HELP!!!!!!!!! talk me in/out of this purchase

guitaruser

Last year we were all set to buy a modern semi for £160k, but we didnt sell ours in time etc etc, and it didnt happen.


Now we have an opportunity to buy the same layout house, further in the estate in a detached guise, with added conservatory, space for side extension and larger front drive for the price of £190k.

My question is can an extra 30k be justified for the consevatory, the fact its detached and the side extension potential?

The other factor is that we accepted the offer on our house nearly 8 weeks ago and our buyers are understandably getting impatient.

Things havent been coming up for sale to compare with lately on the same estate.

Thanks in advance!

nelly_2

call the conservatory 10 grand and that leaves 20 for the fact its detached, is that 20 grand of your money well spent?

dprovan

also need to consider have houses appreciated/depreciated/stayed same in that time?

Woby_Tide

only personal opinion but on those figures I'd say £30k for detached/conservatory/drive and potential extension is a good deal. Maybe check out rightmove or something for an idea on current differences in prices between detached and semi's in similar areas close by to yours. Also check out the landregistry website, the gulf between average semi and detached prices is huge(and admittedly skewed) but you can also find out what sort of prices the house may have sold at in the past, and compare it to teh selling price the other house you tried for last year sold at

Little_Miss_Winner

After taking into account £10k for a conservatory, 20k in my opinion isn't bad for the fact thats its detatched (can always sell for bigger profit), and the prospect of extending in years to come.

From my own personal experience, b4 we were married, and young and single. We bought our house 3 bedded large victorian terrace for £35k.

My friend and her boyfriend bought there for £56k semi, corner plot, gardens to 3 sides. I thought she was mad!

Now looking back, married and 3 kids later, wish I would have spent the other £20k, and had room to extend!.................As £56k now would be total bargain for a house large enough for us all.........................And that was only 9 years ago!

I would go for it.

pot

meanmachine_2

Jeez, a three bedder for 35K.

I could buy the !!!!!! thing outright.

Gah, if only I had a time machine....

As for the OP, yes, I'd say 30K seems fair for not sharing wall space with a potential neighbour from hell.

But is it actually the same size as your semi? What's the square footage? You might find it's actually titchier.

odorus

Go to Rightmove and check out the section that tells you exactly how much the prices of houses sold for in that area over the last 5 years. It's accurate as I've checked my place on there, and it's free. All you have to is register, which is simple and easy. The info comes from the Land Registry, under the freedom of info act.

As to the price pot o gold paid for their terraced house, it just goes to show that if you are looking to buy don't wait too long as prices will rise over the long term. I bought my first place 8 years ago in my mid 20's and it was the best thing I could've done.

meanmachine_2

odorus wrote:

As to the price pot o gold paid for their terraced house, it just goes to show that if you are looking to buy don't wait too long as prices will rise over the long term. I bought my first place 8 years ago in my mid 20's and it was the best thing I could've done.

WARNING: Never base a current financial decision on past performance.

Given your age, my friend, you're probably a bit too young to remember that property slump of the 90s. SO yes, in your case you did exactly the right thing, but you bought at market trough and are now at market peak.

Buying at peak ain't so clever though. You can see that right?

odorus

meanmachine wrote:

WARNING: Never base a current financial decision on past performance.

Given your age, my friend, you're probably a bit too young to remember that property slump of the 90s. SO yes, in your case you did exactly the right thing, but you bought at market trough and are now at market peak.

Buying at peak ain't so clever though. You can see that right?

Actually I can remember the slump, we lost our house. I was abroad at the time though, living in Germany earning the mighty DM.

We bought our house in the early 80's for about £25k, the same house is now being sold for around £180k. So taking into account the correction of the early 90's the house still rose in value. We lost the house through remortgage, not because we bought it at the peak. These were starter homes so the rise was not as big as others in the area.

As for buying at the peak, when is it the peak? I bought my current home last year when everyone was calling for the crash (something they have been doing for a few years now) at £148k, my neighbour just sold his home for around £165k in the last month. I bought a flat this year for £107k reduced from £120k. The point is at the moment there is a definate slow down, and if you are looking for a place and can get the mortgage go out and buy. Just make sure you bargain very hard.