I am not some do gooder who thinks she is senile sticking my oar in, she has asked me to see what I can find out about the area and the price she has offered.

PasturesNew

I see what you're saying about price. £365k was the most paid for one there ever.

http://www.nethouseprices.com/index.php?con=sold_prices_street_detail&locality=HILLINGDON&town=HAYES&street=MARINA+APPROACH&year=All&house_style=All&house_age=All&house_type=All&land=&searchType=&postcode=UB49TB&search_radius=only&northingToSearch=18150&eastingToSearch=51230&cCode=EW&pcsaCode=UB4&order=priceDESC

Perhaps, as she's having a survey done, you can persuade her to talk to the surveyor and impress upon them that the valuation they put should be on the conservative side. She can always have a telephone conversation with him about this point, off the written record.