Making an Offer

hannahkaye

Hi All
I'm planning on making an offer on a property that I've had my eye on for a while. I've been around to see it and the area is up and coming and I think it's a good investment.
The only thing that worries me is that on the brochure information it says that none of the appliances have been tested in the house. So if I speak to the estate agents tomorrow and make my offer subject to appliances being tested, do you think this will put them off, or am I worrying for nothing?
Thanks in advance.
Hannah

trudiha

All EA details will say that appliances haven't been tested. EAs aren't qualified to test applicants and not in a position to offer any kind of guarantee to the safety or efficiency of appliances.

Buyers usually get appliances tested and serviced before exchange of contracts, that way you get to pick someone you trust to do the testing.

Zammo

Up and coming areas during a downturn in the housing market are to be avoided like the plague.

hannahkaye

Zammo
Can I ask you why you think that, just trying to understand where you're coming from :rolleyes:

Hannah

trudiha

Can I push in here, Zammo, I've got a bit of time on my hands?

There was this bank called Northern Rock and they were giving mortgages to a very large number of first time buyers, which sounds good but really it wasn't because they were giving mortgages for even more than the house was worth, it was a bit like getting a free car when you bought a house, except it wasn't free you had to pay for it over the next 30 years. That was called a 125% mortgage.

For very complicated reason to do with someone noticing that Northern Rock was lending more money than it actually had, there was a 'run' on the bank, that's the technical term for people taking out their savings and doing a runner with them. That meant the NR had even less money. They weren't in a position to lend first time buyers a house with a car anymore. So the ones who'd mainly wanted a car couldn't buy houses anymore because there were no more 125% mortgages

All of the other banks got a bit frightened when they saw this happening and they decided that they didn't want their banks going the same way, so they stopped lending all the money it took to buy a house and they also got a bit miffy about lending money to each other. So that was the end of the 100% mortgages.

For a few weeks banks still seemed willing enough to lend 95% or the value of a house but because of the disappearance of the 125% and 100% mortgages there seemed to be fewer buyers around so property prices dropped a tiny weenie bit. If you are a bank you don't want to lend 95% of the value of something that's dropping a tiny weenie bit because 5% isn't much more than a tiny weenie bit. So that was the end of the 95% mortgages, well nearly there are a few left but they are being very stingy about giving them out.

Now banks really want you to have a 10% deposit and to pay them more money for the mortgage, so folks like myself are sat at home on a Friday night, not even ordering pizza because pizza Costs Money and not buying houses because they are busy squirreling away money. So houses aren't selling and the few people who really, really need to sell are selling their houses cheaper.

If this carries on there might be a Crash and if there is a Crash the flat with the untested appliances you are thinking of buying would be worth less money.

On the other hand, while houses are getting cheaper, mortgages might get even harder and more expensive to get, so if you don't buy now you might not be able to buy in six months or a year no matter how cheap the houses are. Unless you have been sitting at home on Friday nights for years Without Pizza and have a big wodege of cash.

We are probably all going to hell in a handcart.

trudiha

Oh and 'Up and Coming Area' is estate agent speak for 'utter sh*thole but we have a few non-junkie homeowners here now because that's all they can afford'.

If prices do come down at all, or continue to come down, depending on who you're talking to, no one in their right mine will buy in an 'up and coming' place because it will have become a 'have come, rolled over, gone to sleep and is now snoring' place.

country_sport

Isn't is best to just answer the OP question without the lecture?

neverdespairgirl

Zammo wrote: »

Up and coming areas during a downturn in the housing market are to be avoided like the plague.

Coudln't agree more - it's estate agent speak for "real dive, but at least you don't have to travel far for prostitutes / drugs / guns"

Doozergirl

I agree that up and coming areas can't be viewed as a good investment in a downturn.

Up and coming areas are generally up and coming because people can't afford to live in the areas that have already 'arrived', iyswim.

If property in good areas is affordable people will not buy in 'up and coming' areas because they can afford something better. Result is that property in the 'up and coming' area suffers hard because it's no longer up and coming when the cool kids aren't moving in anymore and Starbucks change their mind on that lease in the High Street.

If you are buying now, then it's really important to buy the worst house in a good street rather than a good house in an iffy street.